No Menu, No Shortcuts: Barnier Tells Britain the Single Market Is All or Nothing
Michel Barnier, the EU’s former Brexit negotiator, has warned that the UK cannot pick and choose which parts of the single market it wants. Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he said no “à la carte” option exists. His words came after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he wanted to explore closer economic ties with Europe, nearly six years after Britain left the bloc, reported by BBC News.
Barnier, who led the EU’s side of the Brexit talks from 2016 to 2021, insisted that the “door is open” for Britain to rejoin as a full member. But entering the single market, he said, means accepting the “four freedoms”: the free movement of goods, services, capital and people. “You cannot have one without the other,” he stressed.
That last freedom is the most sensitive of all. Free movement was at the heart of the 2016 referendum, and Sir Keir Starmer ruled out its return in Labour’s 2024 manifesto. Burnham has said he would not bring it back without a referendum, and Downing Street later clarified that he is not pushing for it now. Since taking office in July, he has hinted at a much warmer relationship with Europe, even full membership, though he has ruled out big changes before the next election.
Meanwhile, practical progress continues. Both sides hope to announce deals on food standards, youth visas and Britain’s link to the EU carbon market at a Brussels meeting in ten days.
Barnier also predicted that EU countries would refuse to restore Britain’s old budget rebate, calling it impossible in the “new situation” created by Brexit.
The interview turned sharper when he compared Nigel Farage to France’s Marine Le Pen, accusing both of populism and false promises. He pointed to the Vote Leave claim that Britain sent £350 million a week to the EU, calling it a lie. Critics say that figure ignored Britain’s rebate and the money the EU spent in the UK. Boris Johnson has defended it as an honest gross figure.
Farage, who was not part of Vote Leave, hit back, calling Barnier arrogant and a bully who proves Brexit was right.
