Britain will be threatened with court action by the EU if it tries to walk away without paying a £50 billion “divorce bill”, leaked papers reveal.
A draft copy of the EU’s negotiating strategy for the forthcoming Brexit talks discusses taking Britain to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
It quotes an official as saying that if Britain refuses to pay, “in that case it is, see you in The Hague!”
Because courts go by what is in he law, not what is in the politics.
The worst result that could possibly happen is that we have to pay what we actually do have to pay. And you do have to wonder about the EU. How is that a threat?
Because courts go by what is in he law, not what is in the politics.
Not in Britain they don’t. Not when it comes to Europe or to Human Rights.
The French can deport people to Algeria because their courts are relatively sane. Britain can’t deport people to Italy.
Exactly what law is this “divorce bill” based on?
Oh, no, it’s a political calculation.
So what. What are they going to do – invade? threaten us with £5b of tariffs? And present the government with a perfect opportunity to play hard-ball for no cost? Cos if the £50b somehow *really* is due, then the only sanction will be to pay it. OOoooohhh, scary.
Seriously, what can this paper tiger seriously do to harm the UK if we tell them to sally forth and procreate?
>>Because courts go by what is in he law, not what is in the politics.
>
>Not in Britain they don’t. Not when it comes to Europe or to Human Rights.
+1
Fuck them. They owe us billions. We’ve paid in enormous amounts, we’re entitled to a share of the assets. We should present them with our bill.
I’m thinking that no deal is preferable to a deal that leaves us tied to them.
@Cal – quite – either it’s a clean break, or the assets and liabilities are divided. Dividing only the liabilities but not the assets is very much a having-a-cake-and-eating-it proposition.
I fear SMFS is correct…
They know this could never fly, it’s an ammunition air-drop to the Remainers here, to keep their spirits up and the fight against the UK going.
As Stalin might not have said…
The EU Commissioners are evidently worried that without the UK’s generous subsidy they will not be able to spend as much money on The Project as they had hoped to. The Project must always and inevitably expand and go forward: retrenchment is a betrayal of the Federal Ideal. So they are trying it on.
What is this “draft plan” doing floating about anyway?
Hardly comme il faut to have your negotiating strategy floating around ahead of the negos–unless by design. Or utter incompetence.
Either way shows their weakness.
In anticipation–fuck off NewRemainia you treasonous twat.
“Because courts go by what is in he law, not what is in the politics.”
Hmm; this is the ECJ.
Richard – “Hmm; this is the ECJ.”
Apparently not
“International Court of Justice in The Hague”
What is the 50 billion made up of?
“threaten us with £5b of tariffs?”
So, if the UK doesn’t pay, the EU will retaliate by forcing EU citizens who buy British goods to pay instead. “Do as I say or I’ll shoot my foot off!”
What is the 50 billion made up of?
Lies
“Because courts go by what is in he law, not what is in the politics.” Jolly good tease, Tim.
Anyhow, what care we for the Hague? We should surely leave that too.
Just for an example of modern legal thinking, here is something written by George Letsas:
The thinking is that the law is effectively above the other branches of government. It is not bound by “mere” majoritarianism and certainly not by pesky popular movements. It is not even constrained by the law. This point doesn’t seem to worry the good prof at all.
Another extraordinary quote from Letsas:
It’s all rather Orwellian – the idea that representative democracy should not be either democratic nor representative
Letsas is a left-liberal, cosmopolitan, euro-federalist.
So he is the kind of judge on the euro bench. Just saying
And what about the rest of them?
Fight this one. Or could be a deciding factor. Letsas is a europhile moron