Mr Barnier said: “A no deal is not our scenario even though we would be ready for it. The no deal option comes up so often in British public debate but only those who ignore, or want to ignore, current benefits of EU membership would say no deal would be positive option.”
He said calls for the UK to “cherry pick” aspects of EU membership were not based in truth.
Mr Barnier said: “Those who claim the UK should cherry pick from parts of the single market should stop. The single market is a package with four indivisible freedoms. The UK knows these rules very well, like the back of its hand.
“The EU has set itself free from EU bureaucracy, some claim.
“Ladies and gentlemen, none of these views seem to offer a sound basis for going forward.”
He said some UK politicians are suggesting “Brexit does not mean Brexit.”
He added, turning Prime Minister Theresa May’s refrain against her: “Brexit means Brexit – everywhere.”
And he said future historians will see 2016, with Brexit and the US election result, as a “time of awakening”.
He said: “It was the time we realised the EU has to stand up for himself. Nobody will do for us what we don’t do for ourself.”
Mr Barnier spoke at a conference on ‘The Future of the EU’, hosted by the Centre for European Reform (CER) in Brussels.
The European Union’s chief negotiator delivered the keynote speech at the day-long event, which marks the launch of CER’s new Brussels office.
Also on the agenda is the future of the euro, Brexit, migration and security.
This is a developing story. More to follow…