\u201cWe made an agreement in May \u2014 that should be the foundation for our conversation,\u201d said a second person, an EU diplomat, also granted anonymity to speak freely about the talks.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we shouldn’t then in November come back and try to add to it the contributions to cohesion funds that we didn’t agree in May, even if that’s the principle that we feel is warranted \u2026 We have to take care of our relationship with the U.K.\u201d<\/p>\n
The diplomat summarized the divide: \u201cDo you say to the Commission: You have to make the U.K. pay \u2026 or do you say, you know, we should explore whether it’s possible for the U.K. to pay.”<\/p>\n
Pay to play<\/p>\n
Cash payments to the EU budget are a touchy political subject in Westminster and were a key feature of the Brexit campaign \u2014 where the Leave campaign complained loudly about the amount of cash sent to Brussels.<\/p>\n
While the U.K. is open to paying for access to EU programs, London says it wants value for money.<\/p>\n