European Parliament President Antonio Tajani dismissed British Prime Minister Theresa May’s €20 billion divorce bill offer as “peanuts” Tuesday.
In a combative interview with BBC Newsnight, Tajani accused the British government of not being realistic in Brexit negotiations.
“I’m not against the U.K. But please, help us to help you,” he said. “Twenty billion is peanuts. It’s peanuts, 20 billions. The problem is 50, 60, this is the real situation.”
He said: “We need our money back, as Mrs. Thatcher said 30 years, 40 years ago.”
Asked whether the U.K. and EU could strike a trade deal by this time next year, Tajani blamed division in May’s ranks for the slow progress and warned that “without agreement, with delay every day, a lot of European companies will leave the U.K., and also the Americans.”
He said: “We want to know what the U.K. wants to do. This is the problem — it’s not very clear … We are united. Where is the unity in the U.K.? There are many different positions. We have only one position; only one negotiator … In the Conservative Party there are many different positions. This is not good for good work in the next months. Please, we need a decision on this — which is the line to take? For us it is important to know.”