Theresa May’s hopes for striking unique deal in Brexit trade talks dealt blow as EU negotiator warns UK must ‘face the consequences’ of leaving
Michel Barnier said Britain must choose between existing models such as the ones governing Norway and Canada
THERESA May’s hopes for striking a unique deal in the Brexit trade talks have been dealt a blow as the EU’s chief negotiator warns the UK must “face the consequences” of leaving.
Michel Barnier said Britain must choose between existing models such as the ones governing Norway and Canada’s relationship with Brussels.
His comments serve as a thinly-veiled rebuke to the Prime Minister’s promise to deliver a “red, white and blue Brexit”, a day before she updates MPs on last week’s crunch European Council summit.
It comes after a defiant Mrs May hit back at the Brexit wreckers who caused her defeat in Parliament and vowed: “I won’t be derailed.”
She brushed off all the rows and clashes of the past week as background noise by those wishing to “talk Britain down”, hailing her success in the first phase of EU talks.
Insisting she would see the process through to the end, the PM has repeatedly said she does not want a Norway-style relationship with the EU.
Arguing it would involve remaining in the single market and keeping unlimited immigration, she has said she wants closer ties than a Canadian-style trade deal would allow.
But Mr Barnier said the EU "won't mix up the various scenarios to create a specific one and accommodate their wishes".
In an interview with magazine he said: "The most difficult part remains to be done. It is also probably the most interesting. But the British have to understand it cannot be business as usual.
"We are ready to start working with the government on the three axes it has indicated: exit from the Union, exit from the single market, exit from the customs union.
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“But the clock is ticking. The deadline of March 29 2019 is their own doing."
He added: "They have to realise there won't be any cherry picking.
“We won't mix up the various scenarios to create a specific one and accommodate their wishes, mixing, for instance, the advantages of the Norwegian model, member of the single market, with the simple requirements of the Canadian one.
"No way. They have to face the consequences of their own decision."