UK given two months to respond to accusations of continued free movement failures before possible court action
The European Commission (EC) said today that it has taken the next steps over the UK's failure to comply with EU law on free movement of EU citizens and their family members.
The EC first launched infringement proceedings against the UK over the matter in May 2020, noting: "The rights of EU citizens resident in the UK after the end of the transition period, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, are built on the rights that they currently enjoy in the United Kingdom under EU rules. The United Kingdom's shortcomings in the implementation and transposition of EU free movement law risks therefore also affecting the implementation of the citizens' rights under the Withdrawal Agreement after the end of the transition period."
In its latest regular package of infringement decisions issued today, the EC announced that further steps have been taken due to continued shortcomings in the UKs implementation of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) over the free movement of EU citizens or their family members.
The UK has two months to respond to the EC's concerns, with the EC warning that it may decide to refer the case to the European Court of Justice.
The EC said in today's infringement decisions for July as follows:
The Commission takes next steps against the UNITED KINGDOM, to comply with EU law on free movement of EU citizens and their family members, ensuring the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement*
Today, the European Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion (INFR(2020)2202) to the United Kingdom regarding its failure to comply with EU law on free movement of EU citizens and their family members. The Commission considers that there were several shortcomings in the United Kingdom's implementation of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which continue to affect EU citizens under the Withdrawal Agreement. This concerns specifically the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States (Article 21 TFEU), the freedom of movement of workers (Article 45 TFEU) and the freedom of establishment (Article 49 TFEU) as well as the transposition of the Free Movement Directive of 2004. In this context, in May 2020, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice to the United Kingdom. Following the reply, the Commission found that several points remain unaddressed, in particular elements concerning EU citizens or their family members (e.g. children in legal guardianship or extended family members) exercising free movement rights who should be beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement. The United Kingdom now has two months to respond and take the necessary measures. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Withdrawal Agreement allows the Commission to pursue an infringement case that it initiated before the end of the transition period in relation to UK law as it stood at the end of the transition period.
*Updated on 25 July at 12:47