‘It would be great if it was reversed' German minister says UK can walk back to EU
BRITAIN could still opt to reverse its decision to leave the European Union, according to a German minister.
Brigitte Zypries said she hoped the UK would not quit the EU
Brexit talks are set to start on Monday, three months after Article 50 was triggered and almost exactly a year since the UK vote to leave on June 23 last year.
Theresa May has continued to push on with her plans for a ‘hard Brexit’ and insisted the UK exit will go ahead despite opposition from Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
And as German economy minister Brigitte Zypries conceded a reversal of the vote looked unlikely to occur, a U-turn on the position would be welcome.
Brexit talks are set to start on Monday
Michael Barnier and David Davis will thrash out the plans for the Brexit deal
She said: "I think it would be great if they were to reverse the Brexit decision. However, this scenario appears relatively unrealistic to me."
The economy minister added that she regretted the decision to leave the European Union, pointing to ministry studies that reveal Brexit could cause more damage to the British economy than to Germany.
But Ms Zypries said both sides should now go ahead as planned with the negotiations on Britain's departure from the bloc, adding: "This won't be easy, but a compromise is possible."
I think it would be great if they were to reverse the Brexit decision. However, this scenario appears relatively unrealistic to me
Her remarks chimed with similar comments from French President Emmanuel Macron and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who both previously said the door to the EU remains open to Britain until exit negotiations are concluded.
Mr Macron had previously expressed his desire for Brexit talks to begin “as soon as possible”, reiterating the views of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU chiefs Guy Verhofstadt and Michel Barnier.
However, at a meeting with Theresa May earlier this week Mr Macron said “the door remains open” for Britain to rejoin the bloc for as long as negotiations are ongoing.
Brigitte Zypries conceded a reversal of the vote looked unlikely to occur
Talks over Britain's departure from the bloc will go ahead on Monday
Britain's Brexit minister David Davis and the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier are due to start negotiations over Britain's departure from the bloc on Monday.
This is despite the fact that Theresa May’s talks with the DUP are still ongoing.
The British PM had called the snap election in April to boost the Conservatives' majority but ended up losing seats to result in a hung parliament, so has been in talks with the hardline Northern Ireland party to boost her support.