German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble speaks during a news conference at the 2016 World Bank-IMF Spring Meeting in Washington April 16, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Any vote in Britain to leave the European Union would mean the country’s departure from the bloc and could not be used to renegotiate its membership, Germany’s finance minister said on Thursday.

“This is the only deal on the table,” Wolfgang Schaeuble told a conference in Frankfurt. “An ‘out’ vote cannot and will not be used ... to get a better deal.”

“If the UK votes in, this deal will apply immediately. If it votes out, then the exit process begins.”