Majority of Germans support the UK rejoining the EU

A new YouGov poll has found that the majority of Germans would support the United Kingdom rejoining the European Union, but support drops when respondents consider the details of a so-called “Breturn”.

Most Germans would support the UK rejoining the EU

63 percent of people in Germany would support the UK rejoining the EU, according to a new poll by YouGov. 26 percent of respondents said they would “strongly support” the UK rejoining the EU, and 37 percent said they would “somewhat support” a “Breturn”.

The poll surveyed the public in five EU member states, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Denmark. The strongest public support for a “Breturn” was found in Denmark, where 72 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat supported the notion.

60 percent of respondents in Spain supported a UK rejoin, compared to 53 percent in France and 51 percent in Italy.

Finer details of the UK rejoining the EU weakens support

However, the poll also found that support for the UK rejoining the EU declined when respondents were asked to consider the terms under which the UK would rejoin.

Asked if the UK should be able to rejoin the EU on the same membership terms as were in place before Brexit - for example, being permitted to use the pound and being exempt from Schengen border rules - support fell. 

Just 22 percent of respondents in Germany said they would support the UK rejoining the bloc on the old terms. More Germans (36 percent) supported the UK rejoining the bloc if the country did so on old terms and was not allowed any further exemptions to EU rules applied in other member states. 

Since Brexit, support for the UK rejoining the EU has also increased in the UK. 54 percent of the population is currently in favour of rejoining the bloc. In May, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Labour) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced amendments to their post-Brexit deal, but the changes were fairly limited on both sides. 

While Starmer is working to strengthen ties between the UK and the EU, particularly with London, Paris, Brussels, and Berlin, the UK government has made no suggestion that it plans to rejoin the bloc.