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Theresa May reaffirms migration controls as key aim of Brexit May hints that The Hague could guarantee EU citizens' rights
(about 4 hours later)
Theresa May has reaffirmed the importance of controlling migration to the UK from other EU countries as a central aim of Brexit, after a meeting with other EU leaders in Brussels. Theresa May has hinted at a compromise over the vexed issue of EU citizens’ future rights in the UK, suggesting they could be guaranteed in the international court of justice in The Hague.
At a dinner with the other 27 EU leaders on Thursday night, the prime minister outlined the broad principles of what she called a “fair and serious offer” to protect the rights of EU citizens living in the UK – before leaving to allow them to continue discussions without her. The UK will publish the full details of what May has called a “fair and serious offer” to EU citizens on Monday, following the EU’s own opening offer on the subject in April.
But at a press conference in Brussels on Friday, she underlined the fact that once Britain formally leaves the EU, in 2019, controlling immigration will be a key priority, which she believes voters were demanding when they backed Brexit last year. Speaking in Brussels at the end of a two-day summit with the other 27 EU leaders, May said: “I want all those EU citizens who have made their lives and homes in our country to know that no one will have to leave. We won’t be seeing families split apart; people will be able to go on living their lives as before.”
“I think what voters voted for when they voted to leave the EU was to ensure that outside the European Union the United Kingdom could establish our own rules on migration, from the EU into the UK, and that is exactly what we will be doing,” May said. One key potential sticking point is the EU’s insistence that the European court of justice must be the ultimate guarantor of the rights granted to EU citizens already living in the UK when Brexit happens in 2019.
She pointed to the immigration bill announced in the Queen’s speech on Wednesday, as one of the eight Brexit-related pieces of legislation the government hopes to pass in the current two-year session of parliament. May, who fought a series of battles against the Luxembourg court as home secretary, has repeatedly made clear that extricating the UK from its oversight is a red line in the Brexit negotiations.
Despite the sceptical response of key EU leaders, May insisted she had received a positive reaction from some of her colleagues. In her Conservative party conference speech last October, she said: “We will not have truly left the European Union if we are not in control of our own laws.”
She also hinted there could be a compromise over the EU’s demand in its own offer that future rights of EU citizens be underpinned by the European court of justice - anathema to some Conservative MPs. Speaking as the Brussels meeting came to a close, she appeared to point to an alternative, saying: “From our point of view, these [rights] will be enshrined in UK law, they will be enforced by the highly respected UK courts and of course, if this is an aspect of the withdrawal treaty, it will be enshrined in international law as well.”
“If this is an aspect of the withdrawal treaty then it will be enshrined in international law,” May said on Friday, suggesting international courts could oversee the promise. That could allow EU citizens to appeal for arbitration to an international body – perhaps the international court of justice in The Hague, which enforces international treaties.
“I want all those EU citizens who have made their lives and homes in our country to know that no one will have to leave. We won’t be seeing families split apart; people will be able to go on living their lives as before.” The issue of ECJ oversight is also likely to come up when the UK begins negotiations over a future trade deal with the EU27. The ECJ enforces the rules of the single market, but the UK is likely to seek an alternative arbiter to oversee the “deep and special” deal it hopes to secure.
She made clear – as she has throughout her premiership – that the offer was conditional on striking an agreement over the future of British citizens living in other EU countries, something she said she hoped to conclude “at the earliest possible date”. May outlined the broad principles of the UK’s offer on citizens’ rights at the end of a dinner with the other 27 EU leaders on Thursday night, before leaving to allow them to continue discussions without her.
Full details of the offer will be laid out in a government paper on Monday, but the prime minister said EU citizen who arrive before Britain formally leaves in 2019 will be able to apply for a new “settled status” after five years, allowing them to acquire the same rights as UK nationals to pensions, benefits and the NHS. At her press conference before returning to London, May insisted she had had “positive” reactions from some leaders, despite their lukewarm public comments.
The European council meeting was not meant to be a forum for Brexit discussions, which kicked off last Monday, but initial responses from leaders in Brussels were unenthusiastic. Donald Tusk, the council’s president, said the offer was “below expectations” and “risks worsening the situation”. And she underlined the fact that once Britain formally left the EU, controlling immigration would be a key priority. “I think what voters voted for when they voted to leave the EU was to ensure that, outside the European Union, the United Kingdom could establish our own rules on migration, from the EU into the UK, and that is exactly what we will be doing,” May said.
Back in the UK, Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, condemned the PM’s offer as “too little, too late”; and London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, said it was wrong to treat EU citizens as “bargaining chips”. Since the snap election wiped out the Conservatives’ majority in parliament, senior figures on both sides of the Commons – including cabinet ministers – have underlined the importance of prioritising the economy, rather than immigration, in the negotiations, which formally began on Monday.
She said while the UK’s offer to EU citizens would create certainty, “I also want to see that certainty, that reassurance, given to UK citizens who are living in the European Union. You wouldn’t expect me, as the British prime minister, to say anything less.” May’s emollient language about the offer to EU citizens appeared to mark a change in tone from the more combative approach to the talks she suggested during the election campaign, when she repeatedly called on the public to back her so she could “fight for Britain”.
May was speaking on the first anniversary of the Brexit referendum, which some of her pro-leave cabinet colleagues have dubbed “independence day”. It came after David Davis kicked off the talks by agreeing to the EU’s proposed timetable – with the exit bill, citizens’ rights and the future of Northern Ireland to be discussed first, before a trade deal can be thrashed out.
Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the Commons, tweeted that the referendum was a “fantastic, superb, amazing result”. The Brexit secretary had previously said he expected the timetabling of the talks to be the “row of the summer”.
Full details of the UK’s offer to EU citizens will be set out in a government paper to be tabled before parliament this week, but the prime minister said EU citizens who arrive before Britain formally leaves in 2019 will be able to apply for a new “settled status” after five years, allowing them to acquire the same rights as UK nationals to pensions, benefits and the NHS.
May was speaking on the first anniversary of the Brexit referendum, which some of her pro-leave cabinet colleagues have called “independence day”.
One year on... A fantastic, superb, amazing result for Britain & our future in the world! Happy #IndependenceDay @BorisJohnson @GiselaStuart pic.twitter.com/0UVRa6np8gOne year on... A fantastic, superb, amazing result for Britain & our future in the world! Happy #IndependenceDay @BorisJohnson @GiselaStuart pic.twitter.com/0UVRa6np8g
Asked whether, one year on from the vote Brexit would be good for Britain, May said: “That’s exactly what we’re working for,” adding, “I believe in Britain, I believe in our opportunities as a country.” Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons, tweeted that the referendum was a “fantastic, superb, amazing result”. Asked whether, one year on from the vote, she believed Brexit would be good for Britain, May said: “That’s exactly what we’re working for,” adding: “I believe in Britain, I believe in our opportunities as a country.”