EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has just brought the Government back down to earth with a bang by shattering their illusions over post-Brexit trade.



Theresa May and David Davis say they want a trade deal that would secure the continuation of “friction-less trade” between Britain and the EU.

But Barnier said their ‘have your cake and eat it Brexit’ is “not possible” and suggested the Government “haven’t fully understood” the consequences of leaving the single market and customs union.

He definitively ruled out preferential treatment for Britain and set out the “major consequences” of operating outside the single market: tariffs and border checks.

Speaking in Brussels ahead of the next round of negotiations next week, Barnier said: “The decision taken by the UK to leave the EU will have major consequences. It is my duty to say so.”

His full speech to the European Economic and Social Committee can be read – in English and French – here.

But BBC Europe Correspondent Damian Grammaticas has perfectly summed up the devastating speech in 19 tweets:

EU chief negotiator @MichelBarnier "the decision taken by the UK to leave the EU will have major consequences. It is my duty to say so." — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief negotiator @MichelBarnier to UK “you cannot leave the Single Market and then opt into the sectors you like most” eg cars, finance — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief negotiator @MichelBarnier “the free mvmnt of goods, services and capital are indivisible, we cannot let the Single Market unravel” — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief negotiator @MichelBarnier “all 3rd countries must accept our autonomy to set standards” so UK must accept EU rules to trade — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief negotiator @MichelBarnier of his 3 basic points “I am not sure this has been fully understood in the UK” — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief negotiator @MichelBarnier “some in UK say you can leave the Single Market and keep all of the benefits. That is not possible.” — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief negotiator @MichelBarnier “some in the UK say you can leave the Customs Union and build frictionless trade. That is not possible.” — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief negotiator @MichelBarnier EU members “benefit from frictionless trade” because they participate in Single Market and Customs Union — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief negotiator @MichelBarnier “only the combination of a Single Market and a Customs Union allows goods to move around freely.” — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief neg @MichelBarnier to UK “by choosing to leave the EU you are moving yourself deliberately outside that border and those rules” — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief neg @MichelBarnier says UK leaving either Single Market or Customs Union will mean goods cannot move freely across borders — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief neg @MichelBarnier if UK is outside Customs Union will require “checks to determine rules of origin” of goods — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief neg @MichelBarnier if UK is outside Single Market will require ” a system of checks to ensure compliance with European standards” — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief neg @MichelBarnier “100% of farm produce will be subject to border checks. One of the fundamental challenges we face.” Irish border — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief neg @MichelBarnier “in classical negotiation ‘no deal’ would mean stauts quo. In Brexit ‘no deal’ means return to a distant past.” — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief neg @MichelBarnier “no deal would mean trade with the UK would fall under WTO” so return to tariffs eg on cars, lamb etc — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief neg @MichelBarnier “no deal wld mean v cumbersome procedures at borders and harm businesses that rely on ‘just in time’ processes” — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief neg @MichelBarnier ‘no deal’ “would worsen the lose-lose situation. The UK would have more to lose than its partners” — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

EU chief neg @MichelBarnier says “there is no punishment” of UK, “we want a deal” but makes clear he sees consequences for UK from #Brexit — Damian Grammaticas (@dngbbc) July 6, 2017

This could be one of those “possible branches of the future [in which] leaving will be an error” that Dominic Cummings warned us about.

Or, what Scrapbook likes to call…reality.