The Beginning of the End? Citizens’ rights in the Brexit ‘Sufficient Progress’ deal

At a press conference held early on the 8 December 2017 European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and United Kingdom Prime Theresa May announced that they had reached agreement in principle across the three areas under consideration in the first phase of negotiations for the UK to leave the EU:

+ protecting the rights of Union citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the Union
+ the framework for addressing the unique circumstances in Northern Ireland with its border with Ireland
+ the financial settlement

This blog feature (and related hyperlinks below) focused on the first area - issues relating to protecting the rights of Union citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the Union. See specifically the document issued by the European Commission on the 8 December 2017 Joint technical note expressing the detailed consensus of the UK and EU positions on Citizens’ Rights.

Background

One of the key issues being discussed since June 2017 in the initial sequence of Brexit negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom was 'citizen's rights'.

Ahead of the European Council, Brussels, 19-20 October 2017, United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May wrote an open letter to EU citizens in the UK.

Seen as a goodwill gesture Mrs May said that the more than 3 million EU citizens living in the U.K living legally in the country 'will be able to stay'. 'We want people to stay and we want families to stay together. We hugely value the contributions that EU nationals make to the economic, social and cultural fabric of the UK'.

The United Kingdom Government published on 7 November 2017 a technical document which set out further details on how a settled status scheme would operate for EU citizens and their families in the UK. The policy paper, called Citizens' rights: administrative procedures in the UK, was part of the negotiations with the European Commission.

The European Parliament's Brexit Steering Group later highlighted the need for major issues to be addressed regarding EU citizens rights and branded the proposal as 'inadequate'.

Blog: LSE EuroppBlog, 24.01.18: EU citizens in Britain are already being stigmatised – and it’s likely to get worse http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2018/01/24/eu-citizens-stigmatised-brexit/

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

European Commission: Publications: Joint technical note expressing the detailed consensus of the UK and EU positions on Citizens’ Rights, December 2017 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/joint-technical-note-expressing-detailed-consensus-uk-and-eu-positions-respect-citizens-rights_en

The Guardian, 08.12.17: 'Brace for impact': EU citizens in the UK react to Brexit deal https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/dec/08/brace-for-impact-eu-citizens-in-uk-react-brexit-deal

BBC News, 08.12.17: Brexit: The rights of EU citizens in the UK and Britons in the EU http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42279408

The Guardian, 08.12.17: [Opinion]: The Tories tell us the rights of EU citizens are now secure. It’s a lie https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/08/eu-citizens-rights-brexit-bargaining-chips

Website: the3million https://www.the3million.org.uk/

Spiegel Online International, 07.12.17: Not so great. Britain Grows Increasingly Hostile to EU Citizens http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/as-brexit-nears-harrassment-of-eu-citizens-in-uk-rises-a-1181845.html

Blog: LSE EuroppBlog, 11.12.17: The question of citizenship in the Brexit divorce: UK and EU citizens’ rights compared http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2017/12/11/the-question-of-citizenship-in-the-brexit-divorce-uk-and-eu-citizens-rights-compared/

The Conversation, 14.12.17: What the Brexit deal means for EU citizens and their families https://theconversation.com/what-the-brexit-deal-means-for-eu-citizens-and-their-families-88901

---