Former EU president to UK: ‘We still miss you’

A former top Brussels politician has a message for the United Kingdom: You’re still in our hearts.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who was president of the European Council from 2014 and 2019 during much of the Brexit negotiations, made the wistful declaration in a post on social media Thursday.

“We still miss you,” Tusk wrote, sharing a YouGov poll showing that support among Brits for the U.K.’s leaving the EU has plummeted to a post-referendum low of 30 percent. He added a winking-face emoji for good measure.

Tusk took a hard line in Brexit negotiations after Britain voted to leave the bloc in 2016, shooting down various proposals that would have allowed the U.K. to keep certain trade benefits after withdrawing from the EU.

He insisted Britain would have to choose between a “hard Brexit” and “no Brexit” and said there is a “special place in hell” for the people who pushed Brexit without a plan.

The U.K. formally left the EU on Jan. 31, 2020 — five years ago this week.