Nicolas Sarkozy would offer Britain a chance to reverse its Brexit vote by negotiating a new treaty for the bloc with Germany immediately after winning back the French presidency next year, he said on Tuesday, reports the Financial Times.
Speaking to business leaders in Paris, the former French president said that if elected, he would fly to Berlin with a draft of new EU treaty the day after the second ballot of the presidential election to secure the support of German chancellor Angela Merkel. On May 8, the day after, he would travel to London.
“I would tell the British, you’ve gone out, but we have a new treaty on the table so you have an opportunity to vote again,” Mr Sarkozy said. “But this time not on the old Europe, on the new Europe. Do you want to stay? If yes, so much the better. Because I can’t accept to lose Europe’s second-largest economy while we are negotiating with Turkey over its EU membership. And if it’s no, then it’s a real no. You’re in or you’re out.”
Mr Sarkozy’s proposal may encounter big hurdles, namely Berlin’s reluctance to overhaul the EU institutions and Ms Merkel’s own electoral constraints with federal polls in September 2017. But the idea highlights how fluid the negotiating positions of the EU’s two largest members remain on Brexit ahead of crucial elections.
Theresa May, the UK prime minister, has indicated she will not trigger Article 50 of the EU treaty, which would set the clock ticking on a two-year negotiating period to complete exit talks, this year. But she has stopped short of saying when she would do so. Last week, Downing Street denied claims made by Boris Johnson, foreign minister, that Mrs May had committed to activating the article early next year.