ZCZC
BCN-42
EU-POLITICS-BREXIT-TRADE
Juncker: Brexit Britain can’t be in ‘parts of single market’
STRASBOURG, France, Sept 12, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – EU Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday undermined a key part of Britain’s plan to
quit the bloc, warning that London cannot expect to remain in parts of the
single market.
In an address to the European Parliament, Juncker said he respects
Britain’s decision to leave.
“But we also ask the British government to understand that someone who
leaves the union cannot be in the same privileged position as a member
state,” warned the head of the EU’s executive arm.
“If you leave the union you are of course not part of our single market
and certainly not only in parts of it,” he said, to a round of applause from
the lawmakers in Strasbourg.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s so-called Chequers plan for Brexit would see
Britain retain access to the market for trade in goods under a “common
rulebook” with the remaining members.
But European negotiators say membership of the single market is
indivisible from accepting EU regulations, meaning Britain would have to
negotiate a trade deal as an outsider.
BSS/AFP/HR/1410