Joe Duggan (Reporter)
A BRITISH expat coalition group has published an alternative Brexit white paper.
The 53-point charter has been drawn up by expat groups from across Europe, including Bremain In Spain and EuroCitizens.
The paper, ‘UK Citizens in Europe – Towards an Alternative White Paper’ calls on the government to protect expats’ rights once Britain leaves the EU.
White paper author Jane Morgan said: “Our paper shows that the complex position of individuals who have moved to another EU country.
“It is clear that unless all rights are preserved, many people will have no choice but to give up their homes and their lives and return to their country of origin.”
The alternative white paper urges the goverment to:
• spell out the most serious of the many concerns now facing those who have in the past transformed their lives and those of their families in reliance on their rights as EU citizens
• preserve all the pre-Brexit rights of all those UK citizens living in the EU, and of all those EU citizens living in the UK, would be preserved
• stress that simply confirming a right of residence is not enough, as the EU citizenship rights that these citizens have had whilst the UK was in the EU are indivisible and they need the full
complex of rights in order to remain in the country where they currently reside
• endorse the view of a House of Lords Committee that these indivisible pre-Brexit rights can only properly be protected by being expressly included in the Article 50 withdrawal agreement
Co-writer Jeremy Golding said:“Following the Supreme Court ruling, UK MPs have both the opportunity and the clear responsibility to make approval of the bill to trigger Article 50 conditional on safeguarding the rights and livelihoods of over a million UK citizens living in Europe (as well as around 3 million EU citizens in the UK).
“This should happen at the earliest opportunity.”
I would urge all those who voted to Remain in the EU and who are unable to obtain citizenship in another EU member state to support the proposed ‘associate EU citizenship’ scheme. You can do this by writing to your MP, MEPs and to Guy Verhofstadt at [email protected] – he has already received thousands of emails so please keep up the pressure.
This is not just about securing the status of existing UK citizens in EU member states, it is also very much about giving others the opportunity to live/work/retire throughout the EU in the future and making sure they have the same advantages.
I would also urge you Jane G to follow the lead that hundred’s if not thousand that had sold up in the UK for a so called better life in Spain, but no, you are quite content in sitting in your pad in the UK and having the joy of visiting your pad in Spain two or three times a year instead of living, working, opening a business and retire to Spain. Wonderful that you even encourage, for your own self interest again, from your safe pad in the UK, in asking people to write to that fanatic nutcase who is trying his best to harm the UK, the country you actually live in, Guy Verhofstadt.
Every comment you tend to make on these forums tend to reach for self interest. It’s about time you stood up to the plate and done your own work instead of relying on others. Go live in Spain and help to carry out the works that you ask others to do. lol
One can quite understand why D.Trump has pulled out of the TTIP agreement. It’s all about the benefits for the EU which would come under the rules and controls of the EU. It took a business person to see this and afraid that Obama is not a business person. No wonder the EU Germany is upset about this particularly Germany against D.Trump. I think Merkel has got the hump that Trump met T.May first over her. BTW, when is there a meeting between Junker or Merkel with the most powerful man on Earth Trump.
Strange how T.May wishes to be the go between the USA and the EU yet was against Farage being the go between the USA and Britain. Funny world really.
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/ttip/about-ttip/questions-and-answers/