UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has spoken out about Brexit recently, specifically about who will cover the costs. Last month, Johnson told the House of Commons that the European Union can “go whistle” about the cost of the leave, which they estimate at €100 billion. The top Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, claims that Britain are legally obligated to foot the whole bill, but Johnson disputes this. However, he did say (three times) that the UK will pay whatever they are legally required to pay.
So, Johnson and his guys will review the legislation and see if Barnier is right, but if he is, then the UK will pay for the EU leave, and if not, then we’ll only cover what we have to.
But why exactly are the EU charging €100 billion for the EU leave? Well, it needs to cover spending commitments that the UK has already made, and there are vague Brexit-related expenses, such as the pensions of all the staff who are figuring out the paperwork involved in Britain’s departure from the EU.
Tory MP Philip Hollobone staunchly against UK spending
Conservative MP Philip Hollobone doesn’t believe we owe the EU a penny for Brexit. He claims that between the day that Britain got into the common market in 1973 until “the day we leave” in 2019, the total amount of money given by Britain to “the EU and its predecessors” will be “in today’s money, in real terms, a total of £209 billion.”
