UK will be in EU in five years, says Austria’s finance minister
The United Kingdom will still be a member of the European Union in five years' time, Austria's finance minister has said.
Hans Jörg Schelling told Handelsblatt, a Germany newspaper, that the UK may not even leave the EU after the referendum result, despite the Brexit vote.
He added that the EU needs to learn from the result that the EU needs to reform, including on key areas such as security, the single market and climate change.
Read more: More people are searching for Irish family ties after Brexit
“Britain will remain a member of the EU in the future," Schelling said. “In five years, there will still be 28 member states [in the EU].”
“When you look at all of those who want to move to the EU, it’s a wake-up call for Britain not to leave in the end.”
Read more: There's no need for a messy divorce – Europe should “consciously uncouple” from Britain
He added that the UK may end up not triggering Article 50.
However, he added that the longer it takes for negotiations to begin.
It comes after Austria's constitutional court last week ordered a re-run of May's election. The Freedom party candidate had come near to winning the vote.
[custom id="161"]