EUROPEAN UNION ‘ISN’T FIT FOR PURPOSE’ CLAIMS GUY VERHOFSTADT And with the Brexit transition period coming to an end on December 31, Professor Zdzislaw Krasnodebski said he and many of his

colleagues fully understood Britain's reasons for quitting the bloc. Prof Krasnodebski, a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group and the head of the ECR's EU

Reform Working Group, said the bloc was at a dangerous crossroads. He told Express.co.uk: "We now have this pandemic crisis which also makes weaker states weaker and stronger ones

stronger. "I think in many cases Brussels has been struggling to exert pressure on member states." Highlighting dissatisfaction within Italy, he warned: "Salvini was very

European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen (Image: GETTY) Professor Zdzislaw Krasnodebski said many understood the "rationality" of Brexit (Image: PA) Prof Krasnodebski

acknowledged the way the bloc had developed, and the push for an "ever closer union", had been a catalyst for Brexit. He said: "I always thought that the reasons for Brexit

was not just a sudden decision of the British people but also due to the internal problems and evolution of the EU. "We regret, of course, that our British colleagues left. READ MORE: 

PUTIN WARNING - RUSSIA'S LEADER MUST STAY IN POWER FOR HIS OWN SAFETY Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator (Image: GETTY) RELATED ARTICLES "The official line of the

Parliament is that Michel Barnier is negotiating on behalf of the whole union, all the countries and all states. "But I can say in my personal opinion and for us in Parliament,

partnership with Britain is important." Prof Krasnodebski said he could see "a great amount of rationality" in British determination not to be bound by EU regulations after

the end of the year. The level-playing field argument was also used as an excuse for defending EU interests, he suggested. DON'T MISS FURIOUS EUROSCEPTIC ITALIAN MEP PUTS BRUSSELS ON

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[COMMONS] Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Image: GETTY) Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy's Lega party and the country's former interior minister (Image: GETTY) He added: "It is

in the interests of the EU, of continental Europe to have a free exchange with Great Britain. "We should not be inclined to force our laws on Great Britain." Prof Krasnodebski

said: "I can't speak for my country but I think there are many colleagues in the same political group, probably when we are talking about it we share this view that they should be

more flexible. "And sometimes we have an impression that maybe this is because of this attitude that no country can be better off outside of the union than inside." Brexit

timetable (Image: Express) Speaking last week, Prof Krasnodebski called for a "truly open and fair debate" on the future of Europe. He said: "We believe that efforts should be

made to restore the Union as a European community of sovereign nations, based on a Eurorealistic vision of a confederate Europe that respects the rights and democratic legitimacy of the

Member States. "We must strengthen its spiritual foundations. "If we are to learn anything from the history of the 20th Century, then it should be to understand how dangerous it

can be to attempt to completely rebuild societies." David Frost, the UK's trade deal negotiator (Image: GETTY) RELATED ARTICLES He added: "Nations feel that they are slowly

being deprived of the right to self-determination. "And citizens see that the EU is increasingly interfering with their lives. "The European Union is becoming more and more

detached from being European, turning its back on its cultural, philosophical and religious traditions. "We must make it European again in the proper sense of the word."