No 10 has revealed it will release Brexit policy papers on key issues in the coming weeks, as it continues to play down the idea that Theresa May is prepared to pay a divorce bill of about €40bn (£36bn) to the EU. The Guardian reports.
The position papers are expected to cover crucial topics such as the UK’s preferred options for replacing the customs union and arrangements at the Northern Irish border ahead of the next round of talks with the EU.
The promise of more detail on the UK’s Brexit policy came as Sir Simon Fraser, the former head of the Foreign Office, accused the government of being “a bit absent” from negotiations because it had not put many suggestions on the table.
“The negotiations have only just begun. I don’t think they have begun particularly promisingly, frankly, on the British side,” said Fraser, who also served as chief of staff to the European trade commissioner in Brussels.
“We haven’t put forward a lot because, as we know, there are differences within the cabinet about the sort of Brexit that we are heading for and until those differences are further resolved I think it’s very difficult for us to have a clear position,” said Fraser, who now advises businesses on Brexit.
“So far we haven’t put much on the table apart from something on the status of nationals, so we are a bit absent from the formal negotiation. We need to demonstrate that we are ready to engage on the substance so that people can understand what is really at stake here and what the options are, so let’s move forward with that.”
May’s spokesman said the government would disagree strongly with Fraser’s comments. “The last two months, we’ve had a constructive start to the negotiations. We’ve covered a significant amount of important ground,” he said.
The No 10 official also rejected reports over the weekend that the UK was now prepared to pay up to €40bn to unwind its legal obligations to the EU
“In terms of this figure, I don’t recognise it,” May’s spokesman said. “The prime minister made clear in the letter triggering article 50 that the UK and the EU need to discuss a fair settlement of both our rights and obligations as an EU member state.”
A Downing Street source described the figure on Sunday as speculative and wrong, although the government does accept it will need to pay something toward continuing financial obligations.
Günther Oettinger, the EU’s budget commissioner, told Germany’s Bild newspaper in remarks published on Monday that Britain would remain bound by some previous commitments and would “therefore have to transfer funds to Brussels at least until 2020”.
