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UK
government refuses to offer guarantees to EU citizens
Immigration
minister says it’s ‘unwise’ to tell EU nationals they can stay
in UK before Brexit negotiations.
By CYNTHIA KROET
7/4/16, 8:00 PM CET Updated 7/4/16, 8:05 PM CET
British immigration
minister James Brokenshire told the House of Commons Monday that the
government cannot make any promises about the future of EU citizens
in the U.K.
It would be “unwise”
to tell them they can stay before the U.K. has negotiated with other
EU countries about the rights of British nationals living elsewhere
in Europe.
Brokenshire added
that if the government made a promise now, that could trigger more
migrants to come to the EU.
He also said that
“EU nationals continue to be welcome here in the meantime.”
“EU nationals can
have our full reassurance that their right to enter, work and study
in the U.K. remains unchanged.”
He said that
decisions about their long-term future will be something that the new
prime minister will have to decide upon, because it “raises a
number of complex issues” and it is in the government’s interest
to “get the best possible outcome for EU citizens that are here.”
MPs from both sides
of the political divide, speaking in response to an urgent question
raised by Labour MP Gisela Stuart, told parliament that it is the
duty of the government to provide EU nationals with clarity.
The debate came
after Home Secretary Theresa May, who is in the race to become the
next Conservative party leader, on Sunday said that the position of
EU nationals remains unclear.
“We are still a
member of the EU – there is no change in their position currently.
But of course as part of the negotiation we will need to look at this
question of people who are here in the U.K. from the EU,” May told
ITV.
“I want to ensure
that we are able to not just guarantee the positions of those people
but guarantee the positions of British citizens in other member
states.”
Authors:
Cynthia Kroet
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Andrea
Leadsom: EU citizens can stay in UK
Energy
minister said UK should leave EU ‘with urgency.’
By VINCE CHADWICK
7/4/16, 12:17 PM CET Updated 7/4/16, 2:15 PM CET
U.K. Energy Minister
Andrea Leadsom officially launched her bid for the leadership of the
Conservative Party and British prime minister Monday, including by
“guaranteeing the rights of our EU friends who’ve already come
here to live and work.”
“We must give them
certainty,” she said at a press conference in Westminster. “There
is no way they will be bargaining chips in our negotiations.”
She also pledged
that “freedom of movement will end and the British parliament will
decide how many people enter our country each year to live, work and
contribute to our national life,” while flagging a possible
“transitional arrangement” for those arriving between now and
when the U.K. formally leaves the bloc.
Leadsom was elected
as an MP for South Northamptonshire in 2010 after 25 years in banking
and finance, and was given the energy and climate change portfolio in
May last year.
EU referendum didn’t
cause divisions in British society, she said “but it certainly did
reveal them.”
“Many people are
shocked at the result, but they really shouldn’t be.”
Addressing those
concerned by the Brexit vote, she said: “Please, don’t be afraid,
we haven’t lost our senses. We haven’t stopped caring about each
other, we haven’t stopped loving our families and our children, we
haven’t stopped loving our country either. We’ve just
rediscovered our freedom.”
Leadsom, who
campaigned to Leave at the June 23 referendum, also addressed
concerns, reported in the Mail on Sunday, about her support three
years ago for the U.K. remaining in the EU.
She said her
argument then was that “the status quo is not an option” and “we
could only remain a part of [the EU] if it fundamentally reformed”
— which she says didn’t happen.
She argued there was
no need to have another general election.
Asked when she would
trigger Article 50 which would start the U.K.’s formal negotiations
to leave the EU she said “I’m not putting deadlines on it” but
that it should be done “with urgency” because “we need to give
businesses certainty as soon as we can.”
Authors:
Vince Chadwick
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