The leadership of the European Parliament has said it will not accept ‘discrimination’ by UK immigration authorities against EU citizens who come to the UK during the Brexit transition period.
This motion has been backed by the leaderships of the main pro-EU political groups, as the European Parliament insists that freedom of movement is to be maintained in full effect until the end of the transition period, therefore to at least 2021.
The motion put forward will be discussed in the European Parliament next Tuesday and MEPs will vote on it the following day. While there has as yet been no official vote on this position, the motion has already been backed by the Conference of Presidents and group leaders within the European Parliament.
Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt told reporters on Wednesday 7 March 2018 that he has invited Home Office civil servants to Brussels following his meetings with David Davis and other ministers in London. According to Mr Verhofstadt, Home Office officials accepted his invitation to explain how the new application system for settled status would work before the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee. The invitation was extended so that MEPs could scrutinise the UK’s plans for the post-Brexit immigration system.
MEPs will benefit from this discussion as it will allow them to ensure that the new system implemented would be simple and effective and the future of EU nationals in the UK and their British counterparts on the continent would be secured as soon as possible.
The motion that will be discussed next week also includes proposals for the deals struck between the EU and UK to be embedded in a so-called ‘association agreement’ similar the one that has been signed with Ukraine. The agreement would cover four areas: trade, foreign policy and security, internal security, and so-called ‘thematic cooperation’, such as on research.
If you are an EU national in the UK and want to discuss the options available to you to ensure your residency status in the UK is maintained following Brexit, please contact us.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
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