I mean, for the peace project to work, people have to participate. It shouldn't be at all surprising that the EU tried to prevent a major member from departing, and it shouldn't be surprising they're prioritizing their own needs after that exit.
Over the last decades many EU nations had referendums, and it was clear the majority of the people in many countries are agains further expansion of EU power. Yet the EU bureaucrats didn't listen and kept pushing as a result even more people feel alineated with the EU project, the Brexit is in direct line of these developments. And even now they still keep pushing.
No they didn't, the UK drew the red lines not the EU. The UK punished themselves. They could have gotten a Switzerland deal, a Norway deal, a Turkey deal, etc they decided they didn't like those deals.
This was not negotiated as a friendly trade deal as done with Canada, US, Swiss etc. It was clear they were doing something the EU doesn't want to make an example off. Tensions from both sides.
Edit: Aha, I understand know you mean they could have gotten the same deals as them. If you have sources for this, please share, but as far as I know this is not true. Take for instance this excerpt from the Financial Times:
"Slides presented to EU member states this week by the European Commission suggest it is looking for something far more sophisticated and hard-hitting for Britain. If Brussels has its way, the system will govern not just the two sides’ future trade relationship but several other partnerships in areas such as security and judicial co-operation, joint research, and aviation.
One of the key motivations for the EU is to avoid replicating the unruly jumble of agreements that govern its deep relations with Switzerland — whose population in 1992 rejected a proposal to join the European Economic Area. The two sides have subsequently built their relationship up over time, resulting in no fewer than 100 agreements governing their relations. "
Switzerland is part of the Schengen area and we regularly renegotiate (and vote on) new agreements.
Norway is also part of the Schengen area, but also part of the EEA (European Economic Area).
Turkey is part of the European Custom Union.
The UK decided to go its own way instead.
This interactive SVG gives a good overview: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Supranat....
CGP Grey did a great video in 2019, though it's of course a bit outdated now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agZ0xISi40E.
No, Canada and the US are literally an ocean away. The UK is so close you can swim there. The EU made it clear that a it makes no sense to have the same deal as a partner that is on the other side of the world than it does to have with a partner that is so close and have other interests and conflicts to discuss.
All the deals I used as examples are better deals than the Canada and US deals they were all offered and rejected by the UK.
The absence of a Swiss option was very well-known, even before the referendum, to anyone who paid any attention to actual EU policies. They see Switzerland as a mistake, ever since the country tried to walk back on its commitment to the four freedoms, and will absolutely not repeat that mistake ever again.