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The panel of judges at the European court of justice will hand down its final ruling on the case this summer. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters

The Home Office was wrong to deny the Algerian husband of a dual British-Spanish citizen the right to live with her in the UK, according to the initial opinion of the European court of justices advocate general in a test case.

In the AGs official opinion, Toufik Lounes does have the right to remain in the UK even though his wife, Perla Nerea Garca Ormazbal, became a British citizen in 2010 a change in status that it had been claimed meant she had lost the right she had previously enjoyed to bring her family to the UK.

The panel of 15 judges will hand down its final ruling on the matter this summer. The judgment will then be considered by a high court judge, who referred the Lounes case to Europe last year.

The Home Office had argued that the womans freedom of movement rights, which enable EU citizens to live with their family in any other state within the EU, had fallen away once she naturalised. The advocate general, Yves Bot, agreed that this appeared to be the case under the European directive 2004/38 on freedom of movement, but found that Garca Ormazbal had legacy rights as an EU national.

The rights she used to reside in the UK continued to apply even though she had become a British national subsequently, under article 21 of the superior and overarching treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU), he found.

Under article 21(1) TFEU, member states must permit EU citizens who are not their nationals to move and reside within their territory with their spouse and, possibly, certain members of their family who are not EU citizens, said Bot.

The opinion is not the final word on the case, with a full ruling yet to be arrived at by the panel of the grand chamber, which heard the case earlier this month.

However, it is seen as a significant step in a case that could have widespread implications for all EU citizens applying for British passports and those married or considering marriage to a third-country national.

The case was referred to the European court by the high court in London last year after the Home Office rejected an application by Lounes for permanent residency in the UK on the basis that his wife remained an EU national as a dual British-Spanish citizen.

The Home Office had argued that Garca Ormazbals rights under the freedom of movement directive no longer applied because she had become a British citizen in 2010.

They argued that instead, domestic immigration laws applied and therefore he was not entitled to apply for permanent residency under EU legislation.

Bot sided with the Home Office in part of his opinion, which centres on the complex interplay between domestic and EU law. He found that she did not have rights under the 2004/38 freedom of movement directive.

In his opinion Bot said: Garcia Ormazabal no longer falls within the definition of a beneficiary within the meaning of the directive. It follows that her spouse is not eligible, on the basis of the directive, for a derived right of residence in the member state of which his spouse is now a national.

Her legal situation has profoundly altered, both in EU law and in national law, on account of her naturalisation.

But he found that although it is for each member state to lay down the conditions for the acquisition and loss of nationality, that competence must be exercised having due regard to EU law and the national rules in question must have due regard to EU law.

Under article 21(1) TFEU, member states must permit EU citizens who are not their nationals to move and reside within their territory with their spouse and, possibly, certain members of their family who are not EU citizens, he said.

Lounes came to the UK on a six-month visitor visa in 2010 and illegally overstayed, according to the high court ruling on the case last year.

The high court judges referred the matter to the European court for future clarity on the complex interplay between European treaties, directives and British legislation.

They described it as a test case and stayed its judgment pending the European courts interpretation of the law. They heard that in 2013 Lounes formed a relationship with Garca Ormazbal and the couple married on 16 May 2014.

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UK wrong to deny residency rights in test case, EU's legal adviser says - The Guardian

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UK PM May says we are prepared to leave the European union without a deal - ForexLive

Building on the actions already undertaken in previous years, next year's EU budget will continue dealing effectively with the migration challenge, both inside and outside the EU. Improved reporting will enhance the focus on concrete results which will be achieved thanks to EU funding.

Commissioner Gnther H. Oettinger, in charge of budget and human resources, said: With this budget we want to strike the right balance between keeping our past commitments regarding major EU programmes and addressing new challenges, while enhancing EU added value. We try to make sure that more young Europeans will be able to find jobs and that more key investments will be made on the ground. Demonstrating tangible results and making a difference in the daily lives of Europeans continues to drive all EU action.

The proposed budget operates within the limitations set by the European Parliament and Member States in the Multiannual Financial Framework yet under the assumption that the Council will formally adopt the already agreed mid-term revision of that Framework quickly following the elections in the United Kingdom on 8 June. Otherwise, some of the additional proposed expenditure like the remaining 700 million for the Youth Employment Initiative during 2018-2020 would be at risk and the Commission would probably need to use budget from the agriculture heading to pay for additional amounts devoted to security and migration.

The European Parliament and the European Union Member States will now jointly discuss this proposal.

Boosting jobs and investments

The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Juncker Plan, is backed by an EU budget guarantee, complemented by an allocation of the European Investment Bank's own capital. It aims to support jobs and spur growth by making smarter use of new and existing financial resources to harness private investment. It is already expected to mobilise 194 billion in investments to date. In 2018, the Commission proposes to provision the EFSI guarantee fund with a further 2 billion.

