Theresa May might be the British prime minister post-Brexit. But her heart and soul appear to be still with European Union even after Britons had voted to get out of the expensive club. After all, like her predecessor, her pro-EU stance was a public knowledge. And the last thing that she could do before the official Brexit appears to be helping the EU wins a sweet divorce bill.

 

Senior Tories and even top lawyers were flabbergasted on how easy PM Theresa May has surrendered to EU’s demand for a huge divorce bill. And now the British prime minister is ready to offer EU a staggering £30 billion (US$40.77 billion; RM171 billion) – being £10 billion per year to the EU during a transition period of over 3 years.

 

The so-called divorce bill has been one of the main stumbling blocks in Brexit negotiations between the British Government and Brussels. The EU’s stance is that trade talks cannot begin until significant progress has been made on the financial settlement, citizens’ rights and Northern Ireland. And Theresa May somehow succumbs to the “blackmail” and agrees to pay.

Tory MPs warned that handing over money to Brussels after Brexit would be unacceptable to voters – with one suggesting Brussels should be giving money back to the UK instead. Former Cabinet minister John Redwood said it was “completely ridiculous” to suggest the UK would have to pay to get Brussels to talk about trade because the EU “desperately” needed a deal.

 

Conservative MP Peter Bone said – “One of the prime reasons the UK voted to leave the EU was to stop sending them billions of pounds per year, so it would be totally bizarre to give the EU any money, let alone £30 billion, given also that over the years that we have been in the EU or its predecessor we have given them, net, over £200 billion.”

 

Mr. Bone added – “I think it would be very strange of Parliament to pay billions of pounds to leave an organization that you have given hundreds of billions of pounds to and got nothing in return. That would be a very strange decision, so I don’t think it would happen. So if there was going to be any transfer of money then it should be from the EU to the UK.”

Indeed, a joint report by the Conservative European Research Group (ERG) and Lawyers for Britain has produced detailed legal analysis showing Britain owes nothing. On the contrary, it was the EU who should pay back at least £9.3 billion refund to UK taxpayers, being 16% share of cash reserves tied up in the European Investment Bank (EIB)

 

Since joining the bloc in 1973, Britain’s annual bill has skyrocketed in real terms from £1.8 billion to almost £20 billion. Even after rebates, refunds and public sector grants, the UK’s total net contribution stands at £184,535 million up to the present day.

 

At one time, probably plucking the figures from the sky, the EU has raised the opening price of the UK’s “Brexit bill” to €100 billion (£88 billion; US$119 billion; RM500 billion). At first, Theresa May tried to project an image of the former Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher by telling the EU that they would soon see what a “bloody difficult woman” she is.

Now, Ms. May has proven to the world she’s nowhere near Margaret Thatcher. Not only was the British prime minister an empty vessel who refuses to fight the EU, she’s so ignorant and clueless to the fact that  there is “no legal obligation” on Britain to contribute to the EU’s budget after Brexit Day on March 29th 2019.

 

Although Tory MPs have urged the Prime Minister to “stand firm and not be blackmailed into a multi-billion divorce bill”, the British leader might have a second thought about fighting the EU, the same organization that she was part of before the stunning Brexit. She probably thinks it’s easier to pay the EU whatever they want than to drive a hard bargain.

 

Furious, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson insists that Britain should only pay “what is due” and should pay nothing to access the single market. And Johnson is reportedly will use a showdown meeting with Theresa May this week to demand reassurances that the Prime Minister will not agree to make substantial payments to the EU after Brexit.

Another minister who shares Theresa May’s decision to pay rather than to fight is none other than Chancellor Philip Hammond who argues that agreement on the principle could revive the possibility of starting trade negotiations next month. In other words, they prefer the lazy way of paying the blackmailer, even if the EU has no legal case in the first place.

 

It didn’t help the situation that May’s Government was hit hard after losing its majority in the election, to which Brussels has taken note and used it to pressure the UK for free cash that they don’t deserve. Currently, UK writes an annual cheque equivalent to £13.1 billion to the bloc as payment. Paying above that figure would make British looks fantastically dumb.

 

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September 18th, 2017 by financetwitter

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