Macron Says Immigration Is 'More Complicated Than Before' While Calling Brexit 'Biggest Lie' in 30 Years

Leaders are still talking about Brexit, a decade after Britons voted to leave the European Union (EU), a move formally implemented in 2020. The topic has been revived with Prime Minister Andy Burnham mentioning several options for Britain's future relationship with the EU, after claiming that Brexit had 'done more harm than good.'

French President Emmanuel Macron shares the sentiment, calling Brexit the 'biggest lie.' Macron was in Spain for a two-day state visit when reporters asked the French and Spanish leaders about their comments on Burnham's plan to return to the European Union.

'Welcome Back!'

Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said they would welcome the UK back to the fold. However, Macron also said: 'Brexit is the biggest lie of the last 30 years. Those who said, "we'll be more rich"—eight points less of GDP ten years later.'

The French leader was referencing the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) through its working paper titled 'The Economic Impact of Brexit', initially released in November 2025 and revised in June 2026. 'By the end of 2025, Brexit had reduced UK GDP by 6% to 8%, with the impact accumulating steadily over time. We estimate that investment was reduced by 12% to 13%, employment by 3% to 4% and productivity by 3% to 4%,' the report stated.

Complications in Immigration

Macron also criticised Brexit for complicating immigration. 'Who said, "we'll solve the problem of immigration"? It's more complicated than before,' he also said.

This was not the first time Macron raised the immigration complication when talking about Brexit. During a 2025 state visit to the UK, Macron told reporters his honest assessment of Brexit while standing beside then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

'However, it is since Brexit that the UK no longer has any migration agreement with the EU. So, for people wanting to cross, there is no legal... way in, nor a way of sending people back after a crossing. This is a pull factor to attempt the crossing: exactly the inverse effect of what Brexit promised,' said Macron.

Following Brexit, the UK lost access to the EU's Dublin system, which had provided a framework for determining which member state was responsible for examining an asylum claim and transferring applicants between countries. However, the UK and France have since agreed on bilateral arrangements to address illegal Channel crossings.

What Did Brexit Promise?

The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford summed up the Brexit promise: 'The UK could not control immigration while it remained a member of the EU. Experts on both sides of the referendum debate agreed that leaving the EU would reduce migration. For many voters, that was a pretty compelling argument.'

Now that Burnham is revisiting plans of rejoining the EU, PM Sánchez said: 'Brexit was a huge loss both for the British people and for the European project as a whole. If the United Kingdom were to make such a decision, Spain would welcome it with open arms and once again embrace our friends in Britain.'

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also supports a return to the EU. He said: 'Ten years after the referendum, the sunlit uplands promised by the Brexiters have proven to be a total fiction. Instead, Britain finds itself battling an economic and geopolitical storm.'