Brexit: German government says UK has made no concrete offer on divorce bill

The PM is expected to suggest a 20 billion euro settlement

Theresa May may float a 20 billion euro figure in an upcoming speech (Reuters)

The British government has made no “concrete” negotiation offer about what amount it should pay for the Brexit divorce bill, the German government has said.

The statement comes after reports that British officials had suggested to Angela Merkel that the UK would pay 20 billion euros – significantly down from previous calculations. Such a payment would allow the EU to cover short-term costs but not long-term commitments by Britain.

A broader commitment by the UK covering all liabilities claimed by the EU would amount to around 50 billion euros.

“There are discussions on many different levels,” a spokesperson told reporters on Wednesday.

“We have not been informed in advance about any concrete negotiation offers from the British government.”

The Financial Times newspaper reported that Olly Robins, the PM’s Brexit advisor had contacted European capitals, including Berlin, to suggest the offer might be included in the PM’s upcoming major speech

Theresa May will travel to Florence on Friday to deliver the address, her biggest intervention in the process of leaving the EU since her Lancaster House speech in January, where she committed to leaving the single market.

All-but-deadlocked negotiations have been postponed by a week to wait for Ms May’s latest statement in the hope that it will break the deadlock.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said there had been effectively been no “concrete” progress on the matter of the divorce bill, which refers to British commitments to pay into the EU budget.

Mr Barnier negotiates to a mandate set by the European Council, which is comprised of member states, including the German government.

During the most recent round of talks officials familiar with the UK’s negotiating position said the UK wanted to take a bottom-up approach to calculating the divorce bill, while the EU wanted the UK to honour commitments made as a headline figure.

Speculation abounds as to whether Ms May will harden or soften her position on Brexit in her upcoming speech.