DUBLIN (Reuters) – Britain could crash out of the European Union without a deal, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Tuesday, urging British lawmakers to back an agreement that Prime Minister Theresa May sealed with the bloc last year.

“Even a no-deal scenario is still an option — despite the serious damage that this would cause on both sides,” Maas said in a speech at Ireland’s annual ambassadors’ conference.

He added that the EU would not accept a hard border separating EU-member Ireland from the British province of Northern Ireland.