UK cannot 'cherry pick' EU single market deal, Barnier tells BBC

The EU's former Brexit negotiator has warned Andy Burnham he will not be able to rejoin its single market "à la carte", after the prime minister said he wanted to explore closer economic ties with Europe. Burnham has said rejoining the EU's internal market is among options he could pursue to reshape the UK's long-term relationship with the bloc.

Speaking to the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg ahead of a summit in 10 days' time, Michel Barnier said EU members would insist such a move require the UK to readopt conditions including the free movement of people. Echoing a line made famous during the years-long negotiations over the UK's exit deal, he said there could be no "cherry picking" of the conditions for participation.

Barnier - who led talks over the UK's exit between 2016 to 2021 and had a three-month spell as French prime minister in 2024 - said the "door is open" within Europe to the UK rejoining as an EU member.