Michel Barnier: Britain needs to be shown the 'consequences' of Brexit
2 min read
Britain must be taught a lesson about the "extremely serious consequences" of quitting the European Union, according to Michel Barnier.
The EU's top negotiator said Brexit should be "an educational process" for the UK.
Mr Barnier's hard-hitting comments, made at a conference in Italy, came after David Davis accused him of being "silly" for saying little progress had been made in the negotiations so far.
"I have a state of mind - not aggressive... but I'm not naïve,"said Mr Barnier.
"There are extremely serious consequences of leaving the single market and it hasn't been explained to the British people. We intend to teach people… what leaving the single market means."
His remarks are likely to infuriate UK ministers at a time when relations between London and Brussels are becoming increasingly strained.
On the Andrew Marr Show yesterday, Mr Davis took a swipe at the EU's refusal to discuss future trade deals until progress is made on the UK's divorce bill, the Irish border and citizens' rights.
He said: "That's the point about the Europeans. They won't talk about the future. They'll only talk about so-called divorce proceedings."
Mr Davis went on condemn Mr Barnier personally, but then backtracked by insisting he had been talking about the European Commission as a whole.
He said: "Of course he wants to put pressure on us, which is why the stance this week in the press conference - bluntly, I think it looked a bit silly, because there plainly were things that we achieved."
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