LEO Varadkar has said the EU should “always leave a light on” for the UK in case it wants to rejoin in future.
Speaking to the Dáil – the lower house of the Irish parliament – ahead of attending a crunch European summit in Brussels tomorrow, the Irish premier encouraged his EU colleagues to remain friends with the UK.
“We should treat the UK with the highest respect, as we want to remain friends and close partners, and as we will still need to agree on our future relations. Neither side should be allowed to feel humiliated at any stage in this difficult process,” he said.
Varadkar went on to say that the EU should “always leave a light on” in case the UK decides to rejoin the bloc in the next 10 or 20 years.
🇬🇧💡🇪🇺🇮🇪
— Darran Marshall (@DarranMarshall) April 9, 2019
"We should always leave a light on for them should they ever decide to come back. Ultimately the United Kingdom is part of Europe. If they ever wish to return... we should welcome them with open arms." @LeoVaradkar on #Brexit pic.twitter.com/RlzHyzb8kk
He added that, even at this late stage, he would like to see Brexit cancelled.
The Taoiseach will fly to the Belgian capital tomorrow where EU leaders will discuss Theresa May's request to delay Brexit.
READ MORE: Theresa May arrives in Paris for talks with Emmanuel Macron
May spent time in both Germany and France earlier, meeting with the country’s respective leaders.
WATCH: Theresa May snubbed in Berlin as she arrives for Brexit talks
It comes as the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said Brussels could amend the Political Declaration on future relations with the UK "within a few hours or days" to incorporate the customs union arrangement being discussed in cross-party talks between the Government and Labour.
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