U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May may be able to convince the EU to compromise on a “bespoke” trade agreement after Brexit, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.
According to the BBC, Macron said a future arrangement could fall somewhere between a Canada-style free trade agreement and a Norway-style deal with access to the single market.
“For sure you will have your own solution,” the French leader said in an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr to be aired Sunday.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier had indicated that the U.K. could choose between a Canada or Norway model but not the middle way May is pushing for.
However, Macron ruled out the possibility of the U.K. being part of the single market without accepting the EU’s rules on freedom of movement, financial payments to EU funds and accepting European Court of Justice rulings.
“This special way should be consistent with the preservation of the single market,” said the French president. “You can’t buy, by definition, full access to the single market if you don’t tick the box.
“As soon as you decide not to meet those preconditions it’s not full access. So it’s something perhaps between this full access and a trade agreement,” he added.
POLITICO‘s Sunday Crunch will have full details of the Macron interview.
