Britain facing ‘very hefty’ bill for leaving EU, warns Jean-Claude Juncker

Jean-Claude Juncker ​- credit European Parliament audiovisual

Jean-Claude Juncker has warned that Britain must pay a “hefty” bill when it quits the EU, as he rallied remaining members to prepare for a “tough negotiation”.

The European Commission president made the comments in a speech to the European Parliament.

Reports have suggested some Brussels figures want the UK to contribute up to €60bn to cover existing commitments.

Juncker said the bloc’s 27 members must not approach the upcoming talks with “hostility” towards the UK, but warned them not to be “naïve”.

The intervention comes as the Article 50 bill is debated in the House of Lords, with Theresa May looking to trigger the process of leaving the EU by the end of March.

Speaking in Brussels today, Juncker said:  "It will be a tough negotiation which will take two years to agree on the exit terms. And to agree on the future architecture of relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union we will need years.

"The British people have to know, they know already, that it will not be at a discount or at zero cost. The British must respect commitments they were involved in making. So the bill will be, to put it a bit crudely, very hefty."

He added: "We need to settle our affairs not with our hearts full of a feeling of hostility, but with the knowledge that the continent owes a lot to the UK. Without Churchill, we would not be here - we mustn't forget that, but we mustn't be naïve.”

He repeated the pledge made by a number of senior European figures that Britain would not be allowed to cherry-pick parts of EU membership, such as access to the single market.

“Those who want to benefit from the advantages of the single market must respect the four fundamental freedoms, including the one which relates to the movement of workers,” he said.