European leaders caution UK over post-Brexit EU trade negotiations

European leaders have cautioned the UK over the future of trade negotiations with the EU post-Brexit. The EU's three presidents delivered a statement on the future of the bloc in Brussels.

European Council president Charles Michel spoke of an "exceptional day" as the UK entered its final hours in the bloc.Mr Michel warned that UK access to EU markets would be more restricted once it has left.

"The more the UK will diverge from the EU standards, the less access to the single market it will have," he told a news conference in Brussels.

Read more about Britain’s last day in the EU here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/brexit/?W...

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said relations with the UK would never be as close once it is outside the EU.

"We want to have the best possible relationship with the United Kingdom but it will never be as good as membership," she said.

She quoted Jean Monnet, considered to be one of the founding fathers of the EU, saying: "We are not optimistic, we are not pessimistic, we are determined."

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