The United Kingdom on Friday conceded that it owes money to the European Union. “The government recognises that the UK has obligations to the EU,” Brexit Secretary David Davis said in a statement.
This is the first time that the UK has admitted that it needs to settle a bill with the EU.
Although the amount is not known yet, it is expected to be around €60 billion (around Rs 4.42 lakh crore). “We will work with the EU to determine a fair [financial] settlement of the UK’s rights and obligations as a departing member state, in accordance with the law and in the spirit of our continuing partnership,” read the statement.
This comes days after UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had said that the EU could “go whistle” for its exorbitant Brexit bill. In response, EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier had said, “I can’t hear any whistling, just the clock ticking.”
Regarding UK citizens’ rights, Davis said they will try to iron out differences during next week’s meeting. “On citizens’ rights, the government’s priority remains providing certainty as soon as possible to EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals in the EU. We will use next week’s round to review the technical elements of the EU and UK proposals, identifying areas of alignment and those where further work is required by both parties,” Davis explained.
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