The European Union on Friday criticised Britain Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposal in connection with the rights of EU citizens living in the United Kingdom after Brexit. “The UK’s offer is below our expectations and that it risks worsening the situation of [EU] citizens,” European Council President Donald Tusk said, according to BBC.
According to the proposal that May presented at the two-day summit in Brussels on Thursday, those EU nationals who have been living in the UK for more than five years would be given a new “settled status”, reported The Independent. It will make them eligible for the same rights to healthcare, education, welfare and pensions as full British citizens.
Others who have been living in UK for less than five years will be able allowed to continue until they finish five years and gain the status. May is yet to announce the cut-off date after which new arrivals will not be granted the “settled status”. There are about three million EU citizens living in the UK.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was a “good start” but “not a breakthrough”. Tusk said it was important to ensure that the rights of EU and UK citizens were not at risk after Brexit. “It will be for our negotiation team to analyse the offer line by line once we receive it on paper,” he said, according to Evening Standard.
May admitted that there were some differences over the proposals, but said “the matter will now go into the negotiations”, reported Reuters. She called her proposal a “fair and serious offer”.
May set the stage for Brexit by triggering Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union on March 29, 2017. Currently, the UK is on course to leave the European Union by March 30, 2019.
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