British Prime Minister Theresa May says the offer she has made on the rights of European Union citizens living in Britain after Britain leaves the EU is “very fair” and “very serious.”
May has offered to allow an estimated 3 million EU citizens living in the United Kingdom to remain in Britain post-Brexit.
Speaking Friday in Brussels on the second day of an EU summit, May said the government “will set out more detailed proposals on Monday.”
EU leaders are not convinced her proposals are adequate, saying many questions remain.
“We won’t be seeing families split apart,” May said before the start of Friday’s meeting. She said she wanted similar reassurances for British citizens living in EU countries.
Be pragmatic
On Thursday, the president of the European Parliament said Europe needs to be pragmatic in dealing with Britain following the country’s decision to leave the bloc, but urged cooperation in future dealings.
“The UK will leave the European Union not Europe. This is important to pave the way also for good relations after the separation,” Antonio Tajani, the EU Parliament’s president said.
EU leaders opened a two-day summit Thursday in Brussels to address everything from Britain’s planned exit, terrorism, migration and other issues facing Europe.
European Union chief Donald Tusk said the remaining 27 EU nations are ready to choose new locations for the Europe-wide agencies currently headquartered in Britain.
Refugees
French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to work with Germany to relaunch the European project as member-states argued over how to manage refugees after Britain leaves the union.
“Europe is not, to my mind, just an idea. It’s a project, an ambition,” he said, noting that France is working “hand-in-hand” with Germany to implement the refugee resettlement plan.
Tajani, in his opening remarks, called it “vital” that Europe devise a solution to the current migration crisis affecting Europe. He said Europe needs to do more to stem the tide of migrants traveling to Europe from sub-Saharan Africa through Libya.
“So we’ve got to strengthen the stability of Libya and help this country as the prime minister asked yesterday, but also act in Sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.
