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The MEP for the South East of England believes the proposed £50billion Brexit divorce bill, is money well spent. Despite Remainers only recently calling for the UK to pay the cash, they now
claim the recent move is a "climb-down" and Brexiteers are admitting defeat - according to Mr Hannan. Writing in The Sun, the leading Brexiteer said: “Until this week, the standard
Continuity Remain line went like this: ‘You mad Leavers! You’re bent on an ideological hard Brexit! We’re going to crash out without a deal! It’ll be disastrous, and it’ll all be your
fault!’ “Then, on Tuesday night, as news came through that an agreement had been reached on the money, paving the way for a trade deal, the Europhile hive-mind shifted. “‘Ha! You’ve climbed
down! Pathetic! So much for the £350million we were going to save!’ “Some Remainers are morose by nature, determined to see the worst in everything — even if they were recently calling for
those things themselves.” Mr Hannan goes on to explain that the divorce is likely to be less than £50billion and the UK is not paying to “leave the EUbre”, despite the Guardian claiming so.
He is adamant that what the “divorce bill” is really about is the UK honouring debts it already owes. Mr Hannan makes the point that despite the seemingly hefty sum, it will save the UK a
fortune in the long-run. He added: “The money in dispute is not a divorce bill. What we’re arguing about, rather, is how quickly we can taper away our existing financial obligations.
“Britain is not the kind of country that walks away from its debts. Those debts will fall gradually, according to the European Commission, over the next 40 years. “We’d be paying the
equivalent of a billion pounds a year, rather than the £17billion (gross) or £9billion (net) that we’re paying now. “That in itself is a big saving. But it doesn’t take into account the way
the EU budget is likely to grow over those 40 years. (When have you ever known a Eurocrat to cut spending?)” He goes on to say that in the first couple of years during the transition, the UK
will still be covered by quite a few existing arrangements. As such, it would be “odd” to use the facilities without paying "the subs". He reiterates that the EU 27 are still
customers as well as allies. It is in our mutual interests to continue trading with Europe and attracted their investment and tourism, says Hannan. He continues: “Sure, we could refuse to
pay. We could go to an international tribunal, which might reduce the overall sum we owe. “But that would destroy any chance of a friendly deal with the EU, which would leave all sides worse
off. Better by far to approach the question of how to phase out our payments in a friendly spirit.” The Conservative MEP and author of “What Next: How to Get the Best from Brexit” stresses
that a good Brexit is possible. He said the only difference after Brexit is the UK will operate as an independent country. But even so, the UK could still be eligible for certain EU
projects, such as the EU educational exchange programme which includes non-members such as Norway and Turkey. He concluded: “The big-ticket items, though, will be cancelled. No more Common
Agricultural Policy. No more Cohesion Funds. No more EU foreign aid racket. “Other nearby countries, such as Iceland and Switzerland, make smallish contributions to some EU funds. “This is
partly because they want to participate in certain common projects and partly because they want to, in effect, buy themselves preferential export arrangements that go beyond simple free
trade. “They approach the question quite hard-headedly, and we should do the same. Run the numbers and, if it makes sense, pay. If it doesn’t, don’t. “Either way, we’ll at last be a
sovereign country again, living under our own laws, setting our own regulations, striking our own trade deals. “If we can’t use these freedoms to generate far, far more wealth than any
residual payments, we’re not the people we think we are.”