Prime Minister Theresa May met with her ministers on Monday to try to make progress on stalled Brexit talks. EPA / Andy Rain
Prime Minister Theresa May met with her ministers on Monday to try to make progress on stalled Brexit talks. EPA / Andy Rain

UK ‘agrees to increase Brexit divorce bill’



Members of Theresa May’s Cabinet have agreed that the UK should increase its Brexit “divorce bill” offer to the EU, it is understood.

It came after Prime Minister Theresa May met with her ministers on Monday to try to make progress on stalled Brexit talks.

Britain’s financial settlement upon leaving the EU is one of the key sticking points preventing the negotiations from moving onto a future trade relationship.

Media reports said the ministers had agreed to make an offer which would increase the value of Mrs May's existing commitment of £20 billion. The Independent news website said Mrs May's opening offer could double to around £40 billion but gave no details. The BBC reported that no specific amounts had been discussed during the meeting.

_______________

Read more:

_______________

Mrs May met with ministers amid expectations that she will offer the EU more than she committed to during a speech in Florence in September which failed to provide a meaningful breakthrough in the stalled negotiations.

The EU told Mrs May on Friday that there was more work to be done to unlock the Brexit talks, repeating its early December deadline for her to flesh out Britain's opening offer on the financial settlement.

Despite growing pressure from businesses to show she can drive talks onto the subject of future trading relations with the EU, Mrs May's office gave little away as to the conclusions of Monday's meeting.

"It remains our position that nothing's agreed until everything's agreed in negotiations with the EU," a source from May's office said. "As the Prime Minister said this morning, the UK and the EU should step forward together."

Mrs May has repeatedly signalled that she will increase her initial offer that is thought to be worth about a third of what Brussels wants.

But, wary of the need to keep the peace in her Conservative Party, which has a powerful faction insisting Britain should be paying the minimum possible to the EU and using the cash offer to leverage better exit terms, Mrs May has avoided publicly discussing any figure.

Instead, she has said Britain will meet its financial obligations to the bloc, a commitment which remains wide open to interpretation.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said on Sunday that the government would submit its proposal to the EU before a December 14-15 summit.

He warned Britain would be prepared to negotiate hard over the bill, acknowledging differences of opinion with the EU on the value of liabilities, and whether Britain was even liable at all for some elements of the total amount mooted by Brussels.

The biog:

Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian 

Favourite food: Pizza 

Best food on the road: rice

Favourite colour: silver 

Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda

Favourite biking destination: Canada 

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4

Company Profile 

Founder: Omar Onsi

Launched: 2018

Employees: 35

Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)

Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.