Britain was warned by the European Union today that it was an “illusion” to think Brexit would be painless amid a growing row over the UK’s future payments.
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, took a swipe at leave campaigners by saying politicians who pretended there would be no consequences “were not telling the truth”.
“Some have created the illusion that Brexit would have no material impact on our lives or that negotiations can be concluded quickly and painlessly. This is not the case,” he told a press conference.
“We need sound solutions, we need legal precision and this will take time.” He also warned that there could be “explosive” political problems in Europe if spending programmes were halted by a row over the British exit settlement.
Mr Barnier spoke out after the UK’s Brexit Secretary, David Davis, claimed Britain could legally walk away from the bloc with “nothing to pay”.
“In the walk-away circumstance there is nothing to pay,” he said. He also stressed: “But nobody is looking for that outcome. We want a deal. We think we can get a deal.”
It was reported that the EU had raised the bill it expects the UK to pay towards future commitments from around £51 billion to about £84 billion.
Mr Barnier refused to put any figure on it when he announced the EU’s demands for the negotiating process, which include making progress on the so-called divorce bill and other EU priorities before any discussion on trade.
He rejected the idea of a “Brexit bill” or a “punishment” but said “human consequences” could not be avoided.
“You are unwinding 43 years, or so, of a relationship. That’s why things have to be done in a given order.”
He added: “I get the feeling that on the London side, the people I have met are aware of the difficulty.”
Relations between Britain and EU leaders have nosedived amid leaks from Brussels following a private dinner hosted by Theresa May for European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and his team. Mrs May hit back yesterday by saying Mr Juncker would discover she could be “a bloody difficult woman”.
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In a media round this morning, Mr Davis adopted an insouciant tone, saying a deal covering trade was in all of Europe’s interests, especially poorer countries.
Hinting he could play hardball, he recalled that Margaret Thatcher secured her rebate by refusing a bad deal. “When Mrs Thatcher walked away she got the rebate,” he said. “We have a €290billion market for them ... their biggest external market. That’s incredibly important to them.”
The Brexit Secretary dismissed as “laughable” reports that Mrs May would be barred from negotiating with other leaders.
“The idea that somehow one side of the negotiation can dictate how the other side runs a negotiation is laughable,” he said.
“This is an exercise in trying to shape public opinion and trying to pressurise us — it won’t work.”
He described the leaks from the dinner as a “mixture of gossip and spin” and the “slight rough-and-tumble” of a tough negotiation.
Mr Barnier called for “energy and effort” by the UK to deal with the EU’s three priorities, the financial settlement, the rights of EU citizens in the UK and Northern Ireland, which may require a special deal.
The UK would have to “close the account” in a “single financial settlement”.
Mr Barnier said: “Now, this is not a punishment, nor is it an exit tax of some kind.
“Basically, we have to close the account, and it is no more and no less. No punishment. There is no Brexit bill.” The European Parliament’s chief Brexit co-ordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, told MEPs earlier that he was “not much worried” about the sabre rattling.
“I’m not so surprised by what is happening,” Mr Verhofstadt told the Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs. “It always happens before the start of a negotiation. It is the building up of pressure from both sides, let’s be honest.”
He added: “You can’t ask the 27 remaining members to pay the bill for the departure of another country. That will not be done.”
