MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Tusk was replying to a letter drafted by a number of the UK Conservative Party lawmakers who expressed concern over the status of the UK citizens who live and work in Europe as well as the European nationals residing in the United Kingdom and lack of assurances on that matter from European politicians.
"I would like to avoid a situation where citizens become 'bargaining chips' in the negotiation process. In order for this not to happen, we will need precise and comprehensive solutions, which, other than nice-sounding expressions, will provide citizens with genuine guarantees of security," Tusk said in a letter published by the European Council.
Tusk suggested that the United Kingdom was the only party creating and dragging out uncertainty in this situation and reminded the UK lawmakers that he had called for the beginning of the negotiations on the next day of the referendum.
Free movement of workers is one of the fundamental principles of the European Union, guaranteeing the citizens of the member states the right to live, work and study in any country of the bloc. Ahead of the Brexit referendum, amid worries over the rising level of immigration, then UK Prime Minister David Cameron attempted to negotiate limiting the application of this principle in the United Kingdom but failed to deliver desired results.
At the June 23 referendum, the majority of the UK citizens voted to leave the European Union.
