Brexit: EU orders Britain to pay £39bn divorce bill even if there is no deal

In a move likely to enrage Brexiteers and cause yet another political row in Westminster, Brussels unveiled proposals for the UK to keep up its payments for the 2019 EU budget and beyond.

The United Kingdom would keep paying into the EU budget for years after a no-deal Brexit under contingency plans drawn up by the European Commission.

The UK would have to consent to the plan, with a deadline to agree set for 18 April – deliberately placed after the effects of a no-deal would have become apparent.

Britain agreed to pay the financial settlement to the EU, which include EU Budget payments up to 2020, to cover its liabilities to the bloc and unlock talks over the future relationship.

As it released a new set of no deal Brexit plans, the European Commission said, "all commitments taken by the 28 Member States should be honoured by the 28 Member States."

"This is also true in a “no-deal” scenario, where the UK would be expected to continue to honour all commitments made during EU membership".

“What we were thinking is we need to give a period which would allow some time for reflection,” one EU official said of the chosen cut-off date.

The EU says keeping up payments would help soften the impact of the no-deal cliff edge in areas such as agriculture and research funding that rely on EU payments.

The commitment would cover any EU contracts in effect on 30 March 2019 when the UK is due to crash out. Some of the contracts last two or three years, meaning payments could continue for some time.

Yesterday, both European Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Brexit chief negotiator Michel Barnier were speaking at the European Parliament in Brussels.

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