Germany has become the latest European country to back Britain’s return to the EU following Andy Burnham’s suggestion Brexit could be reversed.
Mr Burnham has reopened Britain’s Brexit debate this week, having said it’s “possible” Labour’s next election manifesto could include a referendum on rejoining the EU,
Germany’s ambassador to the UK, Susanne Baumann, told the Telegraph she was “glad” to hear the prime minister’s fresh approach to Europe.
“For us Germans, the UK is an integral part of Europe – its history, its present and its future. I was therefore glad to hear the prime minister speak about different options for the UK’s relationship with Europe,” Ms Baumann said on Thursday.
“It is, of course, for the British people to decide how close they want that relationship to be. But let me be clear: in Germany you will always find a partner for setting the ambition as high as we can.”
Her intervention comes after the leaders of France and Spain also backed Britain returning to the European Union on Wednesday.
French president Emmanuel Macron saying it would be “excellent news’ and “a good decision” if Britain decided to rejoin, while Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez said Britain would be welcome back to the EU "with open arms".
Mr Macron welcomed Mr Burnham’s comments but warned there would be no halfway house on membership requirements.
“As for Great Britain, when it wants to re-engage with us, being on the outside poses a problem: you cannot pick and choose among the union’s freedoms, nor can you decide to take only what suits you while rejecting the rest,’ he cautioned in a joint press conference with Mr Sanchez on Wednesday.
Before entering Downing Street, Mr Burnham had said he wanted to see the UK back in the EU within his lifetime.
Asked on Sky News whether he stood by that, he said: “I said in my lifetime and I’ve said that I’m not going to pull back from that.”
The prime minister also told ITV News that if public opinion was “pointing towards” backing re-entry, he could commit to holding a vote on the issue in the next manifesto.
He also declined to rule out skipping a referendum and fighting the next general election on a promise to rejoin.
The prime minister, who has blamed Brexit for a decade of drift and division, has declared it was “not good enough” simply to leave the issue “hanging” and vowed to look at the “pros and cons” of all options regarding the UK’s future relationship with Brussels.
One of the options was to “go all the way” and resume full membership, he told the BBC’s Today programme.
However, former EU Brexit officials have previously warned that the UK would not enjoy “exceptional” terms if it decided to rejoin the EU.
While the EU has been clear that the UK would be allowed to rejoin should it want to, it is unlikely it would be allowed to on the same terms it had before.
The UK could have to join the Euro if it wanted to return, join the Schengen passport-free zone, and it would be unlikely to get the rebate it negotiated previously.
