SCOTTISH Brexit minister Michael Russell has demanded David Davis give more clarity to the 3.2 million Europeans living in the UK, saying negotiations over citizenship cannot be dragged out.
Brexit Secretary Davis, who briefly escaped the Tory party’s civil war to fly to Brussels for the start of the second stage of Brexit negotiations, also came under pressure from politicians in Europe to end the uncertainty.
At that meeting, he and his team were photographed with no notes, while Michel Barnier and the other EU negotiators had substantial documents in front of them.
Davis admitted the status of citizens would be a priority, but other colleagues seemed to suggest there would be no shifting of the Tory government’s position.
Theresa May’s offer of “settled status” for EU citizens has already been dismissed by European Council President Donald Tusk as “below our expectations.”
The Tory leader’s plans, set out last month, would see EU nationals already resident in the UK for five years able to apply a new immigration status that would grant them indefinite leave to remain in the country.
Those who have been resident for less than five years will be also be allowed to stay to build up to five years.
Ministers have yet to confirm the cut-off date for qualification.
There are concerns the system would lead to those born in Europe and living here having fewer rights than currently.
The EU wants all citizens, including UK nationals living in Europe, to be treated equally and lose no current rights.
Speaking at a European Council meeting in Brussels, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the UK had made a “very fair, serious offer”.
“I hope very much people will look at that offer in the spirit it deserves because it’s a great offer,” he added.
Russell yesterday published the SNP government’s response to the Prime Minister’s offer.
He said ministers north of the border had questions about “settled status”, including who will qualify, what rights they will have, the rules for family members and the costs of applying.
Clarity is also need over the rights of Irish citizens, he added, and on how the rights of EU citizens will be protected and enforced in the absence of the European Court of Justice.
Russell said: “As negotiations get under way again today in Brussels, it is important that this issue be concluded as soon as possible.
“Were Scotland part of the negotiating team, as we have suggested, we would be doing our best to help the UK resolve the matter and any thoughts we offer are given in that spirit.
“It is of course disappointing that it has taken the UK Government a year to set out their plans, but with good will on both sides the issues could be settled in the next few days.
“This issue is also of course about protecting the existing rights of Scots and other UK citizens living in other EU countries, who also continue to face uncertainty over their future. They are also owed an early conclusion.”
A UK Government spokesman said: “EU citizens in Scotland and the rest of the UK are incredibly valued members of our communities and what we have set out is a fair and serious offer.
“We are determined to reach a reciprocal agreement for EU and UK nationals as quickly as possible.
“As our policy paper sets out, EU citizens given settled status will have the same entitlements as UK citizens, including access to benefits and public services.”
Meanwhile, a new report suggested Brexit could damage Britain’s food security, with hungry Brits facing reduced supplies, more volatile prices and lower safety standards.
The report by academics including Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City University in London, said Britain’s future relationship with Europe would have “enormous” implications.
“To leave the EU would sever the UK from many bodies which underpin food, from scientific advisory bodies to regulators, from research programs to subsidies to regions,” they wrote in the report. "What is going to replace these?”
“There is silence” from the government, they said.
Food has accounted for about 40 per cent of EU legislation in the past 50 years, and the UK imports almost a third of its food from the EU.
The report adds that EU subsidies for farmers have helped keep supplies stable. While the government has guaranteed those subsidies for the next five years, the academics say there is still uncertainty about what will happen nect.
“If UK agricultural markets are radically deregulated, and all production subsidies ended, they will once again become chronically prone to volatilities of supplies and prices.
“That pivotal fact has been forgotten by many who have become accustomed to the relative stability”. in prices and supplies that European and British consumers experienced since the 1960s.”
The report also highlights the uncertainty in the industry about migrant workers, who make up a third of the workforce.
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