EU Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said the U.K. will have to deposit payments for long-term programs to the EU until at least 2020, even after it leaves the bloc in 2019, Reuters reported Aug. 7, citing Germany's Bild newspaper.

Oettinger said Britain had made these commitments to the EU before the country voted in 2016 to leave the bloc in 2019.

Britain's withdrawal from the bloc could leave the EU with a revenue shortfall of at least €10 billion a year, Oettinger said in a June 28 blog post. This could be offset by budget cuts, higher payments by members such as Germany, or the removal of discounts negotiated with member countries, he said.