WHY DOES THE EU WANT TO END FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT FOR UK RESIDENTS AFTER BREXIT?

'Brexit should not alter the nature of people's daily lives'  05/05/17

EuroCitizens Madrid (29/08/17)  

One of the most worrying developments in the second round of negotiations was the EU's declaration that UK nationals living in the EU would have the right to live in their country of residence but no 'further movement rights'. This means that we would be able to continue living where we do, but would not be able to travel, live or work elsewhere in the EU. 

This would make UK nationals 'landlocked' in one country of the EU and goes completely against Michel Barnier's promise that people's lives would not change after Brexit (see photo). Stripping Britons resident in the EU of freedom of movement would also go against the EU negotiating guidelines published in May. 

The international lawyer and chair of British in Europe, Jane Golding, has produced a detailed document (see link below) that highlights the many legal flaws in the EU's argument:
- the right to residence and free movement are not separate rights but two elements of the same right (you cannot have one without the other).
-free movement, which we have been enjoying for years, is for the whole territory of the EU and is not related to individual nation states
-when a 3rd country national married to an EU citizen is divorced, they do not lose their rights to residence or free movement in Europe. Thus, why should Britons lose this right when their change of circumstances has been imposed on them?
-many Britons have Permanent Residence (5 years in the EU). Third country nationals with PR have the right to free movement within the EU. So why should hundreds of thousands of Britons be worse off?

Ms Golding then goes on to talk about the effects of this interpretation on Britons. One particular impact would be on cross-border workers, of whom there are many. One sort are people who live in one country (say France) and work in another (say Luxembourg or Switzerland). With an end to free movement for UK nationals their lives would become untenable. Other cross-border workers spend periods of time working in one or more countries and this would all stop.
British in Europe has provided detailed case studies (see link below) which illustrate the impact that the huge impact the end to free movement would have on the lives of thousands of people.

EuroCitizens and British in Europe will be campaigning furiously for the EU to reverse its stance on freedom of movement. In the second half of September we will be lobbying of MEPs. Please participate in our e-lobby of UK MPs leading up to a mass lobby in Westminister on 13 September. 

BiE document on freedom of movement for UK nationals

Case studies of UK nationals affected by the end to freedom of movement

MASS LOBBY: NOW IS THE TIME TO FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS!

Why should I lobby MPs now?
There have been two rounds of negotiations between the UK and the EU about Citizens' Rights and a third round clarifiying positions will be held next week (end August).
The start has not been promising. The British government has insisted on EU citizens post-Brexit fitting into UK immigration procedures for third country nationals, with a loss of rights and the end of the protection of the European Court of Justice. In what could be a race to the bottom, the European Commission has gone back on its own negotiating guideliness and said that post-Brexit UK nationals will have no freedom of movement within the EU. This would be leave us landlocked and without the possibility to travel freely and work throughout Europe. 
Despite magnanimous promises of guaranteeing citizens' rights, both sides seem to be prepared to see them undermined and for the 3 million Europeans in Britain and 1.2 million Britons in the EU to be used as bargaining chips.

How can I participate in the e-lobby?
It's very easy. You just sign up and send an email to your UK MP (in the place you last voted). So far 750 members of British in Europe have joined up, but we need thousands more.
You can also share with your friends and families in the UK to increase the impact even more.
sign up to mass lobby here 

What is the mass lobby in London on 13 September?
There will be short welcome speeches at the Emmanuel Centre between 13h00 and 14h00 (including from BiE), and these will be broadcast live via Facebook Live. The lobby itself will happen between 14h00 and 18h00, when people will be taken across to the House of Commons in groups to meet their MPs. There will be representatives from BiE, the3million and Unison in each of the committee rooms in Parliament throughout the afternoon, greeting and briefing MPs and peers.  From 18h00 there will be a large rally in Trafalgar Square with speeches from key politicians (names to be announced?

If you can't go, try to convince friends and family in London to go to the big rally in Trafalgar Square.  

13/09 MASS LOBBY: WHAT ARE WE ASKING FROM MPs?

EuroCitizens is participating in a mass lobby of MPs in Westminster on 13 September as part of the British in Europe coalition (more information).

