The British government once again gains headlines as it has rejected the claims that it owes the European Union a bill of £41 billion for a Brexit “divorce bill”. This came to light after the first payment which had already been made in June this year.
The EU’s 2020 accounts reopened in a dispute about the size of the bill which reveals the European Commission expected €47.5bn (£40.8bn) from the UK. This amount came out to be much higher than what the British government had considered.
A spokesperson of prime minister Borris Johnson stated that they don’t recognize that figure. It was an estimate that was produced by the EU for their own internal accounting purposes. That doesn’t reflect all the money owed back to the United Kingdom, which was supposed to reduce the amount they pay. Their estimate remains in the range of £35bn-£39bn and soon they are willing to publish all the details.
The following amount was presented by British officials during their Brexit negotiation. However, despite the tension, the British government has already paid their first payment and is willing to pay the rest of the amount in the following months. The European Union expects the UK to pay €6.8bn by the end of this year.
