From the very beginning of the UK’s negotiations to leave the European Union I have been consistently clear that protecting the rights of both EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU was my first priority.
As Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, it is my responsibility to represent the interests and robustly defend the rights of all UK nationals, wherever you have chosen to make your homes and your livelihoods. That is why, at the beginning of the negotiating process, I made it clear that any deal guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens living in the UK would be dependent on such an offer being reciprocated for our UK nationals in the remaining Member States.
You made your decision to move without any expectation that the UK would leave the EU. I know that the referendum result has caused considerable anxiety for many of you and your families, and that is why I have made it a priority to bring certainty and clarity to your future wherever possible.
From speaking to my counterparts across Europe, I know that they hugely value the UK nationals living in their communities, as we value those EU citizens who contribute so much to the cultural fabric of the UK. So there has been a strong desire on both sides of this negotiation to address the very complex and technical issues that needed working through before a formal agreement could be reached.
I am delighted to announce that in concluding the first phase of the negotiations that is exactly what we have achieved.
The details are set out in the Joint Report on progress published on Friday 8 December by the UK Government and the European Commission.
This agreement guarantees that your rights as residents in the EU will be protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, so you can have certainty that you will be able to receive healthcare rights, pension and other benefits provisions as you do today. You can also benefit from existing coordination rules for past and future social security contributions.
Furthermore, we have agreed that close family members will be able to join you in the Member State where you live, after the UK has left. This includes existing spouses and civil partners, unmarried partners, children, dependent parents and grandparents, as well as children born or adopted outside of the member state in which you are resident on 29 March 2019.
While I hope this agreement will bring you some reassurance, I know there are a few important issues that have yet to be concluded. We raised these concerns, including the ability of UK nationals living in the EU to retain certain rights if they move within the EU, but the EU was not ready to discuss them in this phase of the negotiations. We intend to pursue these issues with the EU in the New Year, and I will continue to push for the best possible deal for our nationals across the EU.
I would like to thank those working in embassies across Europe, who have played a crucial role in the negotiating process, and would encourage any of you with further questions or concerns to approach them in the first instance.
I have spent many hours discussing these issues with all of the other 27 EU leaders over the last eighteen months as well as with President Juncker, President Tusk and the EU’s Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier. The constructive way in which these talks have been conducted gives me confidence that we will achieve a final deal that reflects the strong partnership between the UK and our European partners, and is in the mutual interest of citizens living across the continent. In the coming months I will be focussing on ensuring that EU citizens in the UK can have full access to these rights we have agreed, I hope my fellow leaders across the EU will do the same.
I wish you and your families a great Christmas and a very happy new year.