EU needs formula to settle on Brexit bill
No blank cheque required, says its chief negotiator
Brussels — The EU does not want a blank cheque from Britain for leaving the bloc, but hopes to agree by November on a formula to calculate what London owes when it leaves, chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier said on Wednesday. The European Commission has mentioned a ballpark figure of €60bn that London would have to pay because of various commitments it made as an EU member. However, estimates vary, depending on what would be included — the Brussels-based think-tank Bruegel set a range of a net payment to the EU of €25bn-€65bn. Speaking at a news conference, Barnier declined to give an estimate. "There was never any question about asking the UK to give us a blank cheque; that would not be serious," he said. "All we are asking for is for the accounts to be cleared, for the honouring of commitments into which the UK has entered. But you cannot count on me to give you any figures because they are still evolving." An agreement on this formula is one of the key conditions the EU has set f...
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