The European Union would refuse to negotiate a trade deal with the UK if the government reneged on the Brexit bill, EU sources have said.
At the G7 summit in Biarritz, Boris Johnson said it was a “simple statement of reality” that the UK would withhold much of the £39bn financial settlement agreed by Theresa May, in the event of a no-deal.
Brussels sources have warned that future trade talks would be blocked until the UK agreed to a settlement.
The financial settlement was a “totemic” issue for EU member states, one official said. “The message will be ‘honour your debts, or we are not even going to start talking about a trade deal,” the source said, reflecting a widespread view among diplomats.
Responding to the prime minister’s comments, Jean-Claude Piris, a former head of the EU council legal service, tweeted: “If the UK refuses to pay its debts to the EU, then the EU will not accept to negotiate a trade agreement with the UK.” » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Monday, August 26, 2019
