Brexit negotiator Barnier says UK cannot ‘cherry-pick’ its way back into EU single market

The Independent · Camille Chorley · 2026-11-08 11:34 UTC

Michel Barnier has said the UK cannot choose which parts of the EU single market it joins, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham due to unveil a series of deals with the EU in Brussels later this month. The EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg (8 November) that he did not believe a “single market à la carte” was possible. Asked whether Britain could rejoin without free movement, Mr Barnier said he had repeated “very, very often” during the Brexit talks that “there is no cherry-picking”. He added that the “door is open”, but that any return would be the UK’s “sovereign choice”.

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