The EU will 'never, never, never' compromise on the integrity of the bloc's single market when it comes to negotiating a trade deal with the U.K., according to Michel Barnier.
The EU's single market seeks to guarantee the free movement of goods, capital, services, and labor – the 'four freedoms' – within the EU.
"There will be no compromise on the single market. Never, never, never," Barnier said at Queen's University Belfast Monday evening. "It is our main asset on the EU side," he said. "Never will the EU compromise, fragile or unravel the single market, never," he said. When the U.K. leaves the EU on Friday January 31, it will remain a member of the single market but only during a "transition period" until the end of 2020.
"Leaving the EU, leaving the single market, leaving the customs union, it's the choice of the U.K., will have consequences. And what I saw in the past, in the last year, is that many of these consequences have been underestimated in the U.K., or not so well explained to the people," he said. "Now we have to face the reality and to be realistic."
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