Claiming that allowing exemptions to EU rules on migration would lead to a free-for-all across the bloc, German Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled a growing reluctance to grant any special trade relations to the U.K. once it leaves the European Union.

There are growing fears that U.K. risks a so-called hard Brexit, whereby it gives priority to controlling migration over seeking as much access as possible to the EU single market of some 500 million people and Merkel’s comments to Germany’s BDI industry lobby in Berlin on Thursday are a further indication to that fact.

The chancellor reiterated that there will be no talks before the time British Prime Minister Theresa May’s timeline of triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by the end of March. This was referred to in her speech. Even after that point, “there will be no easy negotiations,” she said.

Merkel told an audience of business leaders that “how much access to the single market does Great Britain get, and in a reciprocal way, how much access to the British market do we get” is the central question.

“And how ready are we to link this access politically so that the four freedoms are defended,” she said.

There has been a marked limited willingness shown to bend on adherence to the core EU principles of free movement of goods, services, capital and people by Merkel, just like her fellow EU leaders. Curbing immigration from EU countries following June’s shock referendum result to quit the EU is now believed to be the focus of May’s government – an issue that upended British politics and brought her to power.

Granting exemptions to the rules for the U.K. would create an “extremely difficult” precedent, said Merkel, who holds authority both as the head of Europe’s biggest economy and the EU’s longest serving leader.

On Thursday, she explained that statement made on Wednesday.

“If we don’t insist that full access to the single market is tied to complete acceptance of the four basic freedoms, then a process will spread across Europe whereby everyone does and is allowed what they want,” she said.

On the issue of granting of access to the bloc’s single market is linked to freedom of movement in negotiations with Britain, Merkel stressed that the European Union must stand firm by its position.

“If we don’t say that full access to the single market is linked to full acceptance of freedom of movement, then everyone in Europe will start doing what they want,” Merkel said in Berlin.

Meanwhile, she said that she was also confident that the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada would be completed by the former.

“(Being an) open society also means being open for global trade .. we have made good progress on CETA now and in the European context you can expect that we will get the signing and ratification,” Merkel said.

(Adapted from Bloomberg)

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