How strong a Brexit card is Britain’s money?

It is obvious that the UK is in a far weaker position to dictate the terms of its divorce from the EU – and the sequencing of Brexit talks – than the 27. And the 27 have some powerful reasons to stick to their ‘divorce first’ red line. While the money that the 27 claim Britain owes to the EU is a weak card, because the hole in the budget could be filled quite easily by the 27, it is Britain’s strongest card. This is why the EU was insistent on sequencing: they did not want the UK to use the money as leverage at every stage of the negotiations. Michel Barnier does not want to agree a final sum before declaring sufficient progress, but he does want an accord on a methodology for calculating the final bill.

Blog: LSE EuroppBlog, 20.10.17: The gaffe that keeps on taking: How to break the deadlock over Britain’s EU divorce bill http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2017/10/20/the-gaffe-that-keeps-on-taking-how-to-break-the-deadlock-over-britains-eu-divorce-bill/

ESO: Background information: The €60 billion Brexit bill: how to disentangle Britain from the EU budget http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-e60-billion-brexit-bill-how-to-disentangle-britain-from-the-eu-budget/

Bruegel: Working Paper, No.3, 2017: Divorce settlement or leaving the club? A breakdown of the Brexit bill http://bruegel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/WP_2017_03.pdf

InFacts: Analysis, 07.08.17: Brexiters play perilous game with EU ‘divorce’ bill https://infacts.org/brexiters-play-perilous-game-eu-divorce-bill/

UK: Parliament: House of Commons: Library: Briefing Paper, No.8039 (15.12.17 and periodically updated): Brexit: the exit bill (et al) http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-exit-bill/

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