UK: EU citizens won’t lose rights without Parliament’s OK
LONDON — The British government promised Tuesday that it won’t strip European Union nationals of any rights without lawmakers’ approval, as it tries to persuade Parliament to authorize the start of divorce talks with the bloc.
By leaving the EU, Britain will be withdrawing from the bloc’s policy of free movement of citizens among member states. That leaves 3 million EU nationals in Britain, and 1 million Britons living in other member countries, in limbo.
Parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords, plans to try Wednesday to pass a guarantee that EU citizens would be able to stay in Britain after Brexit.
Opposition peers hope to amend a bill authorizing the start of EU exit talks to include the promise, and have enlisted the support of some parliamentarians from the governing Conservatives.