BRUSSELS has finally conceded that there is no legal way to force Britain to fork out for the £39 billion Brexit bill after Boris Johnson threatened to withhold the cash.
Eurocrats admitted “there is not really a court to settle the dispute” if the next British prime minister refuses to pay the extortionate fee agreed by Theresa May. The European Commission’s budget chief Gunther Oettinger told reporters in Brussels that he hopes Britain will “settle old debts fairly” and expects the next Tory leader to “accept that bill”. The German official said: “Mrs May’s Government accepted the payment of that amount, so we expect that no matter which government will be out negotiating partner… we expect them to accept that bill.”
He added: “If a future government would not be ready or willing to pay then the problem is there’s not really a court to settle the dispute, but we do have some arguments.”
Mr Oettinger argued that the next prime minister would want to “ensure that the relationship between the UK and the EU has a future”.
Brussels has already warned Britain that they would expect the Government to stump up the £39bn divorce bill in the event of a no-deal Brexit, as the price to restart negotiations.
The German eurocrat said it would be difficult for Britain to secure access in the bloc’s Galileo satellite navigation project without paying the bill.
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