Brexit: MEPs to put people first during the negotiations
The UK and the EU will soon start talks to determine the terms of their new relationship and any resulting agreement would have to be approved by the European Parliament.
Tomorrow MEPs debate Parliament’s priorities and vote on them afterwards. A key principle will be to ensure that the interests of people are safeguarded . Watch our video for a reminder of the benefits of being an EU citizen.
On 29 March the UK triggered article 50, signalling the start of lengthy negotiations between the UK and the EU. One of the key issues is what will happen to the Brits living in the EU and the EU citizens living in the UK. The draft resolution to be voted on tomorrow calls for their fair treatment and says that their interests should be given full priority in the negotiations. It also adds that that their status and rights should be subject to the principles of “reciprocity, equity” and “non-discrimination”.
Other priorities include:
- The negotiations should be conducted in good faith and full transparency
- There can be no trade-off between security and the future economic relationship
- The peace process must continue in Northern Ireland and a hard border with the Republic of Ireland avoided
- The UK must honour all obligations it has committed to, including those related to the budget
- The outlines of the future EU-UK relationship can only be discussed once substantial progress has been made on talks on how the UK will leave
- No cherry-picking: membership of the single market is only possible with free movement of goods, capital, services and people
- There can be no separate negotiations with individual EU countries or non-EU countries
The priorities in the resolution are vital as they will help MEPs to determine whether to approve an eventual Brexit agreement or not. Without the approval of the Parliament the agreement would not be able to enter into force.
Following the debate and the vote live
You can follow the debate and vote live online. You can also follow it on our Facebook page and get highlights of the debate on our Twitter page. You can also check out related audiovisual materials.
Watch the video above for a reminder of the rights EU citizens enjoy.
Find out more
- (open in a new tab) Watch the debate live on 5 April at 9.00 CET
- (open in a new tab) Watch the vote live on 5 April at 12.00 CET
- Opens in a new window Draft resolution
- (open in a new tab) Brexit: MEPs set out conditions for approving UK withdrawal agreement (29 March 2017)
- (open in a new tab) Article 50: how the future of EU-UK relations will be decided
- (open in a new tab) Brexit top story
- (open in a new tab) Audiovisual materials on EU and the UK
- (open in a new tab) Audiovisual materials on Brexit and article 50
- Opens in a new window Briefing: UK withdrawal from the EU - legal and procedural issues (27 March 2017)