German Foreign Minister: Leaving EU Means Leaving EU – Britain Can’t Cherrypick

The draft Brexit agreement between Britain and the EU is a fair basis for an orderly departure from the bloc and there cannot be any cherrypicking when it comes to the benefits of being an EU member, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Thursday.

“We must do everything to avoid a hard Brexit. But what remains clear is that exiting means exiting – there can’t be any cherrypicking. With the compromise on the table, the EU has already accommodated Britain. This is a fair basis for an orderly exit,” Maas said on Twitter.

Meanwhile Britain’s weakened Prime Minister Theresa May arrived in Brussels on Thursday to lobby European leaders for help after she survived a parliamentary mutiny that highlighted the deadlock over Brexit.

May won the backing of 200 Conservative Party members of parliament versus 117 against, in a secret ballot that deepened divisions just weeks before parliament needs to approve a deal to prevent a disorderly exit from the European Union.

In Britain’s biggest decision for decades, Brexit has split the nation and will shape the future of its $2.8 trillion (£2.21 trillion) economy including London’s status as a global financial hub.

Pro-Europeans fear exit will weaken the West, already struggling to assimilate Russian and Chinese power as well as Donald Trump’s unpredictable U.S. presidency. Brexit supporters hail it as casting off a flailing German-led European project.

The six-point EU document said any assurances would not “change or contradict” the legally-binding withdrawal agreement struck last month after two years of negotiations.