The haggling over the UK’s Brexit bill is about to begin. After months of legal jostling, British negotiators have signalled their readiness to discuss specifics of the EU’s demands for a financial settlement.
[...]At a Brussels meeting last week, the UK side asked what the basis for calculations would be “if” Britain were to pay a share of EU financial liabilities. One senior EU official says the conversation is moving from whether Britain should pay, to the question of “what is fair”.
For progress at a vital summit next month, the two sides need to close the gap between the €20bn offered so far by London and the EU’s estimate of British liabilities — about €60bn net and up to €100bn gross.
But any agreement to pay the EU billions of euros will prove hugely sensitive in Britain. The domestic political imperative is clear for Theresa May, prime minister, to reduce the bill. To do so will require difficult, potentially lengthy negotiations. Every day it takes jeopardises the prize Britain seeks: a transition deal agreed early enough to be useful for the private sector.
[...] the Financial Times looks at how Britain could reduce the Brexit bill, basing its calculations on confidential European Commission estimates circulated this year. These are the issues set to become battlegrounds in the weeks ahead. If Britain were to win every argument, it could in theory bring the bill down to about €32bn in net terms. But even British officials doubt they will prevail so comprehensively. [...]
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