ALWAYS with the caveat of ‘nothing’s agreed until it’s all agreed’, Brexit Secretary David Davis was able to announce some good news for UK citizens living in the EU – and vice-versa – that resulted from the latest round of negotiations.
In his remarks at the joint news conference yesterday with his EU counterpart Michel Barnier, Mr Davis said, on citizens rights: “This week we have discussed a wide range of issues which will have a significant impact on people’s lives. In particular, both sides have agreed:
- To protect the rights of frontier workers.
- To cover future social security contributions for those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. That we should at least protect existing healthcare rights and arrangements for EU27 citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU.
“That is good news for example, for British pensioners in the EU: it means that they will continue to have their health care arrangements protected both where they live and – when they travel to another Member State – to be able to use an EHIC card.”
This positive announcement comes a few weeks after the UK government also guaranteed – subject to reciprocity – the annual uprating of State Pensions which under current regulations pensioners living in a non-EU country are prevented from receiving.
