Shoppers walk past a store in London. The British government will not be attending the event “The situation and rights of EU citizens in the U.K.," featuring remarks by chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt | Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP via Getty Images UK officials snub MEPs on Brexit British representatives appear to be skipping out on a hearing on Brexit implications for EU citizens living in the UK.

The British government appears to be skipping out on a European Parliament hearing on the implications of Brexit for EU citizens living in the U.K.

The Thursday hearing titled “The situation and rights of EU citizens in the U.K." is scheduled to include remarks by Guy Verhofstadt, the parliament's Brexit negotiator, and Anne-Laure Donskoy, co-chair of The 3 million, a group which campaigns for the rights of EU citizens living in the U.K.

According to a draft program sent to POLITICO last week, “representatives of the U.K. Home Office” would be part of the hearing organized by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) as well as the Petitions and the Employment and Social Affairs committees. But a recent update of the program didn’t include any reference to U.K. representatives. A senior EU official said they would not participate and that "no further explanation was given."

“It’s disappointing but not surprising. It’s a sign of how they really feel about citizens” — Sophie in ’t Veld, MEP

Sophie in ’t Veld, a member of the LIBE committee and an MEP from the liberal ALDE group, said she regarded the move as a snub. “It’s disappointing but not surprising,” she said. “It’s a sign of how they really feel about citizens."

In February, in ’t Veld and other MEPs sent a letter to U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May urging her to combat any bureaucratic harassment of EU nationals living in the U.K and to guarantee their rights. But in 't Veld wasn't satisfied with the response and formed a task force to examine cases where EU citizens have faced a “bureaucratic wall."

“The tone of that letter was absolutely ridiculous,” she said. “It was a sign of how insensitive and careless they are about people.”

A spokesperson for the British Home Office told POLITICO that they had received the Parliament’s invitation to attend. On Wednesday, a U.K. government spokesperson said: “We are grateful for the European Parliament’s invitation to attend the joint hearing on Thursday and have written to them offering to send a government representative to speak to the committees about this on an alternative date.”

Although Parliament won't participate directly in the Brexit negotiations, MEPs will have the power to veto the final withdrawal deal by a simple majority, once the remaining 27 EU member countries have endorsed it. They are likely to disrupt or slow things down by issuing political resolutions during the negotiations.

Since the U.K. voted to leave the EU, the Parliament has struggled to get May, Brexit secretary David Davis and other high-ranking British officials to testify publicly about Brexit in plenary sessions or committee meetings.

A Parliament official said Verhofstadt, Parliament President Antonio Tajani and former Parliament President Martin Schulz had all invited May at different times. Tajani raised the issue at a one-on-one meeting with May in Downing Street last month. “A commitment could not be made because of the U.K.’s general election,” the official said, adding: "She is keen to come.”

Some contact has taken place behind closed doors. In November, several parliamentary leaders, including Manfred Weber, the head of the conservative European People's Party group, met privately with Davis. Verhofstadt is said to be in close contact with British officials but these meetings are generally not open to the public.

In April, some MEPs met with David Jones and Robin Walker, respectively the minister of state and the parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Brexit department. But these meetings were not made public, either.

Giulia Paravicini contributed to this article.