Will rights of EU citizens in the UK be preserved after Brexit? Lords to investigate

Nationals of any EU Member State are deemed citizens of the European Union and therefore enjoy the same treatment under EU law, irrespective of their nationality, anywhere within the EU. The loss of this fundamental status, as a consequence of leaving the EU, leaves many EU nationals in the the UK and UK nationals in other Member States with their EU citizenship rights, such as residency rights, uncertain. In this session, the Committee will assess the legal consequences for these rights of leaving the European Union and whether they can be protected in the future.

At 10:45am the Committee will hear evidence from:

• Professor Catherine Barnard, Professor of European Union Law and Employment Law, Cambridge University
• Mr Anthony Speaight QC, Pump Court Chambers

The Committee is likely to ask:

• In what circumstances is an EU national with a permanent right to reside in the UK as a consequence of EU law able to transform that right into a similar right under (non-EU derived) UK law?
• If the Government decided that the EU rights to be preserved should be frozen on exit, is there a danger that in time they would no longer be reciprocal with similar rights enjoyed by UK nationals in other Member States, which would continue to evolve as part of EU law?
• Post-Brexit, to what extent could the European Convention on Human Rights, or bilateral investment treaties, be relied upon in the UK to protect rights previously protected by EU law?

The evidence session will take place at 10:45am on Tuesday 1 November in Committee Room 3 of the House of Lords.