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May Still Not Confronting Realities of Brexit, EU’s Barnier Says

  • EU’s chief negotiator responds to prime minister’s speech
  • U.K. can’t get ‘advantages of partnership’ when not a member
Michel Barnier, chief negotiator for the European Union (EU), speaks during a news conference as Brexit negotiations resume in Brussels, Belgium.

Michel Barnier, chief negotiator for the European Union (EU), speaks during a news conference as Brexit negotiations resume in Brussels, Belgium.

Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/Bloomberg
Updated on

European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier ramped up the pressure on Theresa May a week before a crucial summit, telling her she still needs to face up to the cold realities of Brexit as he ruled out some of her biggest demands.

In a blunt response to May’s speech earlier this month, in which she set out her post-Brexit vision, Barnier said the prime minister still didn’t get that the EU wouldn’t accept her having the best parts of EU membership if she didn’t play by the bloc’s rules. The Frenchman’s curt remarks expose the vast divisions between the two sides with a year to go before the U.K. leaves the bloc, and demonstrate the difficulty in reaching a final trade accord.