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Roundup: House of Lords deals blow to May by backing amendment over EU nationals in Britain

Xinhua, March 2, 2017 Adjust font size:

Peers in Britain's unelected House of Lords passed an amendment Wednesday night in what is seen as a blow to Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit bill.

The amendment aimed at guaranteeing the rights of 3 million European Union (EU) nationals to remain in Britain after Brexit was supported by a vote of 358 to 256.

It is now up to the members of parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons to accept the vote of the House of Lords, or use parliamentary procedures to overturn it.

The decision of the Lords is the first successful challenge to May as her Article 50 Brexit bill was racing through the parliamentary procedures to likely enable her to tell Brussels by the end of this month that Britain is leaving the EU.

Despite threats in the elected House of Commons to challenge May, her bill passed by a landslide majority without any changes.

May and her government ministers have announced they want the question of EU nationals living in Britain, and 1 million Britons living in EU countries to be dealt with as a priority.

The EU has said it wants the status of citizens to be part of the negotiations, leading to claims the issue is being used as Brexit "bargaining chips."

The agreed amendment, if adopted by May, would guarantee the rights of all EU citizens lawfully living in Britain at the time of Britain's departure from the EU.

Labor peer Baroness Hayter, who put forward the amendment, said EU residents in Britain risked being used as bargaining chips in the negotiations and it was in the gift of the government to stop this from happening.

"These people need to know now, not in two years' time or even 12 months' time. They simply cannot put their lives on hold," she said in the debate.

"Some are planning schools for their children, some are moving jobs, renting or buying a home or acting as carers. Some are receiving healthcare. Many more are working in our health service. All should have their uncertainty removed," she added.

During the debate in the crowded chamber, a number of peers supporting the amendment said the uncertainty over the future was already leading some European nationals to quit Britain.

Others spoke of Britain taking the "high moral ground" by telling EU nationals they can remain in Britain.

But Lord Bridges, parliamentary under-secretary for Exiting the EU, urged peers to reject the amendment.

"We all want to bring certainty to these 4 million people," he said, noting that nothing at the moment changes their status.

Following the vote, a spokesperson for the Department for Exiting the EU said: "We are disappointed the Lords have chosen to amend a Bill that the Commons passed without amendment."

"The Bill has a straightforward purpose -- to enact the referendum result and allow the government to get on with the negotiations. Our position on EU nationals has repeatedly been made clear. We want to guarantee the rights of EU citizens who are already living in Britain, and the rights of British nationals living in other member states, as early as we can," said the spokesperson.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled his plans for a "new chapter" of Europe, ushering in an era of soul-searching for the bloc hit hard by Brexit.

Addressing the European Parliament's plenary session, Juncker said the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome "will not simply be a birthday of celebration, it will also be a birth moment of the EU at 27."

"Let's turn the page and commence a new chapter in our history," he said.

The white paper came weeks before British Prime Minister May is expected to activate the Article 50 clause in Britain's EU membership by the end of March.

Article 50 refers to the formal procedure by which an EU member state notifies the European Council that it intends to leave the block.

Leaders of EU member states are due to discuss the white paper at a summit next week in Brussels. They will meet again in Italy on March 25 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, which founded the predecessor of the EU. Endi