Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to welcome the Commissioner and his colleagues. Could the Commissioner clarify the extent of the Brexit gap? He mentioned a range of €12 billion to 14 billion. If we park the issue of outstanding commitments to existing programmes and when all of that washes itself through, what is the annual structural gap in terms of the Brexit bill, the shortfall as a result of the UK no longer making a recurring annual contribution? What is the figure?

We have to compare the EU 28, what would happen beyond 2020 if the UK were a member with annual growth of 2% of its gross domestic product, GDP, and the EU 27 without the UK after a transition phase. As an average of these years in the next decade, it is at least €12 billion.