Verhofstadt: Britons could retain EU rights after Brexit

Britons should be entitled to apply individually to retain various benefits of EU membership, including the freedom of movement, after the UK has left the bloc, the European Parliament’s chief negotiator has said.Guy Verhofstadt told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, “All British citizens today have also EU citizenship. That means a number of things: the possibility to participate in the European elections, the freedom of travel without problem inside the union. We need to have an arrangement in which this arrangement can continue for those citizens who, on an individual basis, are requesting it.“That Britain goes out of the European Union is, in my opinion, a tragedy, a disaster, a catastrophe. But it gives us also a responsibility to look for a new partnership between the UK and the European Union.”

A new partnership between the UK and European Union

Mr Verhofstadt, who also warned that the European Parliament would have the power to reject any Brexit deal brokered between the UK and the European Commission, claimed that the estimated three million EU citizens living in Britain were victims of “political games”. He said their rights must be the first item in the Brexit talks – a position the UK government supports, as long as the talks also resolve the fate of the 1.2 million British expats in the EU.Guy Verhofstadt said he had received more than a thousand letters from UK citizens who did not want to lose their relationship with “European civilisation”.“The first thing to do – in my opinion, maybe the most important – is to be aware of the difficult position of the EU citizens living in Britain and the opposite, the UK citizens living on the continent,” he added.“It is absolutely necessary that, before talking about everything else, we need to clarify that UK citizens and European citizens cannot be the victim of the political games we have seen since Brexit.“In my opinion, we need to put first in these negotiations the treatment of these EU citizens living in Britain and of UK citizens. This is the first chapter of the withdrawal agreement – then there can be, for example, the whole question of the money.”

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Vicky Ford, a Conservative MEP, told the same programme that the UK and the EU were not far from agreement on the issue of the rights of expatriates, as well as on the issue of the so-called ‘divorce bill’ of as much as 60 billion euros likely to be demanded from Britain on exit.“There is a willingness on both sides to agree the principles on citizens’ rights straight up,” she said. “Both sides are very close on the money. The EU are saying they will only ask us to contribute what we've committed to, and the Prime Minister is saying we don't walk away from commitments. If that principle is agreed, then we can move on."

Movement of people, goods, services and capital

Mr Verhofstadt said he expected that, immediately after the UK triggered formal Brexit negotiations, the European Parliament would debate and vote on its “red lines” for the Brexit negotiations, such as the requirement for single market members to respect the “four freedoms” of movement of people, goods, services and capital.“It will reiterate the necessity that a single market is linked to the four freedoms, the necessity that the customs union is linked to competence concerning trade agreements,” he said. “It will clearly indicate also that it is not possible to have better treatment outside the European Union than inside.”The parliament’s resolution, Mr Verhofstadt added, would also emphasise the need to ensure that 20 years of peace in Northern Ireland was not put into jeopardy. “We cannot return to a hard border,” he said. “That is not in the interests of anybody.”For related news and features, visit our Brexit section.Access hundreds of global services and suppliers in our Online Directory  Get access to our free Global Mobility Toolkit

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