Britain sees link between EU's single market and freedom of movement - Merkel

BERLIN (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May's speech about her Brexit plans has shown that Britain understands the link between access to the European Single Market and accepting freedom of movement, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.

"There cannot be any cherry picking by Britain in Brexit negotiations," Merkel said in a speech at an economic conference in Berlin, adding that access to the bloc's single market was ultimately linked to accepting the EU's four freedoms - of movement of goods, capital, people, and services.

Merkel added that Britain's decision to leave the EU was a wake-up call for the other 27 member states and EU leaders must not focus solely on Brexit negotiations in the coming years but also deal with the future of the remaining members.

(Reporting by Michelle Martin and Joseph Nasr; Writing by Michael Nienaber,)