UK needs to know consequences of Brexit, says EU negotiator

The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has said the British people need to be educated about the consequences of leaving the single market, the latest in a series of low blows traded by Brussels and UK government ministers after a bruising round of exit talks.

In remarks that are likely to enrage UK ministers, Barnier said Brexit would be “an educational process” for the British public who voted to leave the EU. “I have a state of mind: not aggressive ... but I’m not naive,” he told the Ambrosetti forum in northern Italy.

“There are extremely serious consequences of leaving the single market and it hasn’t been explained to the British people,” he said, according to the BBC. “We intend to teach people ... what leaving the single market means.”

Barnier’s comments to the annual economic conference follow a tense press conference in Brussels after the latest round of exit negotiations between the UK and EU delegations, where he said there had been “no concrete progress”.

He said there remained a lack of trust between both sides on crucial issues including the financial settlement and the rights of EU citizens, as well as the future trading relationship, as he accused the UK of a nostalgic and unrealistic approach.