- Home » Expat News » EU expat rights and UK expat pensions confirmed by British Brexit secretary
EU expat rights and UK expat pensions confirmed by British Brexit secretary
| Published: | 9 Oct at 6 PM |
Want to get involved?
Become a Featured Expat and take our interview.
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
Become a Local Expert and contribute articles.
Get in touch today!
Brexit minister David Davies has confirmed the post-Brexit rights of EU citizens in the UK and British expats’ pension rights are secure.
In a briefing session with UK parliamentarians, Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator said the EU had agreed on the two principles, although he gave no details of the exact contents of the agreements. He also told MPs he believes the EU negotiators needed to be more flexible in their attitudes to the UK’s proposals, adding that differences still existed on the issues of voting rights for UK expats and family rights for EU citizens in the UK.
Although Davies assured British MPs that ‘concrete progress’ has now been made, he admitted the so-called Brexit divorce bill intended to fund ongoing UK commitments was a major issue dividing the two sides. The British team believes the European Union is using an inflated figure in order to cover the Union’s financial ‘black hole’, thus saving the remaining EU member states from having to plug it. According to Davies, close examination of the EU’s position is a duty owed to British taxpayers.
The actual amount of the payment fluctuates almost every time it’s mentioned, with estimates ranging from below 50 billion sterling to double that amount. Labour Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer is expressing his concern over the slow progress of the negotiations to date, saying he believes the two negotiating teams are now further apart than at the start of the talks. The prospect of a ‘no deal’ hard Brexit, he adds, seems likely to rise from the ashes of wasted time and opportunity.
Meanwhile, polls suggest antipathy towards Brexit itself is rising, and Theresa May is under attack for her pro-Brexit stance as well as her shambles of a speech at the Tory Party Conference last week. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn demanded his MPs use their vote against the EU Withdrawal Bill to weaken the PM’s position still further in the hope she will be removed. Welsh and Scottish MPs are claiming the bill is a power grab by Westminster.
In a briefing session with UK parliamentarians, Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator said the EU had agreed on the two principles, although he gave no details of the exact contents of the agreements. He also told MPs he believes the EU negotiators needed to be more flexible in their attitudes to the UK’s proposals, adding that differences still existed on the issues of voting rights for UK expats and family rights for EU citizens in the UK.
Although Davies assured British MPs that ‘concrete progress’ has now been made, he admitted the so-called Brexit divorce bill intended to fund ongoing UK commitments was a major issue dividing the two sides. The British team believes the European Union is using an inflated figure in order to cover the Union’s financial ‘black hole’, thus saving the remaining EU member states from having to plug it. According to Davies, close examination of the EU’s position is a duty owed to British taxpayers.
The actual amount of the payment fluctuates almost every time it’s mentioned, with estimates ranging from below 50 billion sterling to double that amount. Labour Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer is expressing his concern over the slow progress of the negotiations to date, saying he believes the two negotiating teams are now further apart than at the start of the talks. The prospect of a ‘no deal’ hard Brexit, he adds, seems likely to rise from the ashes of wasted time and opportunity.
Meanwhile, polls suggest antipathy towards Brexit itself is rising, and Theresa May is under attack for her pro-Brexit stance as well as her shambles of a speech at the Tory Party Conference last week. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn demanded his MPs use their vote against the EU Withdrawal Bill to weaken the PM’s position still further in the hope she will be removed. Welsh and Scottish MPs are claiming the bill is a power grab by Westminster.
Comments » No published comments just yet for this article...
Feel free to have your say on this item. Go on... be the first!
