May claims Britain has financial rights, Brussels should respect them during Brexit talks

LONDON, U.K. - In one of the boldest statements so far, that has come as an indication of the stance Britain would take in the upcoming Brexit negotiations, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has stated that Brussels must pay its own Brexit bill.

Arguing her stance, May said that Brussels would have to pay billions of pounds for Britain’s share of the European Investment Bank and other joint projects. 

She further indicated in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph that the “money paid in the past” by the U.K. must be taken into account in the final divorce bill.

May, who is seen to be gaining ground ahead of the snap elections that she called last month, reportedly insisted in the interview that the U.K. has financial “rights” that must be respected during discussions about payments.

She said it has “obligations” to the body it is leaving.

She noted, “There is much debate about what the U.K.’s obligations might be or indeed what our rights might be in terms of money being paid in in the past. We make it clear that we would look at those both rights and obligations.”

The interview was seen as a clear rejection of the stance taken by hardline EU countries that have argued that the U.K. should not get back its proportion of EU assets.

According to statements made by Brexit negotiations from Brussels, the bloc would be seeking anything between 60 euros and 100 euros for the divorce, to cover EU payments that have already been agreed.

May, however, lashed out on Sunday, pushing back on the amounts that “some of the figures the EU” have been pushing for the Brexit bill.

Commenting on the areas Britain may be “owed a proportion” of when it leaves, May reportedly stated, “There’s the investment bank, there’s the investment fund, there are various areas. This will be, as you know, an important part of the negotiations.”

Experts noted that this was the first time May had indicated that she wants to keep a share of the European Investment Bank. 

Meanwhile, reports quoted government sources as saying that the U.K.’s share of the bank has been estimated at 16 percent - which equals to around 10 billion euros.

Drop the bill demands

Further, in an interview, Brexit Secretary David Davis said on Sunday that the U.K. will quit Brexit talks unless the European Union drops its demands of a divorce payment of 100 billion euros.

Davis said in the interview with the Sunday Times, Britain’s negotiations on leaving the EU would otherwise be plunged into “chaos.” 

He noted that even a 1 billion-pound settlement would be “a lot of money.” 

According to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the U.K. will have to pay about 50 billion pounds.

Meanwhile, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel has signalled a figure between 40 billion euros and 60 billion euros. 

Further, a study by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales put the cost at as little as 5 billion pounds.

May’s government has also questioned the EU on how its preliminary estimates have been reached.

Davin meanwhile said, “We don’t need to just look like we can walk away, we need to be able to walk away. Under the circumstances, if that was necessary, we would be in a position to do it.”