Yahoo Finance Brexit: Govt accepts it will settle ongoing financial obligations with EU
The UK has conceded for the first time that it will continue its commitment to any financial obligations to the European Union after it leaves the single market.
In a written statement by Brexit secretary David Davis, said the government ‘recognised’ its obligations to the single market “that will survive the UK’s withdrawal”.
A Whitehall source told the Times: “We have not been as explicit as this or put it in those terms before.”
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The UK is expected to be handed a €60 billion divorce bill from the EU as part of Brexit negotiations.
“On the financial settlement, as set out in the Prime Minister’s letter to President Tusk, the Government has been clear that we will work with the EU to determine a fair settlement of the UK’s rights and obligations as a departing member state, in accordance with the law and in the spirit of our continuing partnership,” he wrote.
“The Government recognises that the UK has obligations to the EU, and the EU obligations to the UK, that will survive the UK’s withdrawal—and that these need to be resolved.”
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The statement represents a marked change of direction compared to comments made by foreign secretary Boris Johnson earlier this week when he told the single state to “go whistle” over its proposed divorce bill for the UK.
Speaking in parliament, Johnson said: “The sums I have seen that they propose to demand from this country appear to be extortionate.
“Go whistle seems to me to be an entirely appropriate expression.”
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Responding to the comments, chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said the EU was not seeking to “punish” the UK in its negotiations.
“We are not asking the UK for a single euro or a single pound more than they have legally undertaken to provide,” he said.
“I am not hearing any whistling, just a clock ticking.”
On Thursday, government watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, issued a warning that Brexit could costs tens of billions to the UK economy.
In its fiscal risks report, the first of its kind, the OBR said lower productivity growth over a 50-year period could lead to the Treasury losing £36 billion in tax receipts.
