February 8th sparked Britain's withdrawal from the EU when it passed though parliament. By March 2017 Britain will have officially begun the process of exiting the EU. EU officials are not going to make this easy for the British, however. In Brussels, officials are sending a bill to the British for contributions close to their membership dues until 2020, from anywhere from €24.5 billion to €72.8 billion.
The rationale behind this has three elements, all dealing with Britain's legal obligation to pay. Along with 27 other countries, Britain approved the EU's seven-year budget to start in 2013, and is being told to cover the amount they still have to pay, about €29.2 billion. Second, they are being told to cover investment commitments in the form of "cohesion funding" for poorer countries. Lastly, they are expected to cover the pensions of Eurocrats. If Britain does not cough up, it will likely be brought before the International Court of Justice.
With this, Britain and the EU face a number of problems posed with this billing. Within Article 50, it is required that the withdrawing country must maintain a future relationship with the EU. If the bill goes unpaid, that relationship will likely be strained. There are loopholes to be found within the negotiations, such as easing the pressure of the bill's amount if Britain agrees to giving money to infrastructure projects or help with defense build-up in needy countries. If Britain does this, this will stress the EU's budget, potentially making wealthier member countries pay more for Britain's absence. Finally, PM Theresa May has done little to prepare Britain for this future bill- she has not even mentioned it in speeches she has given on the subject of Brexit. When the bill comes to life, it is likely that her political career will fall apart.
Regardless of the outcome, the process will be interesting and unprecedented. Unluckily for Britain, the EU's goodwill has vanished and Britain will be negotiating as a third-party, not a partner. One thing is for sure, there will be deadlock.
"The Multi-Billion-Euro Exit Charge That Could Sink Brexit Talks." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 11 February 2017."
1 comment:
By the time Britain officially exiting the EU, not only this bill, there will be more subsequent consequences. This bill is just the first challenge Britain need to face now and I wondered how would Britain solve this problem and fight back. In the long term, I think the benefit of exiting the EU weighs more than the cost but there is a long way to go.
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