What are we asking for?

We are not demanding special treatment – just that the rules of the game are not changed after the match has started. 

Here are our five asks:

• Keep the rights we already have as EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the EU, so that we can continue to live our lives as before the Brexit vote.
• Guarantee these rights for life under the ECJ, so we have certainty that rules will not change in the future.
• Support ring-fencing an agreement on citizens’ rights from the rest of the UK/EU negotiations, so our lives are not used as a bargaining chip, and we can have peace of mind even if there is no overall deal.
• Introduce a free, easy to use registration process for EU citizens in the UK, so we can effectively claim our rights.
• British citizens in the EU keep their free movement rights, and the right to study in the UK paying the same fees and with access to the same loans as someone living in Britain

PARTICIPATE IN THE MASS LOBBY OF THE UK PARLIAMENT ON 13 SEPTEMBER!

EuroCitizens is participating in the mass lobby of the UK parliament on Wednesday 13 September as part of the British in Europe coalition. Other groups organising this event are the3million, Another Europe is Possible, European Alternatives, Migrants Rights Network and UNISON. We will be asking MPs to fully protect our rights after Brexit so that we can stay in the countries we love. 

Here is a message from Kalba Meadows who is coordinating the campaign for BiE: 

'We at British in Europe want to make this the biggest e-lobby that the UK has ever seen, so we really want you all to join in. You don't need to go to London, you don't even need to get out of your armchair - you just need to be willing to speak out for your citizens' rights.
This is your chance to be heard directly, on the issues that will affect the rest of your lives.
There are around 30,000 members in all the British in Europe groups put together, so together we can make this huge and really effective. 
Go to this page: https://britishineurope.org/mass-lobby-13th-sept/ to find out all the details, then register. It will take you just a few minutes to sign up. 

Please get involved, and do it today - and please pass this on to your friends and families. Thank you!'

MEETING OF BRITISH IN EUROPE WITH THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OF ALICANTE TO DISCUSS CITIZENS' RIGHTS

Mercedes Alonso with Margaret and Gerald Hales (ECREU and BiE)

For over a year, thousands of Britons living in the province of Alicante have been suffering from extreme uncertainty about their futures after Brexit. This week Margaret and Gerald Hales (ECREU and British in Europe) met Mercedes Alonso, the Family and Citizenship councillor of the Province of Alicante, to discuss these issues. Señora Alonso promised to work for the rights of the large population of Britons living in the province and to maintain close contact with the associations of UK residents. The issue of dual nationality was also brought up and Margaret Hales asked for the relaxation of rules for British citizens (at the moment there is no double nationality treaty between the two countries). Commenting on the meeting, Sue Wilson (Bremain and British in Europe) stressed the need for citizens' groups to engage with different levels of the Spanish administration to end the use of UK and EU citizens as bargaining chips.

EuroCitizens would like to thank our BiE partners. We will all continue to work together closely, in Spain, Brussels, Strasbourg and Westminster to protect the rights of UK and EU citizens affected by Brexit.

More information:

A DISAPPOINTING START TO THE NEGOTIATIONS ON CITIZENS' RIGHTS

Initial negotiations     Photo: Sky

Negotiations on the rights of EU citizens in the UK and British nationals in the EU began in earnest with the second round of talks in July, producing some initial posturing and rhetoric (especially from the British side). There are worrying developments on some key issues such as the freedom of movement for UK citizens in Europe, Britain's insistence on UK immigration law, the two-year limit on permanent residence, the EU refusal to concede voting rights and the lack of discussion about the ring-fencing of any agreement. 
      Are we looking at a race to the bottom for our rights? We hope not, as this would go against previous declarations from Michel Barnier and the EU's own negotiation directives. The British in Europe and 3million coalitions have carried out a detailed analysis of the current position which has been sent to both sides in the negotiations (see below).
    In September the red lines of both parties will be much clearer. Throughout the whole process, the British in Europe and its groups like EuroCitizens will be carrying out lobbying on five fronts: the European Parliament, the EU Commission, the UK government, both chambers at Westminister, the EU27 governments.