I call on the responsible authorities to stop this violence, to release those who are still illegally detained and protect potential victims.
I urge them to honour their international commitments on respect for fundamental freedoms and the fight against discrimination. On this day we must reaffirm our strong commitment to combat all forms of discrimination in the world, including those based on sexual orientation.
Donald Tusk, President of the European Council. Our main purpose was to adopt political guidelines for the Brexit negotiations, a mandate that sets out the overall principles, objectives and process, and a mandate that the European Council will update as necessary, as the talks get under way. This means simply that there will be no discussion of the framework for our future relations with Britain before sufficient progress is made on ensuring an orderly withdrawal.
Leaders fully supported this logic. To ensure an orderly withdrawal, we first and foremost need to address the situation of more than four million people whose lives will be directly impacted by Brexit, on both sides. In a very real way, their futures depend on the outcome of these talks. It is our particular responsibility to secure the best guarantees for citizens — citizens of the Union — and for their families.
That means guarantees that are effective, enforceable, non-discriminatory and comprehensive, accompanied by simple and smooth administrative procedures. There is a need to act quickly, and so we are ready. Now we must move from sharing objectives to actually ensuring that citizens get the necessary guarantees.
