The EU is set to demand an extra £13.5 billion ($17.7 billion) a year – £1 billion ($1.3 billion) a month – from the UK if Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal is rejected by MPs in parliament on Tuesday, and a Brexit delay ensues.
Brussels is willing to impose “punitive” conditions on any request from the UK government to extend Article 50, including demands for extra payments on top of the £39 billion ($51 billion) ‘divorce payment,’ the Telegraph reports.
An EU source has told the paper that if the UK requests a delay any longer than a few weeks, then such a demand will trigger “legal and financial” obligations, as officials in Brussels harden their stance against an extension.
The prospect of a second heavy defeat on her EU Withdrawal Agreement is becoming an ever bigger possibility for May, as Brussels stands firm on its red lines around the contentious Irish backstop.
It comes as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled an urgent question in parliament on Monday, requesting May to update the House on progress being made in achieving legal changes to her Brexit deal.
Earlier, Irish deputy prime minister Simon Coveney claimed that May was scheduled to fly to Strasbourg on Monday evening, in a bid to finalize an agreement with the EU. Downing Street has thus far failed to confirm this, saying only: “We have not confirmed anything at this stage.”
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