The United Kingdom and Ireland signed a deal on Wednesday (May 08) that ensures that the citizens of both the countries will be permitted to live and work in the other country post-Brexit, which is Britain leaving the European Union.
According to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on Wednesday, free movement of people between Britain and Ireland, as well as access for citizens in both the countries to social security, health and education, will remain unharmed after Brexit.
The agreement makes sure the continuation of the Common Travel Area (CTA) that has been in works since 1922 after 26 of Ireland’s 32 counties broke away from the United Kingdom to form an independent nation.
The CTA also embodies the reciprocal right of citizens to vote in local and national parliamentary elections. Up until now, the provisions of the CTA could be seen in disparate pieces of legislation and bilateral administrative agreements, whereas some of it is in convergence with the EU rules.
Brexit is the process of withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) which started its journey since a referendum held on June 23, 2016, which held 51.9 percent votes supporting the act of leaving the EU, the Government invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which in turn started a two-year process which was due to completion on 29 March 2019 – in absence of a solid decision the deadline which has since been extended to October 31 of this year.
In March, Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to resign if and when Parliament ratified her Brexit withdrawal agreement, but it is not clear how long she intends to stay if no deal is reached within the allotted time.
