The Brexit Steering Group met on Tuesday 12 November with several committees to look at the part of the Withdrawal Agreement on citizens’ rights.
The focus of this meeting with the LIBE, EMPL, JURI, PETI and AFCO committees was on the implementation in the UK and in the EU-27 of the citizens’ rights provisions contained within part II of the Withdrawal Agreement.
As regards the UK, the following six aspects of the UK’s EU Settlement Scheme were highlighted during the meeting:
- Attribution of pre-settled and settled status
- The independence of the Independent Monitoring Authority
- Possible consequences for EU citizens who fail to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme before the application deadline
- Absence of a physical document
- Measures to address the situation of vulnerable citizens
- The applicability of settled status rights to all EU citizens who have not also sought British citizenship.
The Brexit Steering Group will continue to examine these issues with the new UK government and pursue its work in liaison with civil society organisations representing EU citizens living in the UK.
As regard the EU-27, it was also agreed that, in liaison with civil society organisations representing UK citizens in the EU-27, the application of the Withdrawal Agreement in the 27 Member States should be examined.
