24/03/2017 (Agence Europe) – In an interview with the BBC, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said that the United Kingdom would have to pay a tab of around £50 billion (€58 billion) when it leaves the European Union. With Theresa May getting ready to trigger article 50 of the Treaty on 29 March, the Commission President explained that he had no desire to punish the UK, but that the EU must prevent other countries from following its lead. He explained that there was no hostility regarding Brexit because he hopes for, and believes in, an amicable relationship with the United Kingdom over the coming decades. However, he stressed that he did not want others to go down the same road, because if two, or three, or four, or five others left – it would be the end. (SP)