After months of agonising limbo, the United Kingdom and the European Union have reached an agreement on several factors, including citizens’ rights.
Ever since the Brexit vote came in, many people have found themselves living a life of limbo and suspended animation when it comes to their rights. Citizens from other European Union countries living in the UK have feared for their rights, and British citizens living in the rest of the European Union have suffered the same fate as the United Kingdom’s historic and shock vote to leave the European Union threw the lives of millions of people into the unknown.
Finally, after what seems like an eternity of living in a state of the unknown, the United Kingdom and the European Union have finally reached a decision on numerous key issues in Phase One of negotiations. One of them is the decision that all rights currently enjoyed by both British citizens and other EU citizens in each others’ respective countries will continue to be enjoyed by both parties even after the United Kingdom withdraws from the European Union and its laws.
Aside from this, the Government of the United Kingdom has announced that both the UK and the EU have reached an agreement in principle on the framework for addressing the unique circumstances in Northern Ireland and the much talked about financial settlement.
To further elaborate on citizens’ rights, it has been announced that the ”overall objective of the Withdrawal Agreement with respect to citizens’ rights is to provide reciprocal protection for Union and UK citizens, to enable the effective exercise of rights derived from Union law and based on past life choices, where those citizens have exercised free movement rights by the specified date.”
If you’d like to read more and obtain more detail on exactly what has been decided and agreed upon, click here.
