The EU’s former Brexit negotiator has warned Andy Burnham he will not be able to rejoin its single market “à la carte”, after the prime minister said he wanted to explore closer economic ties with Europe.
Burnham has said rejoining the EU’s internal market is among options he could pursue to reshape the UK’s long-term relationship with the bloc.
Speaking to the ‘s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg ahead of a summit in 10 days’ time, Michel Barnier said EU members would insist such a move require the UK to readopt conditions including the free movement of people.
Echoing a line made famous during the years-long negotiations over the UK’s exit deal, he said there could be no “cherry picking” of the conditions for participation.
Since becoming prime minister in July, Burnham has suggested he could commit Labour to pursuing a much closer future relationship with Europe, including asking to rejoin the organisation as a full member, though he has ruled out major changes before the next election.
Barnier – who led talks over the UK’s exit between 2016 to 2021 and had a three-month spell as French prime minister in 2024 – said the “door is open” within Europe to the UK rejoining as an EU member.
But he insisted that any move to rejoin the single market – which seeks to ensure that goods can be freely traded within Europe – would require the UK to follow the same terms as other members.
He added that this included compliance with regulations designed to promote the circulation of goods, services, capital and people, referred to collectively within EU institutions as the four freedoms.
Warning against the idea of a “single market à la carte”, he said: “I said very, very often during these negotiations, the Brexit, there is no cherry picking.
“There will be no possibility to have one freedom and not the other. The four freedoms are clearly the four conditions to be inside a single market”.
He also predicted EU countries would reject recreating the British financial rebate, first negotiated in 1985, that lowered UK contributions towards the EU’s annual budget.
The UK’s decision to leave the bloc had created “a new situation”, he added, meaning a new rebate would be “off the table”.