Prime Minister May called for ‘urgency’ regarding citizens rights during Brexit negotiations, ahead of her arrival in Brussels for the European Summit this week.
The Prime Minister adopted a conciliatory tone towards the EU members, commenting: “At the heart of that remains cooperation on the key issues and dealing with the shared challenges that we face,”
She continued: “We’ll also be looking at the concrete progress that has been made in our exit negotiations and setting out ambitious plans for the weeks ahead. I particularly, for example, want to see an urgency in reaching an agreement on citizens rights.”
Resolving the issue of rights for UK citizens living the EU and vice versa has been identified as a key priority of the government as Brexit negotiations move forward.
Prime Minister May also took to Facebook to address the issue, prior to her trip to Brussels.
In the post, she stated: “When we started this process, some accused us of treating EU nationals as bargaining chips,” she said.
She added: “EU citizens who have made their lives in the UK have made a huge contribution to our country. And we want them and their families to stay. I couldn’t be clearer: EU citizens living lawfully in the UK today will be able to stay.”
Despite the attempt to give assurance to anxious citizens unsure of their status, many activists and lobbyists have expressed their skepticism of the open letter, particularly regarding its timing.
Nicolas Hatton, of the 3million pressure group which looks to represent the rights of EU nationals in the UK, called the PM’s statement “very positive”, but noted that the timing is “a bit more dubious”.
The Prime Minister is expected to encourage European leaders to move Brexit negotiations onto the issue of trade, a key concern for the UK as it looks towards exiting the union.
In response, European Council President Donald Tusk has insisted that there will no “breakthrough” at the upcoming two-day summit, instead pointing towards upcoming negotiations in December.