The Structural and Investment funds remain the main investment instruments of the EU supporting SMEs and actions mainly in the areas of research and innovation, transport, environment and rural development. The EU budget will provide 55.4 billion for Structural and Investment funds for regions and Member States and almost 59.6 billion for farmers and rural development.

After a slow start in the first years, the 2014-2020 EU structural and investment programmes are expected to reach cruising speed in 2018, as per the commitments agreed by the Member States and the European Parliament. This explains the increase by 8.1% of overall payments, in comparison to the 2017 budget.

The promotion of sustainable development will also guide the action of the EU budget outside the Union, which is being significantly reinforced as regards neighbouring countries. The new European Fund for Sustainable Development is thus expected to leverage additional financing, in particular from the private sector.

Offering better opportunities to young people

The Erasmus+ programme aims to implement the agreed policy objectives of the EU in the fields of education, training, youth and sport by improving the skills and competencies of students, fostering quality improvements in education, training and youth institutions/organisations and promoting policy development. The 2018 draft budget sets aside 2.3 billion for this purpose - a 9.5% increase compared to the 2017 budget.

By the end of 2016 around1.6million young people had benefitted from actions supported by the Youth Employment Initiative. This initiative contributed to the decrease of youth unemployment rates in most Member States. However, as the unemployment rates still remain above pre financial crisis levels, continued efforts and support at EU level are called for. To this end, an additional 1.2 billion should be provided to the Initiative over 2017-2020, of which 233 million is included in the draft budget 2018 and 500 million in an amending budget for 2017 which is also proposed today.

Another opportunity for young people is the European Solidarity Corps, which provides volunteering placements, traineeship and job offers for 2-12 months, fostering solidarity in communities across Europe. Today, the Commission proposed an own budget and legal base for the European Solidarity Corps to enable 100,000 Europeans to take part by 2020. Actions related to the European Solidarity Corps for 2018-2020 will come to a total of 342million, of which 89 million in 2018.

Responding effectively to geopolitical challenges

As migration and security continue to be top priorities, the Commission is planning to continue financing a wide range of related actions within the EU such as providing humanitarian assistance, reinforcing external border management, supporting the most affected Member States, and more. The 4.1 billion planned in the draft budget for 2018 in the areas of migration and security brings the total of overall EU funding for migration and security to an unprecedented 22 billion in the 2015-2018 period. The 2018 draft budget reflects the fact that the bulk of this was frontloaded.

Additional funds will also be available to tackle the root causes of migration externally, notably by providing assistance for non-EU countries dealing with large migration flows such as Lebanon and Jordan. The draft budget also includes the pledges for this region made at the Brussels conference on supporting the future of Syria in April 2017, which total 560 million.

In the area of security, EU funding will focus on preventive security measures, notably in the field of serious and organised crime, including reinforcing coordination and cooperation between national law enforcement authorities, increasing the security of the EU's external borders and supporting Member States to fight against terrorism and cybercrime.

Moreover, the Commission launched in 2017 a so-called preparatory action for EU funded defence research. Overall 90 million are budgeted for the 2017-2019 period to fund collaborative research in innovative defence technologies and products.

Background

The draft EU budget includes two amounts for each programme to be financed commitments and payments. 'Commitments' refer to the funding that can be agreed in contracts in a given year; 'payments' to the money actually paid out. In the draft 2018 budget, commitments represent 161 billion (up 1.4% from 2017) and payments 145 billion (up 8.1% from 2017, due to the 2014-2020 EU structural and investment programmes reaching cruising speed in 2018, after a slow start in the first years).

For More Information

- Draft EU Budget 2018 Questions and Answers

- Draft EU budget 2018 documents

- EU Budget Focused on Results

- EU Results (online collection of EU funded projects)

- Press release on the European Solidarity Corps

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2018 EU budget: Commission proposes budget with focus on jobs, investments, migration and security - EU News

Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, hosted an informalgatheringwith thePrime Ministersof the Western Balkans partners, Prime Minister of MontenegroDukoMarkovi, Prime Minister of KosovoIsa Mustafa, Prime Minister of AlbaniaEdi Rama, Prime Minister of SerbiaAleksandarVui,Prime Minister-designateof the former Yugoslav Republic of MacedoniaZoranZaev, andBosnia and HerzegovinaCouncil of Ministers Chairman DenisZvizdito discuss the way forward forthe region'sEUmembershipperspective.

All presentconfirmed theirfull commitment tocontinue working for theEuropean Union integrationprocess, as confirmedby the EU at the March 2017 European Council. They reiterated their determination and strong shared interest instrengtheningcooperationand bringing about tangible resultsforthe lives of the citizens of the region.They emphasised their commitment togoodneighbourlyrelations and deepening regional understanding, through mutual respect and cooperation.

