The European Union and the United Kingdom have not made progress in the third round of negotiations on Brexit, Michel Barnier, the representative of the European Commission, whose share it was to defend the interests of Brussels in the divorce with London. The parties fought for three days, but the refusal to compromise did not allow the negotiators to resolve any issue.

The case, as usual, rested on money. It was expected that the negotiators would agree on the amount that the United Kingdom will pay the EU as compensation for the unforeseen expenses and losses that the Union members will incur due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the association. Brussels did not publicly say what the amount of compensation is acceptable, but according to some sources, this amount is from € 60 billion to € 100 billion.

Europeans were ready to discuss this topic, but suddenly it turned out that London did not intend to compensate for anything. The head of the delegation of the British negotiators David Davis said that his government has one obligation - to uphold the rights of taxpayers in the UK. And they, as opinion polls show, do not intend to let the money go to the wind, or, in this case, transfer them to someone else's pocket.

In a document recently released by the House of Lords, it is said that Britain can generally withdraw from the EU without paying a cent, writes Kommersant,. And while London is ready to list unconditionally only the contribution of the country for membership before the date of official withdrawal from the European Union. On loans to third countries that were previously agreed by the EU, or to participate in assistance programs, for example, Ukraine or the states of Africa, it does not even go. It turns out that 27 EU countries will fulfill financial obligations, which took on another 28 members of the association.

However, the parties understand that in this case Brussels can begin to rest on each point, for example, a trade agreement. And then the economic losses of London will be incommensurably large. By the way, the European negotiators are already using this position with might and main: they refuse to proceed to discuss new rules of trade, production, working visas without solving the financial problem.

Barnier directly warned Davis that the British side needs to become more flexible, RIA Novosti reports.. Otherwise, the trade transaction will not be concluded on time, that is, by March 29, 2019. And then Britain will leave the EU, being in economic isolation. Counting on the same that the British will be able to enjoy the benefits of the EU, without forking out, just naive. As Barnier emphasized, nostalgia will not help the cause.