Britain is pushing for the European Union to hand over a large slice of its assets – which includes cash and property – after Brexit.
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier will likely tell the British government to hand over £49 billion ($61 billion) as part of its divorce deal from the 28-member bloc.
But The Times reported that the UK government wants a “substantial share” of the EU’s assets, worth more than €150 billion.
Those assets, as detailed in The Times, include:
- Cash – €21.7 billion. Property – €8.7 billion. Saleable financial assets – €9.6 billion. Money in EU budget contributions that have not been paid by member states – €10.4 billion. Money that was contributed to projects that may not be completed – €45.2 billion. Repayable loans to member states – €56 billion.
The report says that Britain is eyeing a €20 billion share of these assets, which would offset the divorce bill it has been handed by the EU.
The EU settled on the figure of £49 billion for Britain to leave the EU. According to Sky, Germany and France allegedly wanted the divorce bill to be over £59 billion but agreed on a compromise.
Barnier spoke about charging Britain nearly £50 billion for "outstanding liabilities" in December. Prime Minister Theresa May and the British negotiating team are set to dispute this demand when talks officially get underway.
Brexit Secretary David Davis is preparing to hold at least two weeks of talks with Barnier to try and negotiate a revised figure, sources close to the minister say.
However, the official Brexit negotiation period will only start once May triggers Article 50.