Not over yet: UK ‘liable to pay EU €47.5bn’ in Brexit divorce bill
The UK is reportedly liable to pay €47.5bn (£41bn) to the EU as part of a post-Brexit financial settlement.
The EU’s consolidated budget report for 2020, seen by RTE News, states that the UK owes the bloc €47.456bn under a series of articles to which both sides agreed as part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
The figure is higher than previous estimates made by UK officials in 2017, who predicted the sum to be between £35bn and £39bn.
It is also above a prediction made by the Office for Budget Responsibility in 2018, which put the total bill at €41.4bn.
The €47.5bn settlement is split into two parts.
Under Article 140 of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, the UK must pay €35bn to cover its share of the EU’s outstanding spending commitments as of 31 December, when the transition period ended.
This sum, known as reste a liquider, relates to projects or contracts that had been committed to but which are not yet fully implemented.
The second tranche relates to EU liabilities, such as pensions and sickness insurance of retired EU staff, which the UK owes under Article 143 of the Withdrawal Agreement.
The UK’s share — calculated as 12.6 per cent — equates to €14.3bn.
The combined payments total €49.3bn, but the figure is offset by €2.1bn which is owed to the UK by the EU.
This relates to fines imposed by the bloc on companies and other entities and which are returned to member states.
The EU’s annual accounts, published by the European Commission, are provisional until the European Court of Auditors signs off on them in November.
Under the terms of repayment, an initial amount of €6.8bn is due for repayment this year, while the majority will be paid over several decades.