Prime Minister Theresa May is set to make further concessions to the European Union (EU) in Brexit negotiations, including a divorce bill of up to £40 billion.
After already agreeing to tie the UK to the bloc until 2021 through a transition deal, the EU is expecting Mrs. May to make further concessions to move along Brexit negotiations after the Conservative Party’s annual conference, reports The Times.
EU negotiators are expecting Secretary of State for Exiting the EU David Davis to make “concrete proposals” on the UK’s divorce bill offer and the role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) with relation to the rights of EU citizens living in Britain.
In exchange for the UK accepting “direct effect” of residency rights of EU citizens — permanently enshrining the withdrawal agreement in UK law — and the increased divorce bill at the European Council on October 19th, the bloc’s negotiators are expected to make concessions on “talking about transition arrangements”.
After Mrs. May pledged to “honour commitments” to the EU budget in Florence, Mr. Davis said on Thursday: “We are not yet at the stage of specifying exactly what these commitments are” — yet it is believed the bill will amount to around £40 billion; higher than the speculated £30 billion supported by May’s Tory cabinet and double the amount predicted ahead of the Prime Minister’s concessionary speech.
May’s speech, branded a “betrayal” by former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, was not met with an equal extension of concessions by the EU, with German leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the bloc’s Brexit negotiators Michel Barnier and Guy Verhofstadt immediately demanding “clarity” on the Irish border, divorce bill, and EU citizens’ rights.
The Times notes that the timing of the new concessions will likely lead Conservatives to accuse May of “keeping her party in the dark over the extent of her willingness to compromise”.
On Thursday, Breitbart London reported that grassroots activists are planning to “seize back control” of the Conservative Party, which they say has itself “begun to resemble the remote and unaccountable European Union” in its management.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has also set himself against the Prime Minister by demanding a much shorter transition period.