President of the European Council: Britain's Proposal is Below Our Expectations

The President of the European Council objected to the proposal put forward by British Prime Minister Theresa May regarding the rights of European citizens who will remain in Britain after Brexit. According to Bloomberg news agency, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, said on Friday after a summit of the union's leaders at a press conference: "My initial impression is that the British proposal is below our expectations and jeopardizes the rights of European citizens residing in Britain. However, we will defer any definitive comments until the negotiation team has thoroughly reviewed this proposal when the complete version is provided to us." Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, told European leaders at a dinner on Thursday night that about three million citizens of European countries living in Britain will be able to continue residing and working in the country after Brexit, and she wants to guarantee them as much as possible about their future. The rights of citizens on both sides is one of the main issues that must be resolved before the start of negotiations on trade matters following Britain's exit from the European Union in March 2019. After the conclusion of the EU leaders' summit, Mrs. May denied that her proposal had been criticized, adding that families living in Britain would not be separated. Referring to her negotiations with Beata Szydło, the Prime Minister of Poland, she stated that the British proposal had been well received. She added: "We had good discussions regarding the British proposal with the Prime Minister of Poland, and in fact, the reaction of other European leaders was also positive." Most European leaders have not yet publicly commented on the British proposal. They say the matter is still unresolved and they will wait to receive the full text of this proposal. Meanwhile, Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, while considering the start of negotiations between Britain and the European Union as positive, emphasized that the British Prime Minister's proposal is not very constructive and does not count as progress. Although this British proposal meets some of the conditions and guarantees sought by European leaders for their citizens' rights, they object to Theresa May's insistence that European citizens will be tried in British courts. Another point of contention is the lack of a specific date from Britain for changing the rights of European citizens residing in the country. Britain states that these changes will be implemented at a date between March 2017, when the negotiation process began, and when its exit becomes final. Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, has stated that in his opinion, "the issue of the European Court of Justice cannot be excluded from the negotiations, but resolving this issue is up to the negotiation team."