Britain's Brexit secretary David Davis has rejected suggestions that the UK will foot a €100 billion bill for leaving the EU, saying Brussels will only receive what it is legally owed.
Mr Davis said the European Commission could not set a “divorce deal” figure and dismissed as “laughable” reports that prime minister Theresa May would be barred from negotiating with her counterparts.
The European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned on Wednesday that it was an “illusion” to think that the process of Britain leaving the European Union will be quick or painless.
It had been believed Brussels was seeking up to €60 billion for Brexit, but added demands by the EU could send the figure soaring, according to the Financial Times. It said the UK could receive calls to contribute to post-Brexit farming payments and may be blocked from obtaining a share of EU assets, taking the bill above €100 billion.
Mr Barnier told a press conference in Brussels that the the so-called divorce bill was not a punishment of the UK for leaving, but simply a "settling of accounts".
Consistent sum
However, Mr Davis said the UK had not been presented with a consistent sum for its impending departure from the bloc.
“It was €50 billion at one point, €60 billion, €100 billion, we have not seen a number,” he told Good Morning Britain.
“We have said we will meet our international obligations, but there will be our international obligations including assets and liabilities and there will be the ones that are correct in law, not just the ones the Commission want.”
Pressed on reports that the eventual divorce figure could reach up to €100 billion, he said: “We will not be paying €100 billion.”
He added: “We will do it (negotiate) in the meeting, we will do it properly, we will take our responsibility seriously...What we’ve got to do is to discuss in detail what the rights and obligations are.”
Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes has warned that efforts by the EU to increase the bill presented to Britain for leaving the union could “wreck the Brexit negotiations before they start”.
“These reports of a €100 billion bill are utterly unhelpful. Putting such an over-inflated bill on the British could leave talks at a standstill from the start,” he said.
“It is clear that the UK will have to pay a substantial bill but there needs to be fairness. The Commission could be setting the stage for a very dangerous stand-off and Ireland stands to lose if the talks simply fail at the first hurdle.”
Mr Barnier said that the first phase of negotiations would focus on the financial settlement, the status of expatriate citizens and the future border between the UK and EU in Ireland.
“The UK must put a great deal of energy and effort into these three issues over the next weeks and months and that will increase the chances of making a deal,” said Mr Barnier.
Exluded
Mr Davis also claimed the EU could not bar Ms May from joining Brexit discussions at future EU heads of government meetings while the UK remained a member state.
According to reports, Brussels was plotting to limit Ms May’s Brexit discussions to direct meetings with the European Commission’s lead Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier. Such a move would run contrary to Ms May’s claim that she would be negotiating directly on the terms of Brexit with fellow leaders.
Mr Davis said Britain had “ every right” to attend every European Council meeting and will exercise its right.
“Just as we are obeying the laws of the Union, exactly to the letter, we are also going to expect our rights...The idea that somehow one side of the negotiation can dictate how the other side runs a negotiation is laughable.”
After reports that a meeting between Mrs May and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in Downing Street last week had seen tense moments, the prime minister appeared to toughen her stance.
Ms May boasted on Tuesday about being a “bloody difficult woman”, with Mr Davis agreeing on Wednesday that she was “tough-minded and decisive”, after she dismissed the leaked account of the dinner with Mr Juncker as “Brussels gossip”.
The prime minister told the BBC: “During the Conservative Party leadership campaign I was described by one of my colleagues as a bloody difficult woman.
“And I said at the time the next person to find that out will be Jean-Claude Juncker.”
* The Irish Government's position paper on Brexit can be found here.
PA