Britain to promise 20 billion euros in Brexit bill: FT

[LONDON] British Prime Minister Theresa May will promise to pay a Brexit divorce bill of at least 20 billion euros (S$32 billion), according to officials cited by the Financial Times.

Mrs May's EU adviser Olly Robbins has informed his counterparts in various European capitals of the offer, the newspaper said in its online edition late Tuesday, citing unnamed officials briefed on the discussions.

The announcement will be formally made by Mrs May on Friday, when the prime minister delivers a highly-anticipated Brexit speech in the Italian city of Florence, the FT said.

Britain is yet to put forward a figure to meet its financial obligations to the European Union when it leaves the bloc, currently set for March 29, 2019.

The lack of agreement on a divorce settlement has proven a major stumbling block in the Brexit talks.

While Brussels has not made public its own figure, EU senior officials have told AFP the preliminary evaluation is between 60 to 100 billion euros.

Britain's net contribution in 2015, the last year for which figures were available, was 10.75 billion euros, according to European Commission and European Parliament documents.

The 20 billion euros figure therefore points to payments to meet the UK committment to the EU's seven-year budget, which runs to 2020, and could be paid during a transitioned departure from the bloc.

"Transition payments do not cancel the bill," a senior EU diplomat told the Financial Times.

Mrs May's office did not immediately comment on the newspaper report and the government's position has previously been that it is up to the EU to come up with a figure, which London will then challenge.

AFP