Won’t accept EU’S ^47.5-bn Brexit bill: UK

The United Kingdom government said it doesn’t accept the European Union’s assessment that London owes the bloc ^47.5 billion ($56.2 billion) as part of the Brexit settlement, a higher figure than the UK had originally estimated.

“We don’t recognise that figure,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman Jamie Davies told reporters Friday. The UK’S “estimate remains in the central range of 35 to £39 billion” (40.8 to ^45.5 billion), he said, and full details will be published in parliament shortly.

The EU assessment, which was published in a budget document, is aimed at accounting for the UK.’S ongoing commitments to EU programs it’s still benefiting from, as well as other obligations to the bloc. The bulk of funds are due to the EU in the coming years.

The accounting seems likely to trigger new discussions with the UK, which estimated in 2018 that the total bill would amount to ^41.4 billion.