Theresa May has agreed a Brexit bill of between 45 and 55 billion euros, according to reports.
The Telegraph claims to have been informed by both British and EU sources that an agreement-in-principle has been reached over the bloc’s demand its departing member pay a “ransom” before engaging in trade talks.
The newspaper says it “understands that the final figure, which is deliberately being left open to interpretation, will be between €45bn and €55bn, depending on how each side calculates the output from an agreed methodology”.
“The deal on the money is there; it’s now the [European Court of Justice] question and Northern Ireland that are the outstanding issues” ahead of the European Council’s summit from December 14th to December 15th, according to a senior source who has been involved in the negotiations.
It is thought that Theresa May will make a formal offer on money, European Court of Justice powers, and the Northern Ireland border on December 4th, with guidelines for the summit being drawn up by a group of EU ambassadors on December 6th, provided EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier agrees they represent “sufficient progress”.
Even then the European Parliament could present a stumbling block, with its own vote on “sufficient progress” expected just before the summit gathers.
Everything in the Telegraph report points to an effective surrender by Britain’s faltering Prime Minister with the EU said to have been “discussing to obscure the final bill in order to help Mrs May overcome political opposition from Brexiteers.”
The newspaper reports that May has “acceded to majority of the EU’s demands”, but an EU source indicated that the text of the deal will be structured vaguely, so that a “low figure” can be sold to the British public, while the EU has in fact been assured it will receive “in excess of €50bn”.