Juncker – Tusk – Photo EU Council
(BRUSSELS) – There will be no single market a la carte, EU Council president Donald Tusk told Britain following the informal meeting of the leaders of the European Union in Brussels Wednesday.
The 27 leaders, who were meeting informally with British PM David Cameron to discuss the political and practical implications of ‘Brexit’, as well as beginning a debate on the future of the European Union, stressed that access to the single market requires acceptance of all four EU freedoms, including freedom of movement.
Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was also keen to make it ‘crystal clear’ that, while the EU hoped to have the UK as a close partner in the future, access to the EU’s internal market meant implementing the four freedoms “without exception and without nuances.”
No negotiation without notification
At “a serious moment in our common history”, leaders reconfirmed that Britain’s withdrawal from the EU must be orderly, and again said there would be no negotiations of any kind until the UK formally notifies its intention to withdraw from the Union.
On this point, Mr Juncker said he had instructed in writing all Commissioners and Directors-General not to discuss issues with individual representatives in the UK before notification.
The remaining 27 leaders did show a determination to remain united and to work closely together as 27 following the referendum.
Hints of further reform surfaced when leaders debated the future of Europe post-Brexit, as leaders acknowledged that too many people in Europe “are unhappy with the current state of affairs and expect the EU leaders to do better”.
Mr Tusk said Europe needed to get back to a time when it brought people hope.
After this first exchange of the 27 leaders after the British referendum, the leaders are now scheduled to meet again in Bratislava on 16 September to continue their talks.
