We’d lose £5bn perks by staying in EU
BRITAIN will be stripped of its special rights and forced to surrender its £5billion rebate if Brexit is dramatically called off, one of the EU’s leading MEPs proclaimed yesterday.
In a blatant attempt to take advantage of the UK’s political fragility following the election, Guy Verhofstadt said that Britain would bow to an empowered Brussels if it remains in the bloc.
The Belgian, who will spearhead the European Parliament’s veto of a Brexit deal, likened Theresa May’s task to Alice in Wonderland and demanded that negotiations begin.
His outburst followed claims from EU heavyweights earlier this week, including French president Emmanuel Macron, that Britain could change its mind about leaving. While the offer was extended by Mr Verhofstadt, the leading MEP revealed that the sce- nario would see the UK forced to make a wave of politically unfeasible concessions. He said: ‘Emmanuel Macron, the new French president, spoke about an open door. That if Britain changes its mind it would find an open door [back to the EU].
‘I agree. But like Alice in Wonderland, not all the doors are the same. It will be a brand new door, with a new Europe, a Europe without rebates, without complexity, with real powers and with unity.’
His comments reflect scorn felt by many Brussels leaders about the number of optouts enjoyed by the UK concerning contentious issues such as migration policy and joining the Euro. EU officials have also harboured resentment about the UK’s rebate, famously negotiated by Margaret Thatcher in 1984 – and which is currently worth around £5billion.
Addressing the European Parliament yesterday, Mr Verhofstadt accused the Prime Minister of creating economic uncertainty that is ‘affecting the UK dramatically’.
Despite the PM’s repeat insistence that talks will start as planned, he read out a series of ‘pressing’ questions aimed at Mrs May and insisting that the UK reveals its negotiating position.
‘Will the British position be the same as in the letter of March 29; the hard Brexit, or will the UK government take the outcome of national elections into account?’ he said.
‘Will the British negotiating position represent the position of the Tories or will it be the position of the whole nation? Party interest or national interest?’ He also called for the UK to clarify its position on the Northern Irish border and the rights of millions of EU citizens living in the UK.
The comments will infuriate Downing Street and be seen as an attempt to capitalise on Tory party in-fighting. They came amid speculation that leading cabinet ministers such as Philip Hammond are planning to revert to a ‘soft’ Brexit.
Leading Remain supporters have also raised the possibility of the UK holding a second referendum. But the claims were rubbished by former UKIP leader Nigel Farage during the European Parliament debate, who said: ‘The only certainty in this mess is that we will be leaving.’ As technical talks between the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier and British civil servants continue, Mrs May is expected to make her renewed Brexit pitch at a summit next week.