Michel Barnier has warned that Theresa May’s Chequer’s deal will spell the “end” of the European project and the Single Market.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a German newspaper, warned that Britain will not be able to “cherry pick” what it wants from Brexit.
He said: “The British have a choice. They could stay in the single market, like Norway, which is also not a member of the EU, but they would then have to accept all the regulations and make contributions to European solidarity.
“But if we let the British cherrypick which of our regulations to follow, that would have serious consequence: all sorts of other third countries could insist that we offer them the same deal. That would be the end of the single market and the European project! I am often accused of being dogmatic in the UK, but the truth is I’m only protecting our fundamental interests.”
He says that it would be “much easier” if Britain stayed in the Customs Union, which the Prime Minister has said is a clear red line. The Prime Minister is facing mounting pressure from both the European Union and Tory Eurosceptics to abandon her Chequers plans.
