PM ‘is treating EU citizens like
Offer of lifetime right to let them stay in Britain is not enough, says Mayor
THERESA MAY was today accused of treating people like “bargaining chips” in a backlash against her offer of postBrexit rights for three million European Union citizens in Britain.
Her plan was dismissed as “pathetic” by a group representing EU nationals in the UK, while Mayor Sadiq Khan said it “doesn’t go anywhere near” giving reassurance to people who have built their lives in this country. At the Brussels summit Mrs May called it a “very fair and a very serious offer” that should give “reassurance and confidence” to people that they could have lifetime rights to live and work in the UK and enjoy the benefits of British healthcare, education, welfare and pensions.
But the Prime Minister acknowledged there would be hard negotiations over the details when they are revealed on Monday. She outlined her plan to give “settled status” to people who have lived in the UK for five years at a dinner last night. She was heard in silence by EU leaders, in a rebuff to her hope of a chance to negotiate direct with them.
Angela Merkel called it a “good start” after the leaders broke up but this morning the view had hardened that Mrs May had not given enough. JeanClaude Juncker, combative European Commission president, said her plan was a first step but “not sufficient”.
Under the proposals, settled status will be available to all EU nationals who have been in the UK for five years, granting them the same rights as British citizens to healthcare, education, welfare benefits and pensions.
People who have lived in the UK for less than five years will be able to stay on until they qualify. Newer arrivals ahead of a cut-off date, still to be negotiated, will have a two-year “grace period” to apply.
Mrs May clearly hopes the 27 other leaders will drop demands for the European Court of Justice to oversee the rights of EU citizens, in return for a late cut-off, probably coinciding with Brexit in 2019. Arriving for the second day of the EU summit on the anniversary of the referendum on June 23 last year, Mrs May said EU expats should take “reassurance and confidence” from the package.
“I want to reassure all those EU citizens who are in the UK, who have made their lives and homes in the UK, that no one will have to leave. We won’t be seeing families split apart,” she said.
“This is a fair and serious offer. I want to give those EU citizens in the UK certainty about the future of their lives, but I also want to see that certainty given to citizens who are living in the EU.”
But the chairman of the 3Million group, Nicolas Hatton, retorted: “There is something slightly pathetic about the Prime Minister’s proposal which makes no reference to the detailed, comprehensive offer tabled by the EU. The Prime Minister described her proposal as fair and serious. It’s neither fair nor serious.”
Unanswered questions include what rights relatives will have to join families. 3Million said there were also uncertainties about the right to work, the recognition of professional qualifications and the ability to retain UK rights when moving between different European countries.
It also called for the European Court to have a role — something that is unacceptable to Mrs May.
Dutch PM Mark Rutte said there were “thousands of questions to ask” about the proposals. Austrian chancellor Christian Kern described them as “a first step” which did not cover the situations of many EU citizens in the UK.
Belgian prime minister Charles Michel called it a “particularly vague proposal” and added: “We don’t want a cat in the bag. We want the rights of