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FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL Macron has suggested the UK could get a special trade deal with the European Union after Brexit.
However, he warned that Britain would not be able to have full access to the single market without accepting the EU’s rules.
In an interview with BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show, Macron said that the UK cannot “cherry-pick” the elements of the EU it likes.
He said that that the UK should not gain access to the single market without accepting its “preconditions”. These include budget contributions, freedom of movement within the EU and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.
Macron’s comments came during his first UK visit since becoming French president, during which he held talks with Prime Minister Theresa May.
When he was questioned on whether there should be a bespoke special solution for Britain, Macron said: “Sure, but this special way should be consistent with the preservation of the single market and our collective interests.
And you should understand that you cannot, by definition, have the full access to the single market if you don’t tick the box.
He said that as soon as a country decides not to join the EU preconditions, then it cannot be considered full access.
“There should be no cherry-picking in the single market because that’s a dismantling of the single market,” he said.
“What is important is to not make people believe that it is possible to [have your cat and eat it].”
Financial deal
During the interview, Macron said access to the EU just for the UK’s financial services sector was “not feasible” if the UK won’t accept the conditions of the single market.
He did, however, stress that he does not want to “unplug” the city from the EU.
“It doesn’t make sense because it’s part of the whole financing of our European Union,” Macron said.
I do respect this vote, I do regret this vote, and I would love to welcome you again.
“It’s a mistake when you just ask yes or no when you don’t ask people how to improve the situation and explain how to improve it,” he said.
Theresa May has repeatedly made it clear that the UK government does not wish to remain in the single market. She has, however, noted that a comprehensive trade deal covering goods and services is in the interest of both the UK and EU.
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That’s not a “special deal” then is it?
That’s Norway at best.
@Damocles: it will be a special deal, as in unique. who said a special deal should be a better deal? Why should they get a better deal than Norway?
The UK will do very well out of this and good luck to them.
“Have your cat and eat it”, try reading what you write before printing
@Michael Comaskey: I don’t see anything wrong with eating pussy when you have it
@Michael Comaskey: “eating is not cheating”..Arnie
Very skillful. Because he’s actually saying nothing new after his master stroke of getting the lending of the Bayeux Tapestry all over the UK news to universal acclaim.
@Mick Tobin: A good statesman.
Time to wake up UK you can’t have your cake and eat it.
I think that ultimately, pragmatism will prevail. Britain will give and get more or less what it always has, but the edges will be tweaked a bit to make it look like a new deal. This willl result in much hair pulling and gnashing of teeth by the hard righters, and may cause a Tory split and thus an election.
May should remind him who made the biggest contribution to liberate France in WW1 and WW2 .
@Tommy Whelan: WW1 The British Empire incl. Ireland, not just the UK. WW2 The USA by far made the biggest contribution. Your point being?
@Mark Andrew Salmon:
You could argue it was the Russians in WW2 by tying up enormous numbers of German soldiers but I get your point, it wasn’t the British.
@Mark Andrew Salmon: Ireland had left the UK by then
The UK voted to leave and that the only deal they will get. There is not a why they should get a deal. The deal is for EU countries only. If they get a deal, bye EU. They must get nothing.
The British had any sense they would call the EU’s bluff and go for a hard BREXIT. Any trade war will hurt the EU far worse than would hurt the UK. When hundreds of thousands lose their jobs in the EU because of a cut in exports to the UK their anger will turn on the bureaucrats and EU officialdom. Hundreds of thousands are employed in Germany alone because of motor and technology exports to the UK. If that number is cut because of a trade war how will Merkel and co justify it to the sacked employees?
@John Fergus: what a great tale, you should ask that question to the UK first.
@Ramón Nomar:
I’m not sure if it would hit the EU worse than the UK, but his underlying point is right – a hard Brexit would be damaging to the EU as well.
@Walt Jabsco: that’s something they should have thought before they voted, but the English just think about themselves. Everybody have diferente opinion, but the way I see it, is the English are cowards running away once they see trouble, creating divisions, when what we need is union to face the problem we have. They were expecting division after the voted, and as they couldn’t get it, now they want us to feel pity for them. We want them out and out fast without getting any deal. A union into a union doesn’t make sense anyways.
@Ramón Nomar:
So even if the EU is damaged (jobs are lost and less funding is available to support weaker countries) you still want a hard brexit to punish the British??
@Walt Jabsco: starting with the EU isn’t damaged, and not body is punishing the British, the voted to leave, and leave is leave. They are trying to be out of the union and have the same benefit as other EU country, and that is not posible, the EU is not letting them to do it, letting them to get whatever they want, and that is all the crying. The EU won’t let the UK to get the same benefits, calling whatever you want, punishment or rules.
Interesting photo.
Is Macron falling in love with Madame May?
¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪’The look of love is in your eyes
I can hardly wait to hold you
Feel my arms around you
How long I have waited
Waited just to love you
Now that I have found you’¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪
@FrankDapavia: he is “into ” older women Frank.
Give them nothing
@Oliver:
The Germans need to sell their cars though…
Have your CAT and eat it ???
@Gary Stonebox:
Well the French do have some very odd culinary tastes.
@Mad Hatter: the famine was going to happen whether you where independent or not . Every other fact you stated is a reality of what the Irish republic was up to the present day .
@Tommy Whelan: hasn’t been a famine in Ireland in a long time. there was a period in the mid nineteenth century where a lot of our food was taken and sent to Britain leaving our own to starve in the millions though. But that had nothing to do with Britain you say? How interesting and revisionist.
@Tommy Whelan:
there was no famine and the genocide wouldn’t have happened if the brits didn’t steal our food.
@sixmile: No one ‘stole’ the food. Local landowners simply carried on exporting it as they had done before the famine – if they had stopped the exports they would have been ruined financially. Ireland in C19 had an economy heavily dependent on agriculture – the famine was exacerbated by greed and indifference. But unless you have evidence of ‘the Brits’ systematically exterminating anyone with an Irish surname, or engineering the potato blight in a lab and then deliberately infecting potato crops, any talk of ‘genocide’ is nationalist myth.
@Harry Whitehead: those local landlords were British harry, we weren’t allowed own land back then. So British people in Ireland took food from Ireland to feed Britain and left the Irish to starve, reducing our population by 50% in under 5 years. It wasn’t just economics, it was weaponised starvation, or attempted genocide.
What did Merkel say though?
They should do what the irish goverment do keep asking until us plebs give the answer the goverment wants :-)
Typo, have your cat and eat it…..?
Heres Johnny
ok
GudBye
gb
Have your cat and eat it? Typo
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