Barnier, Borissov: Rigths of Bulgarians in the UK Are Guaranteed

EU chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier, and Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov reaffirmed that the rights of Bulgarian citizens living in the UK will be fully guaranteed after the United Kingdom exits the European Union.

The two talked on 19^th of December at the Council of Ministers in Sofia. Barnier pointed out that Bulgaria was fully ready for the presidency.

Michel Barnier said that an agreement was reached with the UK that would become a treaty to guarantee the residence rights of Bulgarian citizens and citizens of other EU members - the right to use social services and the right to family reunification. These are rights that will be guaranteed for life, he added. We are talking about the citizens who are currently living in the UK and about the British who live permanently in Bulgaria, Barnier said.

Borissov said that once the “divorce” between the EU and the UK was underway, more conditions would to be discussed. At this stage he said this was not possible, since the parameters for Brexit itself were not yet known.