The EU’s bullying over Brexit is predictable and futile in equal measure

SIR – I do not understand the furore surrounding the Brexit negotiations (report, May 3). What we are seeing is exactly what we might have expected.

For years we have witnessed the strange edicts coming out of Brussels, and the effect these orders have had on our lives. We know that the EU does not tolerate disobedience.

The Remainers – including those political leaders who would have us sink down on our knees – need to grasp the reality of the situation. We must show the people of Europe that freedom can be achieved. Many others will follow our path. Mick Ferrie Mawnan Smith, Cornwall

SIR – What is the point of trying to negotiate with a body that says: “nothing is agreed unless everything is agreed?”

You do not build a house from the roof down. You put in the right foundations first. Therefore we have got to agree the fundamentals to start with, before we discuss the details. If the EU sticks to its declared negotiating principle, then we have no option but to be autocratic. Bob Salmon Greetham, Rutland

SIR – The EU has adopted the same approach to Brexit that it took with Greece during that country’s bail-out discussions.

Yet Greece was (and remains) in a parlous economic situation, and was seeking assistance from the EU. Britain, meanwhile, is one of the fastestgrowing economies of the G7. The situation could not be more different.

I believe it is beginning to dawn on many Germans that they will have to plug the gap in the EU budget when the EU’s second-largest net contributor leaves.

That is why the leaking of the Downing Street dinner discussions by the EU was to a German newspaper – to deflect attention from this funding gap in an election year in Germany. David Swan Banbury, Oxfordshire SIR – Our budget contributions to the EU far outweigh the benefits we receive. Many EU meetings and conferences are being held without British participation. It also seems unlikely that many new British projects will now be funded by the EU.

Would it not be sensible, therefore, to suspend our contributions? The EU could then practise managing without our money, and we would be able to fund our own schemes. John Russell Plymouth, Devon

SIR – Does the president of the European Commission not realise what he’s up against in claiming that Britain owes a substantial divorce settlement?

According to the January 2016 issue of Tatler, London is the “divorce capital of the world”. The magazine helpfully listed 10 top divorce lawyers, who – even at over £600 per hour – would surely be worth hiring. Andrew Smith Chelmsford, Essex