Economic advisors to Angela Merkel’s government have called for Germany to intervene to prevent Brexit from going ahead.

“An exit of the United Kingdom from the EU would not only mean an economic loss, but above all a bigger political loss,” the Council of Economic Experts wrote in their annual report, which was released on Wednesday.

“The best outcome of the upcoming negotiations would therefore be if a Brexit could be averted.”

In a formulation that will give hope to those who wish to prevent a hard Brexit and retain some access to the single market, the report called for “constructive negotiations to prevent an exit, or at the least to come to an agreement that minimises the damage on both sides”.