Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
£100bn battle of bills
THREE French words favoured by Michel Barnier could land Britain a £101billion Brexit bill.
The EU chief negotiator has come up with a formula which would see the UK still contributing to EU coffers six years after we have left on March 29, 2019.
Barnier’s French catchphrase, “reste à liquider”, translates as “yet to be paid”.
And it sent a chill down the spines of MPs sitting on the Commons Brexit
Committee who met him. Because it would mean coughing up the money we would have paid into the EU had we stayed in the club for the 20192025 budget round.
HAMMERED
And on top of that we will still have to stump up the cost of existing pension and legal commitments.
That is why Britain wants to settle its cash payment after an overall trade agreement has been hammered out. No deal, says Barnier.
Tory committee member Craig Mackinlay, who battled Nigel Farage in South Thanet in 2015, said of Mr Barnier: “He’s fixated on the money, the Irish border and citizens’ rights.
“He wants those sorted first and he’s not giving ground.”
If we lose to Mr Barnier we can still get the £101billion down to £75billion with some nifty negotiating – because Brexit Secretary David Davis will argue that Britain would have got £26billion of that back in rebates.
The question now is who will blink first and put a firm figure on the table. The smart money is on PM Theresa May fluttering her eyelids with a £40billion offer – and no “reste à liquider”.