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Speaking to the Guardian, Röttgen, a prominent member of Angela Merkel’s CDU governing party, said both sides needed to make concessions to reach an agreement if a catastrophic no-deal was to be avoided.
He said: “In my opinion and from the outside, the only way Britain is to reach a reconciliation and end these deep divisions through society is if it holds a referendum in which no one can say, after two years of deep discussion, they did not know the consequences of Brexit. Very few knew the full consequences of Brexit after the first referendum.”
He said he supported a three-choice referendum in which voters chose between the government deal, a no-deal Brexit and remaining in the European Union.
Röttgen also joined criticism of Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, for using his party conference speech on Sunday to liken the European Union to a Russian prison.
“Everyone understands the requirements of a party conference, but this rhetoric was disproportionate, and outside the boundaries of reasonableness. It will be remembered after the party conference. It matters that the foreign secretary shows responsibility in his language.
“We thought the Boris Johnson-type rhetoric was gone and over, so it is sad to see it replicated again. He is one of the most senior figures in government and responsibility is required.”
In one of the first signs that Germany may be willing to take up at least part of Theresa May’s Chequers proposals, Röttgen said the EU should be prepared to give the UK access to the single market in relation to goods, but not services, in return for the UK accepting EU rules and the customs union for goods.
He said the EU could in return offer unspecified concessions on free movement. Setting up an architecture allowing the frictionless movement of UK goods – in effect inside a customs union – would effectively solve the Northern Ireland border problem, he claimed. [...]