‘Brexit is irreversible’ Tory MEP's swipe at Verhofstadt amid suggestions UK may REJOIN EU
After Guy Verhofstadt, the Brexit negotiator for the European parliament, said Britain could return to the bloc but without the perks it receives under current agreements, Mr Hannan thanked the former Belgium prime minister for playing into the hands of Brexiteers. He tweeted: “Thanks, Guy, for making it clear to even the most dreamy Remain voter that Brexit is irreversible.”
GETTY Guy Verhofstadt said the door is open for the UK to rejoin the EU until the end of Brexit talks
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Verhofstadt told the European Parliament: “Yesterday, Emmanuel Macron, the new French president, spoke about an open door. That if Britain changes its mind it would find an open door. "I agree. But like Alice in Wonderland, not all the doors are the same. "It will be a brand new door, with a new Europe, a Europe without rebates, without complexity, with real powers and with unity." Mr Verhofstadt's comments echo remarks made by Mr Macron on Tuesday at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Theresa May.
TWITTER Mr Hannan's response to Mr Verhofstadt's comments earlier today
Brexit debate in pictures Mon, April 17, 2017 The debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg will focus on key issues of the Brexit talks including reciprocal rights for EU citizens, the peace process in Northern Ireland and trade Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 23 Former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage (L) gestures as he speaks with EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker (R) prior to a debate on the conclusions of the last European Council, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg
He said: "Of course the door remains open, always open until the Brexit negotiations come to an end." Both Mr Verhofstadt and Mr Macron were clear that the door would close once Britain formally leaves the EU at the end of Brexit talks, currently scheduled for March 2019. From that point, Britain will have to formally apply for membership if it wants to join - a process which takes years to negotiate.
TWITTER Mr Hannan pictured with fellow Tory Craig MacKinlay on election day
Mr Verhofstadt is a supporter of closer integration in the EU and backs the idea that national governments should hand over more powers to Brussels. The 64-year-old is also a longterm critic of the rebate that former prime minister Margaret Thatcher secured for Britain in the 1980s, which allows the UK to retrieve around half of its EU budget contributions. Britain also enjoys a permanent opt-out from joining the single currency and can pick and choose on some justice and police policies – special arrangements that irritate some politicians who think they make the EU too complicated. Mr Verhofstadt was speaking ahead of an EU summit next week, where Mrs May will face all EU leaders for the first time since her General Election gamble failed to pay off and she lost her parliamentary majority. Mr Verhofstadt has criticised Mrs May and the Conservative party repeatedly in recent days, claiming the decision to leave the EU was the result of an “internal dispute in the Tory party”.
GETTY On Tuesday, Mr Macron said the door is 'open until the Brexit negotiations come to an end'