Britain's Brexit bill to be 'very hefty', EU's Juncker
[BRUSSELS] Britain will have to pay a "very hefty" bill to leave the European Union and negotiating a new relationship with the bloc will take years, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker warned Tuesday.
Prime Minister Theresa May hopes to trigger the Brexit negotiations by the end of March following the shock referendum in June last year.
"It will be a difficult negotiation that will take years for us to agree on the exit terms and on the future architecture of relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union," Mr Juncker told the Belgian parliament.
"The British must know - and they know it already - that it will not be at a discount or zero cost," the former Luxembourg premier said in his hour-long speech.
"The British are expected to respect the commitments they made. And so the bill, to say it a bit coarsely, will be very hefty," added Mr Juncker.
European sources said Brussels could hand Britain an exit bill of up to 60 billion euros (S$90.36 billion) to cover commitments already made by London toward the EU budget.
The European Commission, the executive that Mr Juncker heads, has declined to provide any figure until now.
"We must settle this matter, not with a heart filled with hostility but with the knowledge that the continent owes much to Britain," Mr Juncker said, referring to Churchill's role in defeating fascism.
"But we must not be naive either," he added.
AFP
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
International
Putin plans to meet Xi in China days after his new term starts
Biden vetoes bid to repeal US labour board rule on contract, franchise workers
Economic leaders of South Korea, Japan, China say FX volatility is a risk
US automakers win extension on use of Chinese graphite in EV tax credits
US service sector contracts in April; price pressures up
Thaksin’s daughter calls central bank independence an ‘obstacle’