Elmar Brok at a committee meeting on EU-U.S. relations | European Parliament German MEP calls for second Brexit vote Elmar Brok said a second referendum could avert a hard Brexit but rejected the idea of a public vote on any final deal.

German MEP Elmar Brok today backed the idea that the U.K. should go back to the polls to vote on whether or not to leave the EU, saying another vote could stave off a hard Brexit.

"If there is no withdrawal agreement by March 29, 2019, there will be a hard Brexit. A referendum in December or January, in which voters essentially decide on the U.K.'s exit from the EU, could avert a hard Brexit," Brok, a member of Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, told RND, Germany's largest publication network.

"The specter [of a hard Brexit] could be ended now with a new referendum on Brexit itself," the German politician said.

But Brok said he was against the idea, floated by some British politicians and campaigners, that Brits should be allowed to vote on any final deal Prime Minister Theresa May strikes with her Brussels counterparts, saying: "It would only worsen the situation if a deal is shot down."

Brok, who is the Brexit coordinator for the European People's Party in the European Parliament, was also critical of the EU's silence ahead of the first Brexit referendum, saying European politicians should have played a greater role in the British debate.

"Yes, it was a mistake that we followed the wishes of then Prime Minister [David] Cameron and stayed out of the campaign before the vote," Brok said. "We should have been more assertive in countering the lies told by Brexit campaigners."

The clock is ticking for Brexit negotiators on both sides, who hope to finalize the withdrawal agreement in October to allow the U.K. enough time to secure parliamentary approval for the deal before it formally leaves the bloc on March 29, 2019.