'We want our MONEY!' France in incredible attack on Britain over Brexit bill
FRANCE’S Economy Minister has told Britain it must pay what it owes to the European Union (EU) for its outstanding spending commitments.
Barnier slams UK for not accepting Brexit bill
Bruno le Maire, 48, told the country’s Economic Affairs Committee that the payment was a non-negotiable prerequisite for the Brexit talks as the UK leaves the bloc.
Mr Le Maire said: "I will say what Margaret Thatcher used to say: We want our money back.
"We can always debate on the amount but on the fact that the United Kingdom must pay what it owes to the budget of the European Union, it is a non-negotiable prerequisite at the start of the (Brexit) discussions.”
French Economy Minister Bruno le Maire has said Britain must pay its Brexit bill
The British government has said it did have debts to the European Union but the debate between the two sides surrounds just how much is outstanding.
While the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier has not put a figure on the sum, estimates have ranged from £17.7 billion to £88.4bn (€20bn to €100bn).
However, any final figure could also hinge on the final deal on the table regarding the future relationship Britain has with the bloc after Brexit.
I will say what Margaret Thatcher used to say: We want our money back
Conservative backbench MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has been the latest voice to urge the Brexit Secretary David Davis to not simply “bow down and obey” the EU.
He said in a radio interview with the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage: “I think we have been so negative about our own position and we’ve assumed that when the EU says it wants to negotiate in a particular way or the order of the negotiations, that’s holy writ and we must just bow down and obey, but we shouldn’t do that.”
Mr Rees-Mogg also called for the EU to produce the evidence of what the UK owed.
Brexit Secretary David Davis and Michel Barnier at the start of the second round of talks
He stated: “They’re expecting us to set out what we intend to give them in terms of money and we’ve said ‘no, you prove it, show us what we actually owe you, come up with some figures’.
“And that’s very difficult for them because our strict legal obligations, as you know very well, are nil.”
Mr Davis has promised to “challenge” the EU’s calculations and would scour every aspect of the “extortionate” demands.
French Economy Minister Bruno le Maire has called for the UK to pay its Brexit bill
Conservative backbench MP Jacob Rees-Mogg
He said in a statement to a House of Lords committee that “proper approach to get the right outcome in the negotiation” would be to “challenge” the EU’s calculations.
Mr David told the committee last week that British officials had been engaged in interrogating the EU’s position on the so-called Brexit bill “on a line-by-line, almost word-by-word basis.”
The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson sparked alarm within the EU last week when he branded demands for payment as “extortionate,” adding that the bloc could “go whistle” for the money.