EU's Tusk: May's offer on citizens' rights 'below expectations'

The President of the European Council has said Theresa May's proposals for the post-Brexit status of EU citizens living in Britain are "below expectations".

At the end of a two-day summit in Brussels, Donald Tusk said his first impressions were not positive, adding the offer "risks worsening the situation of citizens".

The Prime Minister defended her plan to protect the rights of the three million EU nationals living in the UK, saying the proposals were "fair and serious".

Speaking after Mr Tusk, Mrs May said: "We won't be seeing families split apart, people will be able to go on living their lives as before. This is a fair and serious offer.

"It gives those three million EU citizens in the UK certainty about the future of their lives and we want the same certainty for the more than one million UK citizens who are living in the European Union."

But the proposals, which are subject to reciprocal arrangements being guaranteed for UK citizens in the remaining 27 EU member states, have been given a mixed reception by top Brussels figures.

And political parties back home have slammed the offer as "too little too late", a year on from Britain's vote to leave.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said it was a "first step, but not sufficient", while the European Parliament's Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt said: "Mays 'generous offer' does not fully guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the UK".

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was a "good beginning" but does not represent a "breakthrough".

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel was more lukewarm, calling it a "particularly vague proposal" and describing it using a Flemish expression for a dubious gift.

"We don't want a cat in the bag," he said.

Elements of the proposals are likely to be contested by Brussels, including the cut-off date for entitlement to stay in the UK and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

Mrs May acknowledged there were "differences" between her proposals and those put forward by the European Commission.

And in her post-summit press conference, the PM again expressed her opposition to the idea of the European Court of Justice enforcing EU citizens' rights.

Mr Juncker said it was "inconceivable" to him that the ECJ could be locked out of any judicial role in the future treatment of EU citizens in the UK.

Under the plan, EU nationals who have been in the UK for more than five years would be able to claim a new "settled status", entitling them to the same rights as full British citizens to healthcare, education, welfare and pensions.

Those who have been in the UK for a shorter time would be able to stay until they hit the five-year threshold for settled status, while others who arrive after a cut-off date will be given a "grace period", expected to be two years, to regularise their immigration status.

The introduction of a grace period raises the prospect that large numbers of people who arrive during the exit negotiations may be allowed to stay.

The cut-off date for entitlement to apply is yet to be set, but it will come somewhere between the day Britain activated Article 50 (29 March 2017) and the day Brexit takes effect (29 March 2019).

It is thought the UK is reserving the option of setting an early cut-off in case there is a surge in migration as Brexit approaches.