Chancellor regrets calling EU ‘the enemy’
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Chancellor Philip Hammond has said that he regrets calling EU negotiators “the enemy”.
In an interview with Sky News, Hammond said: “My message is this: I understand that passions are high and I understand that people have very strong views about this but we’re all going to the same place. We all have the same agenda.
“The enemy, the opponents, are out there. They’re on the other side of the negotiating table. Those are the people we have to negotiate with, negotiate hard to get the very best deal for Britain.”
The backtrack comes after a turbulent week with the European Union in which the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the negotiations with Britain are in “deadlock”. Barnier’s reasoning for the deadlock is that he and the EU believe that the UK owes the union around £84 billion.
Prime Minister Theresa May has not given a specific figure that the UK will pay the EU but has reportedly said Britain will pay around €20-40bn to the EU when we leave in 2019.
In an interview today I was making the point that we are united at home. I regret I used a poor choice of words (1/2).
— Philip Hammond (@PhilipHammondUK) October 13, 2017
We will work with our friends and partners in the EU on a mutually beneficial Brexit deal #noenemieshere (2/2).
— Philip Hammond (@PhilipHammondUK) October 13, 2017
We’re sure this one won’t go down too well in Brussels.