Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the Government's publication Safeguarding the Position of EU Citizens Living in the UK and UK Nationals Living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, what steps he plans to take during negotiations of the UK leaving the EU to ensure that the UK retains a role in maintaining the rights of UK nationals in the EU.

As set out in the policy paper “Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU,” our first priority is to reach agreement on the post-exit position of EU citizens now living in the UK and of UK nationals living in other EU countries. Our aim is to ensure that EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU can broadly live their lives as they do now. We will discuss in negotiations with the EU how to ensure that UK nationals in the EU will be able to rely on the rights agreed, just as EU nationals will be able to rely on those rights in the UK legal system.