What will happen to EU nationals in the UK?
Reassuring EU Nationals in the UK - 'not only common decency but also common sense'
WPDLWLDPCC
30 Nov 2016
Reassuring EU Nationals in the UK - 'not only common decency but also common sense'
Plese find below a speech to the European Parliament, by Liberal Democrat/ALDE MEP Catherine Bearder on racism and xenophobia in the UK
At his first press conference in his capacity as Chief Negotiator for the European Commission in the Brexit negotiations, Michel Barnier suggested on Tuesday 6 December that the negotiations, if activated by the UK government by end March 2017, would have to be concluded by October 2018. This would then allow sufficient time to allow for full ratification by the EU's member states, the European Parliament and the UK Parliament within the 2 year time frame prescribed under article 50. Although the October 2018 deadline is merely advisory and falls within the 2 year period, it clearly indicates what procedures and processes need to take place once an agreement is reached.
I was recently at an engineering conference in Nanjing and met up with a Polish colleague one evening for supper. The conversation turned to European politics and Britain's proposed withdrawal from the European Union. I mentioned that one of the problems that I saw was that national governments and national politicians tended to take credit for anything which was likely to be perceived positively by the general population and to blame 'Brussels' for anything negative, even if it had been agreed with other European governments at the Council of Ministers. My friend's reaction surprised me. A wide-eyed "Not just in Poland?" was his reply. Obviously he felt this to be a specifically Polish behaviour, rather than a more general problem across the whole EU. A 20-year old issue in the town of Schwalbach, where I live, illustrates how it happens - and on occasion can be countered.
Much has been written since Brexit about the need for a Progressive Alliance within British politics. This initiative has not materialised as opposition parties have failed to work together. Apart from Caroline Lucas of the Green Party, Labour moderates like Lisa Nandi, Chukka Umana and Dan Jarvis and Shirley Williams of the Liberal Democrats; no party leader has yet responded positively. The reasons are vested in tribalism, as no-one wants to take the lead, possibly lose their Party identity, or receive the ire of their members. They are thinking party not Country!
A stream of polls show the wafer-thin support for Brexit edging away. There's little evidence that Theresa May's government has a plan for Brexit, never mind a credible one. Meanwhile the political tremors from Trump's election in the USA are a reminder of the political value of a stable European union.