European negotiators to offer Brits option to retain EU status after Brexit

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Plans to allow UK nationals to retain their EU citizenship after Brexit will form part of the European Parliament's negotiating position, it has been revealed.

The "associate citizenship" status would give those who adopt it the right of freedom of movement and residence throughout the EU as well as the right to vote for a representative in the European Parliament.

It would be made available to nationals of former member states of the EU who "feel and wish to be part of the European project".

The proposal was put forward last month by Luxembourg MEP Charles Goerens for inclusion in a future EU treaty.

But following Wednesday's House of Commons vote backing Theresa May's plan to trigger withdrawal talks by the end of March, Mr Goerens agreed with the European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt that it should be brought forward more quickly.

Mr Verhofstadt told a meeting of the Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee in Brussels on Thursday that he would ensure associate citizenship status was "on the table" for the withdrawal talks under Article 50 of the EU Treaties.

"Some things cannot wait until treaty change," said Mr Verhofstadt.

"Therefore, the ability to keep European citizenship for those who risk losing it will be on the table of the upcoming Brexit negotiations and will be discussed at the moment of the Parliament's resolution, right after the triggering of Article 50 in March."

Mr Goerens said that Wednesday's vote had made the prospect of Article 50 being invoked "very real indeed".

He had therefore agreed with Mr Verhofstadt that "this has become a very important issue that cannot await treaty change - as was my intention when I first tabled my amendment - since this might take years".

The liberal MEP continued: "The European Parliament will define its position on the Brexit agreement through a resolution during spring 2017.

“This seems to be the best opportunity to give Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt the possibility to enforce the Associate EU Citizenship."

Reacting to the news, Lib Dem MEP Catherine Bearder told the Independent: “The option of being able to retain EU citizenship offers a glimmer of hope for the millions of British people devastated by the referendum result.

“Everyone who supports this should write to MEPs and tell them how passionately they feel about maintaining their rights as EU citizens, including the ability to live, study and work abroad."

Young man shot dead in Kilburn while walking 'with relatives'

Pic: Yasir
Crime reporter(wp/es):

A young man died after being gunned down in front of horrified shoppers in Kilburn as he crossed a busy high street.

Witnesses described how the victim, aged in his early 20s, staggered to the pavement and collapsed outside a cafe after being shot in the stomach yesterday.

Police sealed off a 200 yard stretch of Kilburn High Road as paramedics battled to save his life for 20 minutes, while scores of armed officers swarmed surrounding streets as they hunted the gunmen who were seen to flee down a side road into a housing estate. 

The victim, named locally as Yasir, was said to have been accompanied by an older woman and a younger boy - thought to be relatives - when he was struck by a single shot.

One witness, takeaway worker Yosif, 27, said there was a single “loud bang”.

He said: “I assumed he’d been hit by a car because he looked disorientated and was wobbling. 

“He was with an older woman and a younger boy. They were crying around his body, utterly distraught.”

A friend of the victim said he had been trying to turn his life around after being stabbed in a separate violent incident in Kilburn last year.

Bruno Tampo, 22, who runs a charity mentoring young people into work, said: “He got stabbed last year. He’d just recovered from that and I think he’d just moved in to a new place.

“When I found out he’d been shot I crumbled.

“Yasir had such a good heart. It’s crazy what happened to him. He was a good friend.”

A spokesman for the Met said detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating, and no-one had yet been arrested.

The killing comes three days after trainee gas engineer Salim Coulter, 24, was shot dead as he climbed into the passenger seat of a friend’s car in Fulham, four miles away.

Police said the gunman was “lying in wait” for Mr Coulter outside Jerky’s Jamaican restaurant in Walham Grove before blasting him in the head at close range.