May wants early deal in Brexit talks on status of Britons in Europe

PanARMENIAN.Net - Theresa May has told EU leaders that she wants an early deal in Brexit negotiations on the status of Britons in Europe and EU citizens in the UK, BBC News said.

The PM attended a summit of EU leaders in Brussels before leaving while they discussed their approach to Brexit.

The remaining 27 agreed that the European Commission will take the lead role in negotiations.

Meanwhile Chancellor Philip Hammond has played down suggestions it could take ten years to reach a trade deal.

He told the BBC: "I don't expect that it will take as long as that," following reports that Britain's ambassador to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers, suggested that others in Europe believed this could be the case.

The prime minister was in Brussels on Thursday, December 15 for a European Council meeting. She left the summit without answering any questions on Brexit but Irish PM Enda Kenny told reporters that she had given an update on the Supreme Court case the UK government is involved with on whether it can act alone in triggering Article 50 - the formal start of Brexit.

He added: "She would like to have the question of UK citizens living in Europe and European citizens living in the UK dealt with in the early part of discussions that take place."

The question of what will happen to the estimated 2.9 million citizens of other EU countries who have made their home in the UK in recent years is one of the most controversial arising from the UK's vote to leave the EU in June's referendum.