German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas | Clemens Bilan/EPA Maas: EU should discuss whether to reopen Brexit deal Germany’s foreign minister says reopening Brexit deal would need approval of all EU27 members.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the EU will have to talk about whether to reopen the draft Brexit deal, but only if all EU members agree.

"In the end, it is about the question [of] whether the deal should be reopened, which would need the approval of all [remaining] 27 member states. This is what needs to be discussed now," Maas said late Thursday on German TV.

"The British have up to now always said what they don’t want. Now they must also say what they want," Maas said.

The EU has repeatedly warned the U.K. that there would be no renegotiation of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, despite Prime Minister Theresa May's failure to win support for the deal in the British parliament.

However, maintaining EU27 unity might become more difficult as the U.K.'s departure nears and the risk of a potentially damaging no-deal scenario remains.

AM @HeikoMaas zum #Brexit: Es ist kaum vorstellbar, dass das Austrittsabkommen wieder aufgeschnürt wird. Das haben wir immer sehr deutlich gemacht, und daran hat sich durch die Abstimmung in London nichts geändert. — Auswärtiges Amt (@AuswaertigesAmt) January 18, 2019

Maas revisited the issue early Friday, tweeting that it is "hardly imaginable that the Withdrawal Agreement will be reopened," adding "we have always made that very clear and the vote in London has not changed that."