U.K. Minister Says ECJ Role After Brexit to Be Negotiated

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Immigration Minister Brandon Lewis said the role of the European Court of Justice after Brexit is still to be negotiated, leaving open the possibility that European citizens in Britain will still have access to the tribunal once British citizens have lost it.

Giving the ECJ a role in guaranteeing European citizens’ rights would help unblock Brexit talks as it’s a key demand of the European Commission. But it’s controversial in the U.K., particularly among Brexit-backing Conservatives, for whom the ECJ has taken on totemic importance. ITV reported on Monday that ministers had agreed to let the ECJ oversee EU residents’ rights after the split.

“As tempting as it is to comment on the newspapers, I think I wouldn’t go any further yet,” Lewis told Parliament’s cross-party Home Affairs Committee in London on Tuesday. It is part of the negotiations that hasn’t concluded yet.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Emma Ross-Thomas, Eddie Buckle

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