NEWS · 09 February 2023
Britain can "reverse Brexit inside a decade".
You've heard us here at Stay European say it before. But now the Financial Times is saying it too.
Their chief foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman outlines the pathway well: polls show an average of 58% now favour Rejoin, rising to 79% among the youngest voters (18-24). Opinion is shifting fast and "the public are running ahead of the politicians".
He adds: "Eventually politicians will have to respond — and the idea of rejoining the EU will become mainstream."
Now, every time we send an email about Rejoin, the number one question we get is: "would the EU even have us back?"
So we also want to let you know what Michel Barnier, former chief Brexit negotiator and still a top figure in the EU, said when he was asked during a recent visit to London:
"It is not for me to give advice to say you have to join or not to join. It will be your choice...
"The door on the EU side will remain open any time – for you and some others. If Switzerland or Norway were to change, the door is open. Everybody knows the conditions."
He is not alone on this. In fact, every time EU politicians are asked the question, they make it clear: the UK would be welcomed back.
"They wouldn't have us back" is the biggest myth about Rejoin, but it's far from the only one.
That's why we are currently preparing a major project that will help to spread the facts about Rejoin and how it is possible, answering the big questions people have.
