European Council President Herman Van Rompuy | Julien Warnand/EPA Herman Van Rompuy to UK: Want single market, accept free movement Former European Council president warns that Brexit talks will be difficult.

If Britain wants to stay in the single market, it must accept the EU's free movement rules without exception, according to former European Council president Herman Van Rompuy.

“I cannot imagine special treatment for Britain if they want access to our market of goods and services,” Van Rompuy told the Guardian in an interview published Thursday.

The former Belgian prime minister warned that Brexit discussions would be difficult because the U.K. and EU "have conflicting interests.”

“The starting point for each of them is their own interests and the interests are at this stage … rather far away,” Van Rompuy said. “In principle, you can always find compromises. But there will be one major difficulty. You cannot negotiate different treatment for Britain compared to the other 27."

Van Rompuy said Brexit was akin to an “amputation” for the EU. “We are losing credibility,” he said. “We are losing in terms of reputation.”

But he warned that the damage would be worse for the U.K. than for the EU. “Europe is much more important to the British economy than the British economy is important to the 27," he told the Guardian.

Van Rompuy dismissed claims that the EU should have done more to prevent Brexit and said he doesn’t expect other countries to follow suit and seek to leave the EU.

“The responsibility for the defeat lies in Britain and only in Britain,” he said. “The British example is frightening for a lot of people; they see only chaos and uncertainty in an already uncertain world.”

Van Rompuy will not play a role in Brexit talks. His former chief of staff, Didier Seeuws, will head the EU’s Brexit taskforce.