EU citizens in UK can stay after Brexit: May : The Tribune India

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EU citizens in UK can stay after Brexit: May

LONDON:Prime Minister Theresa May, known for her hardline stance on Brexit, has offered a sop to UK-based EU citizens by promising to allow them to stay in Britain after the country’s exit from the economic bloc.

EU citizens in UK can  stay after Brexit: May

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in Brussels. REUTERS



London, June 23 

Prime Minister Theresa May, known for her hardline stance on Brexit, has offered a sop to UK-based EU citizens by promising to allow them to stay in Britain after the country’s exit from the economic bloc.

The announcement at a Brussels summit yesterday will come as a relief to an estimated 3 million EU nationals living permanently in the UK, including over 20,000 Goans who had used their Portuguese heritage to apply for EU nationality.

Addressing EU leaders at her first summit since the snap general election that lost her a majority in the UK Parliament, May said she did not want anyone to have to leave or families to split up. “No one will face a cliff edge,” she said, softening her stance after her disastrous election gamble.

“The UK’s position represents a fair and serious offer, one aimed at giving as much certainty as possible to citizens who have settled in the UK, building careers and lives and contributing so much to our society,” she said. The British PM stressed that her government wanted to protect the rights of EU citizens in the UK and the rights of UK expats in other European countries.

Downing Street is yet to specify what the cut-off date will be for new residents, after which the special UK settled guarantee would no longer apply.

May told EU leaders: “The commitment that we make to EU citizens will be enshrined in UK law and will be enforced through our highly respected courts.”

May said her offer to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in Britain after Brexit was “very fair and very serious”, but her EU peers were sceptical, with Belgium’s leader saying it could contain a nasty “cat-in-the-bag” surprise.

For Poland, whose 800,000 citizens are the biggest cohort of the 3 million Europeans in Britain, Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski said: “We appreciate the effort but the offer does not meet all the criteria the EU agreed on as red lines.” 

Belgian PM Charles Michel found it “particularly vague” and described it using a Flemish expression for a dubious gift: “We don’t want a cat in the bag,” he said.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU chief executive, said: “That’s a first step, but this step is not sufficient.” In particular, the EU 27 want their citizens to be able to enforce their rights in Britain through the European Court of Justice, something May has flatly ruled out. They also dispute her attempt to limit those rights potentially to people already living in Britain before she triggered Brexit three months ago. There are roughly 3 million living there now. — Agencies


Macron, Merkel back tougher approach on trade

  • French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both voiced support on Friday for a more robust European approach to trade, saying the bloc must respond if other countries block access to their markets
  • At a joint news conference between the two leaders at the end of a two-day European Union summit, Macron said he favoured open markets but that Europe “cannot be naive”
  • Merkel voiced support for the concept of reciprocity in trade and investment, saying Europe “must respond” if other countries prevented its companies from competing for public contracts. She singled out the US which has taken a more protectionist approach under President Donald Trump

EU agencies to leave London

  • EU leaders will decide this autumn where to move EU banking and medicines agencies that they are pulling out of London, using a voting system some liken to the Eurovision song contest
  • Most of the remaining 27 EU states have expressed interest in hosting the European Banking Authority  and the European Medicines Agency, which together employ more than 1,000 people
  • Under the agreed procedure, countries will have until the end of July to submit candidate cities. These will then be assessed by the executive European Commission by September

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