Brexit bill triggers big blows
EU warns of painful talks, UK says won’t pay ‘100bn euro’ bill
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned on Wednesday that negotiations will not be quick or painless, as Brussels and London traded blows over the size of Britain’s exit bill.
Unveiling his negotiating mandate for two years of talks, France’s Barnier denied the bloc was punishing Britain but insisted it must settle its accounts.
London in return hotly rejected a reported 100-billion-euro bill from the other 27 European Union states and warned it could simply walk away from negotiations if it is bullied.
Barnier refused to give an overall figure, but said this was not tantamount to demanding a “blank cheque”. “There is no punishment, there is no Brexit bill. The financial settlement is only about settling the accounts,” he said.
Barnier’s proposed negotiating mandate closely follows the guidelines unanimously agreed at a summit on Saturday by the leaders of the other 27 EU nations without Britain. It demands that before talks on a future trade deal can start, Britain must first settle divorce terms on money, the rights of EU citizens living in Britain, and the border in Northern Ireland.
British Prime Minister Theresa May wants the talks to run in parallel.
Britain’s Brexit minister David Davis said his country could simply walk away from the negotiations, following a report in the Financial Times that the estimated bill had soared from 60 billion to 100 billion euros. “We will not be paying 100 billion. In the walk-away circumstance there is nothing to be paid,” he said. — AFP