EU Trade commissioner has warned that Britain will not be allowed to roll over its EU trade agreements after Brexit, reports James Crisp in Brussels.

“That is frankly their problem,” said Cecilia Malmström at the EU Trade Policy Day .

She warned that the UK will have to leave trade agreements with Canada and South Korea, for example.

She also said that even a trade deal would not mean 100 per cent frictionless trade. You can only have that in the single market, she said.

She will be in charge, potentially, of the UK-EU trade negotiations.

Asked how she will divide up the work on a Brexit trade deal, she said:

That remains very much to be seen because first of all the European Council have to give the green light. They might do so in 10 days, they might not. I know as much or as little as you on that. There was a lunch yesterday, it was not conclusive, there are some works still to be done and we all know that. Once they give the green light they will have to tell us what to do, whether we should start the scoping of a future trade agreement and then we will have to sit down with the extremely competent team of Michel Barnier to try. Because that is not over, there are thousands of things to solve in the divorce process that will not land on our table, but I presume that DG trade at one moment will be asked to start coping and the preparations for an FTA. “But we’re not really there yet so these discussions will have to start as soon as there is a green light.

Questioned on whether the UK can roll over its EU trade agreements, she said:

“No I don’t think so frankly. That is frankly their problem. When they leave the EU they also leave the trade agreements that they have been part of and how they want to deal with this, well.”

Pushed further on what would happen if the UK asked the Commission to help them roll over, she replied:

I don’t think that is possible, no. They leave the EU. Unless they are part of the Customs Union, but if they leave the EU they have to leave these trade agreements, that’s nothing new. There has been talk of a transition period - that is something that will be decided. But the other trade agreements with the third countries, with Canada, with South Korea and others they will have to leave.

Will you be putting up barriers rather than taking them down for the first time?