Former EU Brexit negotiator Barnier interviewed by BBC: UK cannot be "choosy" about single market agreement
Author, Paul Seddon
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Author, Matt Spivey
Published 2 minutes ago
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The EU's former Brexit negotiator warned that the UK cannot be "picky and picky" about what parts of the single market it participates in, after Andy Burnham said he wanted to explore closer economic ties with Europe.
The British Prime Minister has said that rejoining the EU's internal market is one of the options he may take to reshape UK-EU relations nearly six years after leaving the EU.
But Michel Barnier told the BBC program Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that EU member states would insist that the UK re-accept certain conditions, such as free movement of people, in exchange for market access.
He said there was no "a la carte menu for the single market" where the UK could choose what to adopt.
Barnier led the EU's Brexit negotiating delegation from 2016 to 2021 and served as French Prime Minister for three months in 2024. He said Europe still had an "open door" for Britain to rejoin as an EU member.
But he insisted that any move to rejoin the single market would require the UK to adhere to the same conditions as other members. The single market allows goods to move freely without border controls.
This includes complying with rules designed to facilitate the movement of goods, services, capital and people, he added. These rules are collectively known as the "Four Freedoms" within the EU system.
"It is impossible to have one freedom without the others. The four freedoms are obviously the four conditions for being in the single market."
Since becoming prime minister in July, Bayend has said he might commit to Labor seeking closer future ties with Europe, including applying to rejoin the group as a full member. However, he has ruled out making major changes before the next election.
His predecessor had struck a series of deals with the EU covering different areas of post-Brexit UK-EU interaction.
The two sides hope to use a meeting in Brussels in 10 days to announce agreements on food standards, youth visas and reconnecting British industry to the EU's carbon emissions trading mechanism.
Among the four freedoms: free movement of people, free movement of goods, free movement of services and free movement of capital, free movement of people was one of the key issues during the 2016 Brexit referendum. This mechanism allows EU citizens to live and work in other EU countries without a visa.
Bayend's predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, had ruled out restoring free movement of people in the UK in Labour's 2024 election platform. If we advocate restoration again in the future, it will become one of the important differences with the Conservative Party and the British Reform Party.
Bayend said in a recent interview that he would not restore free movement of people without a referendum. The remarks prompted Downing Street to clarify that he was not currently advocating a return to the system.
He has previously said he hopes to put forward "different options" for relations with Europe at a summit in Brussels later this month and then try to reach consensus with the British public on a new bilateral relationship.
Barnier also predicted that EU countries would refuse to reinstate the British fiscal rebate system. The system, originally negotiated in 1985, allows the UK to reduce its contribution to the EU's annual budget while it remains a member.
He said Britain's departure from the EU had created a "new situation" and therefore new rebate arrangements would "not be considered".
"False promises and lies"
Barnier also compared Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to French politician Marine Le Pen. "We have our own Farage too. That's Ms Le Pen. The same populism, the same lies, the same false promises," he said.
Asked by Laura Kuenssberg to explain the "lies" he was referring to, Barnier said: "For example, when Mr Farage and Mr Johnson promised that the British people would get back £350 million a week, that was not true and could not happen. That was a lie."
Johnson is one of the key figures in the "Vote Leave" camp that supports Brexit. The camp had previously been criticized for a slogan on its campaign bus, which said Britain paid 350 million pounds (US$460 million, 3.3 billion yuan; NT$14.7 billion) a week to the EU and read: "Let's use this money to fund the National Health Service (NHS)."
Johnson said in 2017: "Once we close the books we will regain control of about £350m a week. If, as many have pointed out, a lot of that money goes into the NHS, that will be a good thing."
Critics point out that the £350 million per week figure is an approximation, representing the UK's "total contributions" and does not take into account the UK's £75 million per week rebate, nor does it take into account the EU's investment in the UK.
