Brexit is ‘lose-lose deal’: EU finance chief says ‘door is open’ for referendum U-turn

Mr Moscovici also insisted he would welcome a U-turn by Britain on its decision to leave.

The EU bigwig said: “To be honest, I think Brexit is a lose-lose deal. The United Kingdom has a lot to lose from Brexit, but then again so does Europe.”

The French Socialist added in an interview with the French news channel CNews, Europe 1 radio, and the newspaper Les Echos: “To lose a state which is both a permanent member of the [United Nations] Security Council and a great economic partner creates all sorts of problems.”

But the British must accept that they “cannot have their cake and eat it too,” he warned.

Mr Moscovici, a former finance minister under left-wing president François Hollande, said: “Being out [of the EU] means you cannot be in the EU… The British cannot have all the advantages of the single market and customs union without the obligations.”

However, the “door is open” should Britain want to go back on its 2016 decision to withdraw from the EU, the bloc’s chief economist said when asked whether he was in favour of a second Brexit referendum.

He said: “The door is open. If the British want to change their minds, very well. But I remain sceptical: the British voted [to leave the EU], and I respect this vote even though I regret it.”

We must – and this before the end of the year – negotiate an accord that will allow [the EU] to have the closest and friendliest possible future relationship with the UK, Mr Moscovici added.

The EU commissioner also said that he supported president Emmanuel Macron’s drive to widen France’s sphere of influence in order to turn it into Europe’s largest and most powerful economy post Brexit.

France must boost its attractiveness and economy if it is to make the most out of Brexit, Mr Moscovici said.

EU leaders agreed in December that enough progress had been made in the first phase of Brexit negotiations to move talks onto trade and a transition pact.

The focus on the second phase will be on a transitional programme to cover the period immediately after Britain’s official exit from the bloc in March 2019.