The Asian Age

Anger in UK over Brexit bill Negotiatio­ns not over on bill, says negotiator Barnier

- On the socalled

London, Nov. 29: Brexiteers and europhiles reacted angrily to reports on Wednesday that Britain will pay up to $ 63 billion to leave the European Union, putting pressure on British negotiator­s ahead of key talks.

London and Brussels have agreed that Britain will pay between $ 53- 63 billion, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The Financial Times reported Britain would cover EU liabilitie­s worth as much as 100 billion euros, but when structured as net payments over many decades that could drop to less than half that amount.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier refused to confirm the reports, calling them “rumours”.

“There is a subject which we are continuing to work — despite the claims or rumours in the press today, that’s the issue of financial engagement­s,” he told a security conference in Berlin.

Pro- Brexit supporters reacted with anger to the reports, with leading campaigner Nigel Farage calling the reported figure Berlin: The EU’s Brexit negotiator on Wednesday denied reports that Britain and the bloc have come to an agreement on the UK’s final divorce bill, saying that the “negotiatio­n is not over”.

“We read a lot of things on this subject in the press these days,” said Barnier, referring to reports in British media that London and Brussels have agreed on Britain’s financial obligation­s but had not settled on an

“utterly unacceptab­le”.

“For a sum of this magnitude to be agreed in return for nothing more than a promise of a decent exact amount for divorce bill.

But he stressed that “we still have work to do, the negotiatio­n is not over on this subject.”

The Telegraph has reported that London and Brussels have now accepted the British will pay between $ 53- 63 billion, with the final figure depending “on how each side calculates the output from an agreed methodolog­y”. settlement on trade represents a complete and total sellout,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

 ??  ?? Michel Barnier
Michel Barnier
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Justin Trudeau

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