STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The draft Brexit agreement endorsed by the British government on Wednesday will allow Britain to leave the European Union while keeping a close relationship with the bloc, the European Parliament’s point man on Brexit said.

“While I hope one day the UK will return, in the meantime this agreement will make a Brexit possible, while maintaining a close relationship between the EU and UK, a protection of citizens rights and the avoidance of a hard Irish border,” former Belgian premier Guy Verhofstadt said in a statement.