Britons should keep EU rights after Brexit, EU negotiator says
Guy Verhofstadt says he hopes to convince EU leaders to allow Britons to keep freedom of movement and other rights after Brexit.
Friday 10 March 2017 11:02, UK
British citizens should be allowed to keep the benefits of European Union membership after Brexit, including the freedom of movement, a leading EU negotiator has said.
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's chief negotiator, said Britons should be allowed to apply for the rights on an individual basis.
The comments came after Theresa May attended an , the last time a British PM will do so with Britain a full member of the union.
Mrs May has left the summit after the first day, while the other 27 European leaders are continuing to hold talks over the future shape of the bloc.
Mr Verhofstadt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "All British citizens today have also EU citizenship.
"That means a number of things: the possibility to participate in the European elections, the freedom of travel without problem inside the union."
He added: "We need to have an arrangement in which this arrangement can continue for those citizens who on an individual basis are requesting it."
The fate of British citizens on the continent, as well as of EU citizens in Britain, is going to be part of the talks between London and Brussels, possibly early on in the process.
Mrs May has said she wants to give security to Britons in Europe and EU citizens in the UK.
But she has been accused of using the rights of EU citizens living in the UK as.
Mr Verhofstadt said he had received more than a thousand letters from British citizens who do not want to lose their connection with "European civilisation".
In the past he had called on Brussels to be "open and generous" to individual UK citizens, and said politicians were considering how to allow them to maintain their ties to the continent.