The European Commission will, on Thursday 7 September, publish further negotiation documents on the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, on customs, data protection, intellectual property and Ireland, it announced on Wednesday 6 September after the meeting of the College of Commissioners, which took stock with chief negotiator Michel Barnier on the state of play in the talks with London.
The Commission refused, however, to comment on the paper revealed the previous day by the British media on the position of the government on European workers in the UK after Brexit.
Commission spokesperson Margaritas Schinas refused to be drawn on the content of the leaks revealed by The Guardian on Tuesday 5 September setting out how the British government intended to end freedom of movement for European workers from March 2019. This document – which, the government says, is a draft and still under discussion – details measures to reduce the number of low skilled EU migrants arriving in the UK immediately after Brexit.
Low skilled EU workers would be granted residency permits of two years maximum while those exercising highly qualified occupations would receive permits of three to five years. The document also says that British workers should be given preference in the labour market and that restrictions will be placed on Europeans seeking work in the United Kingdom.
Among the other proposals, which would come into effect following an implementation period of at least two years, are the gradual introduction of a new migration system restricting the rights of European citizens to bring in members of their family (based on an income threshold, just like the system for British nationals themselves) and the requirement to show a passport rather than an identity card when arriving in the country. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)