EU chief warns of ‘very hefty’ Brexit bill as sources suggest €60 billion price tag
Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU will seek payment to cover existing spending commitments
BRITAIN will face a "very hefty bill" for Brexit the president of the European Commission has warned as sources suggest the price tag to leave the EU could be €60 billion.
Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU will seek payment to cover existing spending commitments made by Britain.
He told the Belgian Parliament: “The British should know this, they know this already, that it will not be at a discount or at zero cost.
"The British must respect commitments they were involved in making. So the bill will be, to put it a bit crudely, very hefty."
Mr Juncker also warned that negotiating a new relationship with the bloc will take years.
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Mr Juncker said: "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."
European sources said Brussels could hand Britain an exit bill of up to 60 billion euros to cover commitments already made to the EU budget.
The European Commission 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," Juncker said, referring to Churchill's role in defeating fascism.
"But we must not be naive either," he added.
Prime Minister Theresa May hopes to trigger Brexit negotiations by the end of March and was in the Lords yesterday while the bill was being negotiated.
The Prime Minister stunned the upper house’s ageing members by sitting on the steps of the Queen’s throne as they began debating the bill to authorise EU exit talks.
Prominent Brexit supporting MPs including Boris Johnson kept up a constant presence in the Lords last night to also eyeball peers.
Downing Street ducked questions about whether the PM’s presence was to intimidate peers out of defying her.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “She wanted to recognise the importance of the bill as it passes through the Lords”.
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