We cannot just walk away from the EU without settling our bill… but in return Brussels must look towards free trade
MANY of the figures quoted for our Brexit “divorce bill” are wild and absurd — but we do need to be realistic.
The Sun does not agree with hard-liners who want to walk away and take our chances without paying a penny.
We need to honour commitments we have made and obligations to our people in Brussels.
Whatever we pay, though, must take into account our substantial share of EU wealth and assets.
It is in both our interests and the EU’s to set up a limited transition period, followed by a free trade deal.
Given that we currently pay £8billion a year net into the Brussels pot, a figure of, say, £24billion doesn’t seem unrealistic.
That should be conditional on EU negotiators working towards free trade.
We must not give them a huge cheque and still have them seek to “punish” us.
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Craven Corbyn
JEREMY Corbyn’s defence of ruinous hard-left socialism in Venezuela was as craven and blinkered as we imagined.
Yet despite the carnage, he says we should recognise the regime’s “effective attempts at reducing poverty”.
Reducing poverty? The poor are starving to death. They have no medicine. Any money they do have left is worthless thanks to hyperinflation.
The Labour leader’s condemnation of violence “by all sides” was similarly mealy-mouthed.
The government he idolises is a virtual dictatorship, carting off opposition politicians in the dead of night and rigging elections.
Not to blame an oil price crash which mysteriously failed to cripple other major producers.
But that would have involved Corbyn challenging views he has held since childhood. And no matter how many times they fail, how many nations they destroy and how many people they kill, he will never budge from them.
God help us all if he ever gets to use Britain as his guinea pig.
Korea move
WE doubt Kim Jong-un will throttle back his nuclear programme, even faced with the loss of $1billion in export income.
He would rather let more people starve.
But economic sanctions are all that the world has without unleashing a military attack on North Korea with potentially apocalyptic consequences.
And, for once, the West, China and Russia are united in putting them in place. China MUST now stick to them.
It is hard to imagine they will loosen Kim’s vice-like grip. But they might just force the tubby tyrant to negotiate.
That’s progress at least.