Soros pushes for a second Brexit referendum within 1 year

The campaign for a second Brexit referendum will start “in the next few days,” according to George Soros.

Speaking at an event held by the European Council for Foreign Relations think tank in Paris on Tuesday, Soros described Brexit as an example of “territorial disintegration” and blamed it for impairing the workings of the EU, according to the Times.

Most of the damage is felt right now when the European Union is in an existential crisis, but its attention is diverted to negotiating a separation agreement with Britain. That’s a lose-lose proposition, but it could be converted into a win-win situation,” Soros said.

The 87-year-old billionaire backs Best for Britain, an anti-Brexit group that’s calling for a second referendum. He has reportedly donated more than £700,000 to the campaign.

The plan, which is set to be launched next Friday (June 8), will be a “roadmap to stopping Brexit” including a case for “why a soft Brexit is a disaster,” a senior group insider has told Business Insider.

This is exactly one year one from the date of the 2017 general election in which Theresa May lost her majority and arguably her mandate for a hard Brexit.

It will also lay out a case against the softer form of Brexit currently being pushed by Remain-backing MPs in the House of Commons. MPs in the Conservatives, Labour and other opposition parties are planning to vote for amendments to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill which seek to keep Britain in a customs union with EU and inside the single market.

The Hungarian-American has long been vocal about the vote to leave the EU, and previously said he refuses to “butt out” of the debate because the decision to leave was a “tragic mistake.”

Another referendum “would be good for Britain but would also render Europe a great service by rescinding Brexit and not creating a hard-to-fill hole in the European budget. But the British public must express its support by a convincing margin in order to be taken seriously by Europe. That’s what the Best for Britain is aiming for by engaging the electorate. It will publish its manifesto in the next few days,” Soros said.

Soros said he feared the EU could be heading towards another major financial crisis triggered by austerity and populist political parties intent on blowing the bloc apart.

Sounding the alarm as financial markets fell into turmoil on Tuesday amid a deepening political crisis in Italy, Soros said the EU had lost its way since the 2008 banking crash and required radical transformation in order to survive.

“The EU is in an existential crisis. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong,” he said.

However, Soros still thinks the EU needs reform. “The economic case for remaining a member of the EU is strong, but it will take time for it to sink in. During that time the EU needs to transform itself into an association that countries like Britain would want to join, in order to strengthen the political case,” he said.

Calling for an EU-funded Marshall-style plan for Africa worth about €30bn a year, he said migratory pressures across Europe could be relieved by helping developing nations. He called for the EU to abandon rules requiring member states to join the euro, lest they eventually combine with other EU rules to “destroy” the project altogether.

Echoing a call made by David Cameron before the Brexit vote, he argued for the EU to allow member states to pursue “multi-track” relations with the bloc, rather than “ever closer union”.

“Europe needs to do something drastic in order to survive its existential crisis. Simply put, the EU needs to reinvent itself,” he said.

This year, Soros moved to defy his critics over his £400,000 donation to Best for Britain by pledging an additional £100,000 to support efforts to fight Brexit. OSF’s total funding for pro-Europe campaigns and organisations is now at more than £800,000.