£160 BILLION IDS reveals the true cost of Brexit
THE European Commission has rejected calls for the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement to be rewritten after senior Conservatives complained it could leave the UK liable for £160 billion of unpaid loans.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the deal means we are “hooked into the EU’s But loan Brussels book”. said the commitments made in the Withdrawal Agreement – the divorce deal signed by Boris Johnson and the 27 EU members – are reasonable and will stand.
Sir Iain claimed that the UK’s liabilities go far beyond the £39bn divorce deal – although the full scale of the financial implications will depend on defaults on loans made available through the European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Financial Stability Mechanism.
Liabilities
EC spokesman Eric Mamer insisted that the Withdrawal Agreement is a “firm document” which is not going to be rewritten.
He said: “I think it’s very clear that we are not going to get into a debate with British politicians on liabilities.
“The Withdrawal Agreement is there, it is now a firm document that has been accepted by both parties.
“In this document it is clear that the UK has taken a certain number of normal legal commitments when it comes to its share of liabilities related to loans that would have been given by the EIB whilst the UK was still a member of the EU.”
He added: “What we can say is that the Withdrawal Agreement stands, that in it the United Kingdom has taken a certain number of perfectly reasonable commitments related to the time when it was still a member of the EU relating to its share of liabilities on loans given out by the EIB.”
Sir Iain claimed that the EU “want our money and they want to stop us being a competitor” and the Agreement “sadly helps them”.
He said the Agreement “costs too much”, “denies us true national independence” and “has to go”.
He claimed: “Britain faces a £160bn EU loans bill after Brexit.”