Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 11 February 2020 - Strasbourg

Proposed mandate for negotiations for a new partnership with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (debate)

  Loránt Vincze (PPE), in writing. – The mobility of persons and workers was always directly linked to the smooth functioning of the internal market of the European Union the United Kingdom would like frictionless access to. Over the years, however, it has also changed the social fabric of the societies on both sides of the channel. A too severe approach to immigration risks tearing apart myriad links in this fabric. We can just think of the relatives of the 3.5m citizens of EU countries who have the right to remain in the UK, whose relatives would not be able to move back and forth between their countries of residence and the UK under current UK plans. But we can also think of UK citizens remaining in Europe who would be tied to their EU countries of residence and the young Britons who treasure the possibility to go to Europe without a visa and get study, work and life experiences on the continent. Any ambitious agreement on the future relationship should be mindful of these social links and would need to ensure the continuation of rights for EU and UK citizens to the largest degree possible.