Vocal Voices

I was saying this just last night.

Nobody wanted to believe me.

At some point the penny has to drop. Brexit is hard brexit. Everything else is EU lite on worse terms.

The report is absolutely right, the UK could exit without handing over a single penny. It is also right to say that if we did there would be other cost implications down the line and that they might be higher than stumping up.

It is also right to point out that EU members, and the EU itself, could take legal action to get the money. Defending those actions would cost a fortune and begs the question about how the rest of the world would look at the UK doing a 'Zimbabwe lite'. It also recognises that walking away would damage the prospects of reaching agreement on other issues.

The headline figure for walking away might well be £52bn saved, but the hidden costs of doing so could outstrip it multiple times.

The whole thing is academic, anyway, as the two year negotiations have not even started yet.

Before the Lisbon treaty the EU could have made this case. But since the Lisbon Treaty the Treaty on European Union clearly states that after the 2 year period, or when all remaining member states come to an agreement with the leaving state, should that occur before, the Treaties cease to apply.

If the EU were to go to the International court to demand money, they would have to have some argument that the very mechanism which allows a member state to leave is not valid.

I doubt very much that the Hague would rule that their own treaty was invalid just because they wanted more money.\

When you join a club which has rules and dues, the dues do not extend after you have left the club. All payments the UK makes are based on our membership of the EU and treaties and directives, within the EU, which we have agreed to whilst we are a member.

All the rest is nothing more than project fear.