Brexit proposals to be submitted soon

BRITAIN would submit proposals on how to settle its divorce bill with the EU before a summit next month and is expected to negotiate hard, Finance Minister Philip Hammond said yesterday.

The EU told Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday that there was more work to be done to unlock the Brexit talks, repeating its early December deadline for her to flesh out Britain’s opening offer on the financial settlement.

“We will make our proposals to the EU in time for the council,” Hammond told the BBC, referring to the December 14 to 15 meeting of EU heads of government.

He was speaking three days before he sets out Britain’s budget plan, where he will have to find room within tight fiscal constraints to help May convince voters that the Conservative government is tackling Britain’s domestic problems at the same time as negotiating its EU exit.

Last week, May met fellow EU leaders to try to break a deadlock over how much Britain will pay on leaving the bloc, an issue threatening to derail British hopes for a negotiated exit and an agreement on a new trading relationship by March 2019.

May has signalled she would increase an initial offer that is estimated at some e20 billion (R335bn) – about a third of what Brussels wants.

But Hammond, who has been criticised by supporters of Brexit for being too conciliatory towards Brussels and lobbying for a “softer” exit, said Britain would take a tough stance about how much it owes.

Agreement

“There are some things that we’re very clear we do owe under the treaties, other things where we dispute the amounts or even whether something should be included,” Hammond said.

Asked about the prospect of Brexit without a trade deal, Hammond said he was “increasingly confident” that an agreement could be reached because it was in the interests of both parties.

Despite scepticism in Brussels over the tight timetable, May and her chief negotiator David Davis have been clear they want to have a full postBrexit free trade deal sealed by the time Britain leaves. – Reuters