Letter to both negotiating teams challenges assertion deal ‘within touching distance’ as it warns major issues need to be addressed.
The financial settlement of Britain leaving, which is worth potentially €60bn (£53bn) to the EU, remains the largest hurdle to moving talks on to a future relationship. However, in its letter, the European parliament warns neither side to underestimate the significant problems that remain on citizens’ rights, even beyond the still unresolved question of the role of the European court of justice in governing any future agreement on the subject. The MEPs will have a right of veto on any future agreement.
It is understood the EU’s negotiators additionally fear the UK is sliding back on previous promises. In September the British government appeared to concede that European law would take “direct effect” when it came to protecting the rights of EU nationals living in the UK, meaning they can appeal to UK courts citing European law enshrined in the withdrawal treaty.
Officials in Brussels now sense mixed signals from London. The British are also feared to be back-pedalling on family reunification and export of benefits.
The parliament’s Brexit steering group, chaired by the former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, also highlighted those issues as of concern, although he suggested that both sides needed to move their positions for the parliament to approve the outcome.
In particular, the cross-party group of MEPs claimed the proposed application procedure for EU nationals in the UK published this week did not meet the parliament’s demands that claims to remain should be processed without conditions, including a criminal records check, or a cost to applicants. The British proposal suggests there would be a cost to applicants of “no more” than the price of a passport and that there would be a check of crime databases
before an application is approved.
The MEPs also say there should be no need for individual family members living in Britain to make separate applications, in contradiction to the British government’s position.
The parliament also dismisses the UK suggestion EU nationals would have to meet the same income threshold set for British nationals who want to bring a spouse from a non-EU state to Britain, a continuing sticking point in the talks.
Through: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/09/european-parliament-contradicts-uk-claim-deal-on-citizens-rights
