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The UK left the EU in January this year after almost four years of chaotic withdrawal talks. Theresa May, who became Prime Minister after the 2016 referendum, endured years of division and party infighting as her deal was defeated in the House of Commons three times. It was during her premiership that a Swedish Foreign Minister and former European Commission Vice President – Margot Wallström – made scahting remarks about the UK politicans leading Brexit talks. She said Britain’s approach to the issue was “dangerous” and “badly handled,” adding: “I just think that they’ve made such a historical mistake and they’ve really created a problem for all of us.

“I cannot forgive them for this.

“Our political project, the European Union, will suffer from this immensely and that has to be fully understood.”

Ms Wallstrom, a social democrat, accused the UK of taking its position in the bloc for granted, and questioned the decision to even hold a referendum on EU membership.

She continued: “You know what? This is because of bad political leadership for a very long time in the UK. I saw with all my years from the European Commission there was nobody who would defend their EU membership.

“You should not promise referenda if you don’t prepare them properly.”

Ms Wallstrom was an opponent of Brexit from the very start of the debate, saying before the referendum that the UK’s departure could break up the entire union.

She said in the buildup to the referendum that it “might affect other EU member states that will say: ‘Well, if they can leave, maybe we should also have referendums, and maybe we should also leave.'”

Polling in EU countries suggests that another country leaving the bloc is unlikely in the near future.

However, historian David Marsh told Express.co.uk that the eurozone could come under threat in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

The ongoing global recession has plagued the world’s biggest economies, including the EU.

The bloc managed to reach an agreement for a £675billion (€757billion) recovery fund earlier this year, although this has been held up by Poland and Hungary due to disagreements over democracy in the eastern European countries.

But Mr Marsh believes a southern state could ditch the eurozone, or that wealthier northern states could form their own bloc.

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He told Express.co.uk: “Sometimes crises lead to people coming together more – there’s the old adage that Europe is ‘forged in crises’.

“But of course you can have a crisis too far, and some crises end in the whole thing – in this case monetary union – blowing up.

“I think both of these possibilities are out there, and it’s difficult to tell which one is more likely.

“There is a chance the whole thing will come to an end, because the legitimate demands of the southern states won’t be possible for the northern states to meet, which could conceivably lead to a southern state leaving.

“The Northern States could even depart as a bloc.”

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