BORIS Johnson is refusing to stump up a £270million bill demanded by the EU to pay for its coronavirus recovery.
The PM has sparked a row with Brussels by insisting the sum must be cut down – risking further souring the trade talks.
Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a £2.7billion fund in April to help the bloc’s economies weather the pandemic.
The cash will come out of this year’s budget, meaning Britain is liable to pay a share under the terms of the Brexit deal.
But the Treasury is disputing two-thirds of our bill – put at £180-270million – arguing it arises from changes to the rules made after we left in January.
A spokesman said: “The UK is supporting the EU’s efforts to tackle coronavirus, and we’ll meet our obligations through the Financial Settlement.
“But we do not intend to go beyond what we have agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement, because we have now left the EU.”
The row broke out at a meeting of the EU-UK joint committee, which was set up to monitor how the deal is applied by both sides.
Michel Barnier has repeatedly warned that the trade talks will be torpedoed if Britain fails to honour the agreement.
An EU Commission official said Britain remains “fully liable to contribute to, and fully eligible to benefit from” the EU’s coronavirus support fund.
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Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.hellofaread.com/politics/all-hospital-visitors-and-outpatients-will-now-need-to-wear-masks-says-matt-hancock/
