THE UK will “move swiftly” to safeguard the future of EU citizens in the event of no deal being agreed, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab has said.
After talks in Brussels, he told the BBC the UK had a “moral obligation” to people and it was “inconceivable” they would be “turfed out”.
The EU, he said, must match the UK’s “ambition and pragmatism” if the gaps between them were to be overcome.
Counterpart Michel Barnier warned of a “blame game” over a no deal outcome.
Barnier said fundamental disagreements remained on future economic issues and the EU would not abandon its principles when it came to the integrity of the single market.
The two sides have agreed that talks will continue without interruption to try to secure a deal in advance of the UK’s departure on 29 March 2019.
Barnier indicated a deal may be pushed back until early November.
Asked whether the UK would guarantee the future of EU workers if there was no deal, Raab said in the “unlikely eventuality” that this happened, the UK would “move swiftly to secure their position”.
“We hugely value the contribution of EU citizens here in the UK and I am confident that in the unlikely eventuality that we don’t have a deal, we will move swiftly to secure their position,” he said.