公民权利专门委员会第十六次会议后的联合声明

The 16thmeeting of the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights was held on 24 June 2025in Brussels, co-chaired by officials from the European Commission and the UK Government.Representatives from EU Member States were also in attendance. The EU and the UK discussed the implementation and application of the Citizens’ Rights partof the Withdrawal Agreement, under the overall objective of ensuring the full and faithfulimplementation of the Agreement. The meeting allowed both sides to take stock of progressmade and identify outstanding issues that must be urgently resolved to ensure that allbeneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement can fully enjoy their rights now and in the future. On the true and extra cohort issue, the co-chairs reiterated the warm welcome by the co-chairsof the Joint Committee at its meeting on 29 April 2025 of the legislative step taken by the UKGovernment relating to legal clarity for EU citizens with status under the EU SettlementScheme, and look forward to its practical application. The EU noted the workby the UK to automate the process of upgrading WithdrawalAgreement beneficiaries from pre-settled status to settled status. In this context, the EUstressed, among others, that the UK measures to curtail residence rights on grounds ofabsences must be compatible with the Withdrawal Agreement. The EU also raised otherissuesof concern,such as travel incidents affecting EU citizens who are WithdrawalAgreement beneficiaries and NHS charges for those who submit a residence application afterthe June 2021 deadline, which affects in particular newborn children. The UK highlighted that large numbers of UK national Withdrawal Agreement beneficiarieswould soon transition from temporary to permanent status. In that context, they raised theimportance of adequate administrative preparation by the EU’s Member States,as well asclear guidance to beneficiaries. The UK also asked for updates on several implementationissues in certain Member States, including ensuring a proper process is in place to accept lateapplications,discrepancies in awarding temporary or permanent status and multipleimmigration status. The EU and the UK also discussed the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES), as well as the EU’sEuropean Travel Information and Authorisation Systems (ETIAS) and the UK’s ElectronicTravel Authorisation Scheme (ETA), from the perspective of their implications on WithdrawalAgreement beneficiaries. Both sides called on Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries concernedto take in good time all necessary measures to facilitate their future travel, recognising theimportance of timely communications to beneficiaries by national authorities. Representatives from civil society organisations, representing EU citizens living in the UK andUKnationals living in the EU,attended the meeting and asked questions about theimplementation and application of the Citizens’ Rights part of the WithdrawalAgreement inthe UK and the EU, in conformity with the rules of procedure of the Specialised Committee. The UK and the EU underlined their ongoing commitment to the full implementation of PartTwo (Citizens’ Rights) of the Withdrawal Agreement, welcoming the progress made andagreeing to strengthen their ongoing cooperation on all issues. The co-chairs agreed to meetagain in autumn.