Germany's finance minister says a relationship like that enjoyed by Norway and Switzerland "won't work" for the UK.
18:45, UK,
Germany has warned the UK it will not have access to the single market if it votes to leave the European Union on 23 June.
German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said a relationship similar to that enjoyed by Norway and Switzerland "won't work" for the UK and that "In is in. Out is out".
Norway has access to the tariff-free single market through European Economic Area arrangements. This means it has to accept most of the laws made in Brussels, accept free movement of labour and pay into EU budgets. Switzerland has a similar arrangement.
Some Brexit supporters have used the two countries as a model for what a non-EU Britain could be.
But Mr Schaeuble told news magazine Der Spiegel: "It would require the country to abide by the rules of a club from which it currently wants to withdraw.
"If the majority in Britain opts for Brexit, that would be a decision against the single market. In is in. Out is out. One has to respect the sovereignty of the British people."
Stronger In campaigner Lord Mandelson said: "This finally knocks on the head the Leave campaign's claim that we can leave the EU and still enjoy the benefits of the single market. We cannot leave the club and continue to use its facilities.
"This is the cold reality of Brexit that the British people must face."
But Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliott said: "There is no question about it, Britain will still have access to the Single Market after we vote Leave.
"It would be perverse of the eurozone to try to create artificial barriers - and would do far more damage to them than to anyone else."
Mr Schaeuble said that it would be a "miracle" if leaving the EU had no negative economic consequences for the UK, and said he and eurozone colleagues were already preparing to limit the potential impact on the rest of Europe.
He added that, although the EU could continue to function without the UK, other countries such as the Netherlands may be tempted to follow the referendum path.
"At some point, the British will realise they have taken the wrong decision," he said. "And then we will accept them back one day, if that's what they want."
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