Germany's New CDU Leader, Industry Representatives Publicly Appeal To UK To Remain In EU

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the new leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), formerly led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, and over two dozen other prominent German politicians, industry representatives and artists have urged London in their joint letter published by The Times newspaper to remain in the European Union

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2019) Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the new leader of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), formerly led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, and over two dozen other prominent German politicians, industry representatives and artists have urged London in their joint letter published by The Times newspaper to remain in the European Union.

According to the newspaper, Kramp-Karrenbauer has become the most senior German political figure so far to publicly appeal to the United Kingdom to reverse the Brexit process, while the letter in general marked a major shift in Berlin's tone.

"Britons should ... know that we believe that no choice is irreversible. Our door will always remain open: Europe is home ... More than anything else, we would miss the British people � our friends across the Channel. We would miss Britain as part of the European Union, especially in these troubled times. Therefore Britons should know: from the bottom of our hearts, we want them to stay," the letter said, as quoted in the outlet's Letters to the Editor section.

Following the UK parliament's rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit agreement on Wednesday, which made a no-deal Brexit an increasingly likely outcome, President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) Dieter Kempf � who also signed the letter to The Times � warned that a "disorderly" withdrawal could impact the two countries' $199 million trade and cause a recession both in the United Kingdom and Germany.

German Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz joined other EU leaders in expressing dismay over the outcome of the vote in the UK parliament, saying that it was a "bitter day for Europe," but stressed that Germany was prepared for a no-deal scenario.

UK citizens chose to withdraw from the European Union in June 2016. However, since the beginning of negotiations with Brussels on the divorce conditions, anti-Brexit sentiments and calls for a second referendum have been gaining momentum in the country.