German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday that it is better to initiate another round of negotiations between the United Kingdom and Brussels concerning the Brexit deal than to allow a hard Brexit to happen.
“Before it comes to hard Brexit, it would be better to hold another round of negotiations than to deal with what hard Brexit means, namely, great damage to both sides,” Maas told reporters upon his arrival at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.
At the same time, answering a question whether UK exit from the European Union could be postponed to a later date than the elections to the European Parliament in May, Maas said that “the further the deadline is extended, the harder the issue becomes.”