Article 50 and UCL: Provost statement

Professor Michael Arthur, UCL President & Provost, addresses the UCL community following the triggering of Article 50 by the UK government. The government has today formally begun the process of exiting the EU by triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. This does not change anything immediately: the UK is still a member of the EU until we actually leave. But it underscores the challenge and responsibility UCL faces in managing the impact of the EU referendum on thousands of our staff and students. We will therefore be stepping up our efforts to ensure that everyone potentially affected receives clear reassurance about their future as quickly and as early as possible in the negotiations. Our view is that the Government should, at the earliest opportunity, offer a clear commitment that EU citizens here will be entitled to stay, study and work in the UK following our EU exit. This issue is particularly acute at UCL, as we have more students from the EU (over 4,000) than any other UK institution, and over 20% of our staff are EU citizens. Two more years of the current uncertainty around their future here would be simply unacceptable.