UK offers EU £49bn divorce bill

The UK government have suggested a huge potential “divorce bill” to be given to the EU, which will be part of the costs to leave the European Union. This divorce bill was rumoured to be one of the main disagreements within Parliament while plans for Brexit were being considered.

While no official final figure has been agreed on, the offer given to Brussels was received by a “broad welcome”, according to the BBC.

No 10 has kept this information under wraps from the public, until now. With a final figure estimated to be up to 55bn euros.

After a cabinet meeting last week the PM contacted Brussels to discuss the newly suggested offer. The costs for the UK will pay a significant part in the process of leaving the EU, which has also been one of the main points of disagreement when discussing the process of Brexit, making negotiations rather tense.

Many of the public took to the internet, signing petitions to warrant an explanation for the divorce bill or remove the divorce bill entirely. Many of these petitions were rejected by the Government to be discussed in the House of Commons due to the fact that the EU has stated it won’t begin negotiations for future trade until a lump sum is offered by the UK.

Originally, May suggested the UK would be paying a mere 20bn euros, and the EU has been demanding that this lump sum be increased to match their own estimated figure.

Once this has been agreed, the next discussions include: - the requirements of the divorce bill, the rights of EU citizens in the UK after departing the EU and how the Irish border will be impacted by the change, only then will the EU consider talks for the UK maintaining trade in the single market.

Theresa May has come under heavy criticism following her approach with the EU negotiations, which some, including her Conservative colleague Robert Halfon felt would make the public “go bananas.”

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