The EU Commission rejects its own contract with London for the right of residence for EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the EU. „We will not negotiate mini-deals,“ said a Commission spokeswoman in Brussels.
Rather, it is expected that the UK will implement the pledge to protect the rights of EU citizens even in a Brexit without a contract. For its part, the EU states are called upon to grant generous rights to the British on their territory. There are a total of 4.5 million people on both sides of the English Channel. „You should not pay the price for the Brexit,“ said the spokeswoman.
On Wednesday evening, London’s parliament mandated the government to separate with the EU the part of the resignation agreement on citizens‘ rights, regardless of whether the deal was accepted as a whole. The declared aim is to guarantee the rights agreed in the agreement for EU citizens in Great Britain and for Britons in the EU, even without a deal.
Uncertainty deters many EU citizens: fewer and fewer are moving to the UK, more and more are turning their backs on the country. This applies, for example, to Estonians, Hungarians and Poles. The net migration from the EU – immigration after emigration – has fallen to its lowest level in nearly ten years, at 57,000, according to the UK statistics office ONS (Office for National Statistics). In contrast, the net migration of non-EU citizens is 261,000, the highest in almost 15 years. The statistics take into account the period of one year until September 2018.
In the Brexit dispute, the British government is still negotiating with the EU about the so-called backstop for Ireland. Here, according to EU diplomats, an agreement could be reached before 12 March. Several EU representatives confirmed this to the German Press Agency. However, a postponement of the Brexit date March 29 is now almost inevitable, EU diplomats said.
Even if Prime Minister Theresa May brought the treaty through the lower house, it would take a few weeks for ratification. An extension would most likely be accepted by the EU at the summit on 21 and 22 March, several diplomats said in Brussels. May emphasizes, however, that she wants to resign on March 29th.
The backstop is the EU-requested guarantee for an open border between the EU state of Ireland and the British Northern Ireland: until another solution is found, the whole of the UK should remain in a customs union with the EU. Many Brexiteers reject this because they fear a permanent close bond with the EU.
The UK Parliament is scheduled to vote once more on the withdrawal agreement on 12 March, which it rejected in mid-January. May had said Wednesday that she was about to get concessions from Brussels. Thereafter, the lower house had the head of government on it to be allowed to vote on the rejection of the contract and a no deal also on the option of postponing the Brexit.
In protest, however, the British Secretary of State for Agriculture George Eustice resigned from office on Thursday. In this context, the conservative politician also warned against a „humiliation“ of Great Britain by the EU. He wants by his resignation to have the opportunity in the coming weeks regardless of his office to participate freely in the „critical debate“ to Brexit
Meanwhile, during an unannounced visit to Northern Ireland, Prince William called people „to cohesion in difficult times.“ British media commented his talk on Thursday’s eve as an allusion to the planned EU exit. The royals usually do not comment on political events.
