Prof De Rynck, who has served as an adviser to EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier during talks with Britain, insisted a no deal would be better than putting the integrity of the single market at risk. The Belgian consultant warned the British Government European Union leaders are "mindful" about the risks of not striking an agreement with the UK but would be willing to accept the result to protect the single market. Speaking in London on Tuesday, Prof De Rynck said: "I think we should not underestimate we’re still in the situation where we need to be very mindful and vigilant on the integrity of the single market.
"The whole discussion on reopening the withdrawal agreement also has to be seen on that context – which is also one of the reasons why it’s generally not possible.
"The UK Government is clearly still on that line of thinking and so we’re very mindful about the fact that the integrity of the single market is still a crucial issue, Leaders are incredibly mindful about that as well."
He continued: "I think everybody has made the calculation that yes, a no deal is more costly than the withdrawal agreement but going down on a slippery slope that would lead to damaging the integrity of the single market would be tremendously more costly.
"The cost of no deal will never be higher than the cost of disintegrating the single market."
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