EUROCITIZENS FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER: FIGHTING TO GET OUR VOICE HEARD

From International Business Times

EuroCitizens is a group of UK nationals in the Madrid region who are fighting for our EU citizenship rights and those of Spanish residents in Britain. We started in September last year and have gained momentum since our first public event in November. 
 
  Last week (09/02/17), three representatives of EuroCitizens met Simon Manley, UK ambassador in Spain. We presented him with a report about the concerns of our members over the loss of their EU citizenship rights. We communicated to him the high levels of distress and anxiety about the future that the more than 300,000 UK nationals in Spain are facing. EuroCitizens also requested that, bearing in mind the closeness of the triggering of Article 50, the Embassy and consulate increase communication with and practical support for UK nationals in Spain. We will be putting a series of articles on our blog about the possible impact of Brexit on our lives.
   Next week, we will be holding our fifth monthly meeting in Madrid (18/02: 12H Bar La Funda-Mental, C/Argumosa, 12, metro: Lavapiés línea 3, Atocha, línea 3). There will be reports from the five working groups: communication/social media, media/events, networking, support. Even if you cannot come to the meeting, if you would like to volunteer, get in touch with us. Even if you just have an hour or two a week, it can be useful. Everything helps.
   One of the problems in getting our voice heard in Westminster and Brussels is the number of different groups of UK nationals around Europe. To overcome this a platform called UK citizens in Europe has been set up. Two weeks ago, EuroCitizens and a dozen other groups sent an Alternative White Paper in the context of the parliamentary debates about activating Clause 50. We asked for full EU citizenship rights to be maintained and expressed the concerns of UK expats. This week, the umbrella group worked together again to request a meeting with David Davis, secretary of state for exiting the EU.
   On 22 February, three members of EuroCitizens will be taking part in a working lunch organised by el Movimiento Europeo about the impact of Brexit on citizenship rights. Then on 8 March we will be organising a round table in the building of the European Parliament in Madrid. We will have high profile speakers like Ignacio Sánchez Amor, spokesman on the Brexit committee of the Congreso de los Diputados. We will analyse the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU on these areas: work and living, education, health. 
   If you want to register with us and receive information, please go to  http://eepurl.com/dxGWwb

Alternative White Paper: http://www.ecreu.com/pdfs/alternative-white-paper-presented-by-UK-%20citizens-in-europe.pdf