EU state of the union: Jean-Claude Juncker warns UK on single market

Mr Juncker spoke out against attacks on Polish immigrants in Essex

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has given his first State of the Union address since the UK's unexpected vote to leave the bloc.

He warned the UK that access to the internal market relied on the free movement of people. There could be no "a la carte access", he said.

Mr Juncker is aiming to rally the 27 countries staying in the EU to the challenges of migration and security.

The EU was not "at risk" from Brexit, he insisted.

But splits had led to "galloping populism" and Europe had to be protected from them.

In a blunt criticism of recent attacks on immigrants in the UK, he said he would "never accept Polish workers being beaten up and harassed on the streets of Essex".

Tusk warning

EU leaders meet in Slovakia's capital Bratislava on Friday - without UK Prime Minister Theresa May.

Late on Tuesday, European Council President Donald Tusk made his own intervention into the debate on the EU's future.

In a letter - traditionally written to leaders ahead of a summit - Mr Tusk suggested the EU should be mindful of its own ambitions in light of the Brexit vote.

"The keys to a healthy balance between the priorities of member states and those of the Union lie in national capitals," Mr Tusk said.

"The institutions should support the priorities as agreed among member states, and not impose their own ones."

That remark contrasted with Mr Juncker's insistence on Wednesday that "too often, national interests are brought to the fore" in Europe.

Later, he urged a renewed focus on the union as a "driving force that can bring about unification - for instance in Cyprus".

"Above all, Europe means peace - it is no coincidence that the longest period of peace began with the formation of the European community," he said.