United Kingdom – Visit by Nathalie Loiseau (London, 7 March 2019)
European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau will be in London on March 7 to address members of the French community in the United Kingdom, one of the largest in the world (147,000 enrolled in the registry of French nationals residing outside of France). The minister will specifically reaffirm her commitment to preserving the rights of European nationals living in the UK after Brexit.
During her visit, Ms. Loiseau will meet with Stephen Barclay, the British Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. They will discuss the status of talks on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Ms. Loiseau will reiterate on this occasion that while there is no question of reopening the withdrawal agreement, France and the EU may discuss clarifications to be made, notably in the political statement on future relations between the EU and the UK. Furthermore, if the UK should request an extension in the negotiating period, we could only accept it if there is a clear and credible vision going forward.
The minister will also meet with Keir Starmer, a Labour MP and Shadow Brexit Secretary, and Conservative MP Dominic Grieve. They will discuss British parliamentary deadlines.
During this trip, Ms. Loiseau will open the Franco-British Summit of Mayors with Communities Secretary James Brokenshire. This event, the principle of which was agreed upon in January 2018 at the bilateral Sandhurst summit, is designed to allow mayors and local elected officials to develop new partnerships to respond together to the very similar challenges we are facing on both sides of the Channel.
Finally, Ms. Loiseau will deliver a speech on Brexit, the future of the EU, and bilateral relations at the London School of Economics, one Britain’s major universities.