Xavier Bettel is expected to meet with British Secretary of State for exiting the European Union Stephen Barclay to sign an agreement guaranteeing the active and passive right to vote of Luxembourg citizens in local elections in the UK.

Under Luxembourg law, foreign citizens meeting certain criteria are able to vote and stand for local elections, a right which is reciprocated. But in the absence of a European agreement when the UK leaves the EU at the end of October, EU citizens living in the UK could lose this right. There are thought to be over 2,000 Luxembourgers living in the UK, of which many are students.

According to a government statement issued on Monday morning, the agreement aims to “address a potential source of uncertainty and to safeguard in any event the right to vote in local elections of Luxembourg citizens residing in the United Kingdom. The signature of this agreement is therefore an important step towards protecting the rights of Luxembourg citizens in the context of Brexit.”