Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights meeting (December 2020): joint statement

The fourth meeting of the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights was held today, co-chaired by officials from the UK Government and the European Commission. A number of EU Member States were also in attendance. The Committee has been established by the Withdrawal Agreement to monitor the implementation and application of the Citizens’ Rights part of the Withdrawal Agreement, which protects EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, including their family members.

The UK and the EU exchanged updates on the implementation of the Citizens’ Rights part of the Withdrawal Agreement, in readiness for the end of the transition period and considering the impact of Covid-19. The updates also included discussion covering specific topics such as social security coordination, in particular for people in ‘triangular situations’ involving the EU, UK and the EFTA States, and frontier workers.

The EU and the UK exchanged on the importance of clear communication and comprehensive support to vulnerable citizens or those hard to reach. They also considered the second joint report on the issuance of residence documents, used to monitor the progress of residency systems in the UK and the EU as well as providing statistics covering the number of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU who have secured their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement or applied for a new residence document, where an application for a new residence status is not required.

External representatives from ‘British in Europe’, representing UK nationals in the EU and ‘the3million’, representing EU citizens in the UK, were invited to present their views to the Committee and exchange views, in conformity with the rules of procedure of the Specialised Committee.

The UK and the EU have worked intensively throughout the transition period to implement the Citizens’ Rights part of the Withdrawal Agreement and remain committed to continue working closely, through the Specialised Committee, during the grace period until 30 June 2021 and beyond.