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[APPLAUSE]
The success of the EU is profoundly in our national interest and that of the wider world. But having made this choice, the question now is whether we, the leaders of Britain and of the EU's member states and institutions, can demonstrate that creativity, that innovation, that ambition that we need to shape a new partnership to the benefit of all our people.
Theresa May came to [INAUDIBLE] with one clear objective, which was to move on the Brexit negotiations, which have been stalled in Brussels for a number of weeks. And she did that with two interesting offers. The first was to say that Britain was prepared to stay effectively a member of the EU for a further two years, all the way through 2021. That's five years after the Brexit vote, applying European rules, ECG judgments, and all the rest of it to have a much smoother exit, avoiding a cliff edge.
And as part of that transitional arrangement, she's offering to pay 20 billion euros to fill a hole in the European budget. That's quite a big move. [INAUDIBLE] sceptics don't like it, but it's been seen in Brussels as a constructive intervention in the debate. And obviously, it's not going to be enough. I suspect, in the end, the British exit bill from the EU will be far bigger than $20 billion euros, but it's a start.
And I think Michel Barnier, when he goes into talks with David Davis next week-- the Brexit Secretary at least has something to work on the prospect that these Brexit talks could eventually move on again.