High Representative/Vice-President Mogheriniencouraged the six Prime Ministers to accelerate the necessary work in order to meet their citizens' expectations and move closer to their European Union future.

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Federica Mogherini hosts an informal gathering with Prime Ministers of the Western Balkans partners - EU News

As armed police step up their patrols at home, there were warnings that the Manchester bomber may have links to terror cells in Europe. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

The UKs full participation in European Union security and intelligence co-operation will be critical to the fight against terrorism after Brexit, leading British security experts have said, as Theresa May announced wide-ranging new plans to counter extremism.

The growing demands for the prime minister to face down anti-EU forces in the Tory party and make membership of bodies such as Europol, the EUs criminal intelligence agency, a top priority, came amid fears that Brexit could leave the UK with inferior access to key European databases and deprive British police forces of vital tools in high-level, pan-European anti-terror probes.

The calls from senior figures including Sir Hugh Orde, former chief constable of the police service of Northern Ireland and former head of Europol Max-Peter Ratzel were reinforced on Saturday night by Dominic Grieve, the Tory chair of the Commons intelligence and security committee.

Grieve said full participation, even if it meant accepting EU rules and judicial oversight for the European Court of Justice (ECJ), could not be more crucial. He said he believed May was committed to remaining closely involved in EU security but believed that doing so would require compromise that would be hard for some in Mays party to accept.

Although our partnership with the US for intelligence sharing is extremely important, the fact is that the current terrorist threat is very much a European dimension issue. The Schengen database and knowing about who has moved where are all intimately dependent on European systems and we have got to try to remain in them, he said.

I think it is going to be very difficult, and the government and Parliament will have to face up to the fact that it might turn out during the Brexit negotiation that some sort of mechanism for the European court is going to be necessary, he added.

After the Manchester attack, which killed 22 people and left dozens of others grievously injured, it was revealed that suicide bomber Salman Abedi had travelled back to England from Libya via Turkey and Dusseldorf four days before the attack.

The bomb contained the same kind of explosives as those used in the Paris and Brussels attacks in 2015 and 2016, prompting speculation that Abedi was linked to terror cells on the European mainland. UK counter-terrorism officials investigating the Abedi network are working with Europol, with separate bilateral inquiries ongoing with German and Belgian intelligence agencies.

Orde told the Observer that UK membership of EU bodies such as Europol and Eurojust, which brokers judicial co-operation in criminal cases, not only allowed access to huge amounts of vital data, but also meant UK police could set up joint inquiries with German police or those from other national forces without delay.

European arrest warrants were also essential, he said: If we dont have all this, it makes it a lot more difficult to do this crucial work. It it vital that we get to a situation as close to what we have as members of the EU as possible, though it is difficult to see how we do that. As members of Europol and Eurojust, states are subject to EU rules on data transfers and procedures and ECJ jurisdiction in any disputes or appeals over use of tools such as arrest warrants.

Ratzel, who led the pan-EU crime-fighting agency until 2009, warned that Britain must accept some of the rulings of the ECJ as part of any deal something May has previously ruled out. My expectation is that once you have an important role to play, you have to be under the European Court of Justice. Cherry picking cannot work. You have to obey the rules of the club. I am personally sure that the Europeans will never accept Britain having a role in Europol without being under the rule of the European Court of Justice.

As anti-terror policies of the rival parties were placed centre stage in the election campaign, May declared on Saturday night that more needed to be done.

She added: We need to be stronger and more resolute in standing up to these people. Spelling out details of a new commission for countering extremism, announced in the Tory manifesto, she said government had to widen its role and approach.

There is clearly a role for government in tackling extremism where it involves behaviour that is or ought to be criminal. But there is also a role for government to help people and build up organisations in society to promote and defend Britains pluralistic values, and stand up to the extremists.

Mays initiative came as Labour also attempts to boost its security credentials by pledging to appoint 1,000 more intelligence staff. Jeremy Corbyn has already said he would appoint an extra 10,000 police, 3,000 firefighters and 3,000 prison officers. Suggesting that public spending cuts had put people in danger, Corbyn said that ensuring the safety of communities demands properly resourced action across many fronts.

It means upholding and enforcing our individual rights, promoting community relations, supporting our emergency services, tackling and preventing crime and protecting us from danger, including threats of terror and violence, he said.

The Manchester bombing was the worst terror attack to hit Britain since the 7 July attacks in London in 2005.

A street in Manchesters Moss Side was evacuated by counter-terrorism officers and controlled explosives were used in a raid on a property in Cheetham Hill.

Two men aged 20 and 22 were arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning at the Cheetham Hill address, police said. Neighbours identified Yahya and Mohamed Werfalli as two of the occupants of the raided house. They were said to be of Libyan descent and part of the same friendship groups as the Manchester bomber.

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We need deal with the EU to combat terror, experts tell Theresa May - The Guardian