Pay us £50bn or we’ll cause air traffic chaos, warns EU
BRUSSELS last night made an extraordinary threat to disrupt flights to Europe and hold British goods at the border if the UK refuses to pay a £50 billion Brexit divorce bill.
The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the UK would pay a heavy price if it tried to walk away from the EU without paying for its ‘responsibilities’. In a mocking speech, he quoted Winston Churchill, saying: ‘The price of greatness is responsibility.’
Government lawyers have told Theresa May that the UK has no duty to pay a penny towards the EU’s ongoing costs after leaving. A report by a House of Lords committee this week reached the same conclusion.
Ministers privately accept they could end up making some form of payment in return for continued access to services we wish to remain a member of. But Theresa May has ruled out paying ‘large sums’ to Brussels.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said the Government will not pay the EU’s demands, and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has branded the demand from Brussels as ‘absurd’.
Dr Fox is among several ministers who have warned Mrs May privately that Tory MPS will not accept a bill of more than £3 bil- lion. But Mr Barnier yesterday threatened to play hardball – even hinting that the rights of 1.2 million British expats in Europe and 3.2 million EU citizens in this country could not be guaranteed unless a deal is agreed.
Mrs May has repeatedly said ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’, but Mr Barnier yesterday threatened to cause maximum chaos for the UK if a deal is not struck. He said failure to agree a deal would mean:
The reintroduction of Customs controls, leading to queues of lorries at Dover; ‘Severe’ air traffic disruption; Supply problems for British industry;
‘Total uncertainty’ for EU nationals in the UK and British citizens in the EU.
Mr Barnier declined to quote an exact figure, but Brussels sources indicated the divorce demand would be in the region of £50 billion. He insisted the payment would not be a ‘punishment’ of the UK for leaving the EU, claiming simply that ‘we must settle the accounts’.
He said the UK will have outstanding liabilities arising from various EU programmes which it helps to finance, agreed to as a member, and benefits from, including the European social fund, the regional development fund, the Juncker investment plan and the Horizon 2020 research programme.
Tory MP John Redwood said it would be illegal for ministers to make continuing payments to Brussels after leaving the EU and that the UK did not owe ‘a single penny’. But Mr Barnier said: ‘Each country must honour its commitments to each other.
‘When a country leaves the union, there is no punishment. There is no price to pay to leave. But we must settle the accounts.
‘We will not ask the British to pay a single euro for something they have not agreed to as a member.
‘In the same way, the 27 will also honour their commitments concerning the United Kingdom, its citizens, companies and regions. This is the mutually responsible way to act. If I may quote one of the greatest men of European history, Winston Churchill: “The price of greatness is responsibility.” That is true for Britain and for us.’
Mr Barnier also said EU nationals in the UK and British ex-pats on the continent will have to wait ‘several months’ before their postBrexit settlement rights can be guaranteed.
Mirroring Mrs May’s language, he said removing the uncertainty for both groups would be a priority in the exit negotiations. But he warned: ‘The issues at play are complex, whether they are residency rights, access to the labour market, pension or social security rights, or access to education.
‘ We will not leave any detail untouched, and we are already working with all member states on this. It will take time, several months certainly. We must do serious legal work on this with the United Kingdom.’
May warns: We’ll fight EU demand for £50bn ‘divorce bill’ From the Mail, March 10