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Rajoy on Theresa May's proposals for EU citizens in UK: “Not bad, but could be better”
24/06/2017
SPANISH president Mariano Rajoy says his British counterpart's proposals for cross-EU citizens' rights post-Brexit was 'not bad', but 'could have been better'.
In one of the UK prime minister Theresa May's first of many meetings in Brussels to discuss the country's divorce from the European Union, the Conservative leader said EU citizens who had been living in Britain for five years or more would retain 'similar rights' to those of British nationals and be allowed permanent residency.
But key figures in the EU, including Donald Tusk, Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, Jean-Claude Juncker and the leaders of the club's largest two economies other than the UK – German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron – are not happy.
They say the details of how Brits living in the EU and Europeans living in Britain will fare after the UK leaves the Union are unclear, and Mrs May's explanations 'insufficient'.
Tusk believes the proposals could even leave Europeans in Britain in worse position than they are now.
The cut-off date for Europeans' arrival in the UK with full free-movement rights in their hands needs to be set, and those who have not been there for five years by the date in question could have troubled times on their hands.
And this could apply to Brits living in the EU, particularly where they rely on aspects of UK policy – such as healthcare and pension-related rights – although the first impressions seem to show that European leaders will want to minimise the impact of Brexit for Britons abroad.
Mariano Rajoy says he and other EU leaders need to know what the situation would be for Europeans in the UK prior to their five-year anniversary of moving there.
“This is a battle that we're going to take on,” he stresses.
“First and foremost, the Brexit negotiations – even though the road to Brexit will be carved out as we go along – must be that of ensuring that no Spanish or other European citizen suffers any detriment,” the PP boss told reporters.
But he admitted the meetings were only in their infancy.
“And we must all congratulate ourselves for having given priority to citizens' rights – the proposals are not bad, but they could have been better,” Rajoy admitted.
“For the moment, at least we know that European citizens living in the UK will not be thrown out when Brexit happens, and that those who move there prior to Brexit will be able to legalise their residency eventually.”
Rajoy also recalled that other crucial aspects of the negotiations will be that of the border between Northern Ireland, which is British territory, and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member State, and the issue of the UK's financial contribution to the EU to settle its dues.
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SPANISH president Mariano Rajoy says his British counterpart's proposals for cross-EU citizens' rights post-Brexit was 'not bad', but 'could have been better'.
In one of the UK prime minister Theresa May's first of many meetings in Brussels to discuss the country's divorce from the European Union, the Conservative leader said EU citizens who had been living in Britain for five years or more would retain 'similar rights' to those of British nationals and be allowed permanent residency.
But key figures in the EU, including Donald Tusk, Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, Jean-Claude Juncker and the leaders of the club's largest two economies other than the UK – German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron – are not happy.
They say the details of how Brits living in the EU and Europeans living in Britain will fare after the UK leaves the Union are unclear, and Mrs May's explanations 'insufficient'.
Tusk believes the proposals could even leave Europeans in Britain in worse position than they are now.
The cut-off date for Europeans' arrival in the UK with full free-movement rights in their hands needs to be set, and those who have not been there for five years by the date in question could have troubled times on their hands.
And this could apply to Brits living in the EU, particularly where they rely on aspects of UK policy – such as healthcare and pension-related rights – although the first impressions seem to show that European leaders will want to minimise the impact of Brexit for Britons abroad.
Mariano Rajoy says he and other EU leaders need to know what the situation would be for Europeans in the UK prior to their five-year anniversary of moving there.
“This is a battle that we're going to take on,” he stresses.
“First and foremost, the Brexit negotiations – even though the road to Brexit will be carved out as we go along – must be that of ensuring that no Spanish or other European citizen suffers any detriment,” the PP boss told reporters.
But he admitted the meetings were only in their infancy.
“And we must all congratulate ourselves for having given priority to citizens' rights – the proposals are not bad, but they could have been better,” Rajoy admitted.
“For the moment, at least we know that European citizens living in the UK will not be thrown out when Brexit happens, and that those who move there prior to Brexit will be able to legalise their residency eventually.”
Rajoy also recalled that other crucial aspects of the negotiations will be that of the border between Northern Ireland, which is British territory, and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member State, and the issue of the UK's financial contribution to the EU to settle its dues.
Related Topics
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