Boris Johnson said the UK would not pay the full £39 billion Brexit divorce bill yesterday, in a stark warning to Brussels. He made the remarks during his visit to the G7 summit in Biarritz, where he has held talks with Donald Trump and the EU Council President Donald Tusk. No. 10 lawyers predict the final sum could be as low as £7 billion, after concluding Britain wouldn’t be part of a planned transition period if they left with no deal.
But is the Prime Minister right to withhold the financial settlement, agreed by Theresa May, if the UK is forced to leave the bloc without a deal?
Express.co.uk asks you, our readers to vote on just how much Britain should pay the EU if a no deal Brexit takes place.
Should the UK be forced to pay the full £39 billion, a reduced fee, or pay nothing at all?
Some Remainers have vocally criticised Mr Johnson for saying he is willing to scrap the financial settlement.
Jonathan Lis, a Remainer who is deputy director of the pro-EU think tank British Influence, criticised the Prime Minister for being prepared to “renegade on commitments and default on our debt”.
But others fully support Mr Johnson’s endeavour, with Tory MEP Daniel Hannan stating the divorce bill wouldn’t be upheld in court and added that “the UK has never accepted this sum as a liability.”
Another Brexiteer agreed, and said: “Under the EU (Withdrawal) Act the UK Parliament must pass a further Act to ratify the Withdrawal Agreement to put it into law.
“That clearly hasn’t happened and therefore there is no legal obligation on the proposed monies or anything else.”
JUST IN: ‘Shame on you!’ Hammond ordered to ‘get behind country’ after Brexit letter to Boris
He later told Sky News that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel “understood the reality of the £39bn bill”.
Mr Johnson said: “What the entire EU understands is that if we come out without a deal, then the £39bn is not pledged.
“It has been made clear. Merkel and Macron understand that.”
He also claimed that there had been a dramatic “change of mood in the EU in the last few days” following his trips to Berlin and Paris.
Despite the improved tone from EU allies, Mr Johnson said it remained “touch and go” whether a deal was achievable.
He insisted that Britain would be able to “easily cope” under a no deal scenario.
The British leader said: “I think we can get through this, this is a great, great country, the UK, we can easily cope with a no-deal scenario.”
EU sources have claimed that Mr Johnson’s no deal tactics have started to crack EU unity.
Several member states have started to question whether the EU’s stance is too hardline.
Credit: Source link
Discussion about this post