Eoupean union leaders are
not "bluffing" when they say the UK will be left without access to
the single market when it leaves the bloc if there is no free movement of people,
Malta's prime minister said.
Joseph Muscat, whose country assumes the EU's
presidency in January, told to BBC NEWS
"this is really and truly our position and I don't see it
changing".
Theresa
May says the UK will begin the legal process to leave the EU by March.
Mr
Muscat said talks on the details of a "new relationship" could be
delayed.
Much
political debate has focused on the possibility of a "soft" Brexit -
the UK retaining some form of membership of the single market in exchange for
conceding some control over immigration - and "hard Brexit" - leaving
the single market but having fuller control over migration.
But
Mr Muscat said the UK and EU needed to first reach agreement on a range of
other details once Mrs May triggers Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
He
said these included the bill the UK must pay before leaving, establishing what
will happen to the UK-Republic of Ireland border and working out interim
arrangements on issues like security.
Asked about a
suggestion from Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson that the UK could in theory
stay in single market and place limits on the freedom of movement of EU
citizens, Mr Muscat told the BBC "it's just not happening".
He
added: "All of us have been pretty clear in our approach that we want a
fair deal for the UK but that kind of fair deal can't translate itself into a
superior deal.
"I
know that there is absolutely no bluffing from the European side, at least in
the council meetings I have attended, saying 'we will start in this position
and then we will soften up'.
"No,
this is really and truly our position."
He
acknowledged the talks could get "complicated" and amount to a
"bit of a Catch 22 - it won't be a situation when one side gains and the
other side loses.
"We
are going to lose something but there will not be a situation when the UK has a
better deal than it has today".
Mr
Muscat also reiterated the view that even when a final or interim deal is
struck between EU leaders and Britain, the European Parliament may decide to
veto it in 2019.
His
comments come days after the UK's Brexit Secretary David Davis described his
meeting with the European Parliament's chief negotiator Guy Verhofstadt as a
"good start".
Mr
Davis said their pre-negotiations discussion had been able to cover structures
and how both sides propose to approach the Brexit talks, adding a deal was
possible that was in the interests of the EU and the UK.
The
UK government has said it does not want to reveal its negotiating hand on
Brexit before the talks take place.
The process to take the UK out of the European Union starts with invoking
Article 50 and will take at least two years
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