UK-German Ties Would Remain Friendly Despite Brexit

Relations between Germany and the United Kingdom will remain friendly even if Britain leaves the European Union (EU), but Brexit could lead to a weakening of the EU, as well as the global economy, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said.

LONDON (Sputnik) – The German finance minister added that the global economy would also suffer if British citizens vote against staying in the bloc, but said that relations between Germany and the United Kingdom would remain "as friendly as possible" in case of Brexit, even though the situation would be "different."

"I am sure Europe would be weakened by the Brexit [UK leaving the EU]," Schaeuble said on Thursday at the London School of Economics (LSE), stressing that it would also be "against British interests."

Last month, British Prime Minister David Cameron struck a deal with his 27 fellow EU leaders on reforms to be implemented in an effort to keep the United Kingdom in the bloc. The agreement was concluded following European Council talks in Brussels.

The deal paved the way for a UK in/out referendum (Brexit referendum), scheduled for June 23. The February 19 agreement to revise the bloc will only come into force if the British people opt for a future inside the European Union.

Cameron pledged to hold a referendum on the issue of Britain’s EU membership as part of his party’s campaign during the general elections in May 2015.

Ahead of the vote, Cameron was seeking to revise the terms of his country's membership in the bloc having outlined a number of demands to Brussels, including stripping the euro of its single official EU currency status, and protecting the British economy by keeping eurozone members away from non-eurozone countries’ affairs.

After the agreement with the European Union, Cameron said the deal delivers on all of his reform commitments and called on the British people to vote in favor of staying within the European Union as that would make Britain safer and stronger.