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| 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:
Queremos hacer una noticia para
Informativos sobre el Brexit contando con la opinión de su asociación,
British in Europe. Queremos saber cuáles son sus dudas o preosupaciones
y qué han tratado en la reunión con la diputada Mercedes Alonso y qué
posibilidades les ha ofrecido la Diputación para apoyarles en la defensa
de sus derechos.
We
want to make a news story about Brexit with the opinion of the
association, British in Europe. We want to know what are your doubts or
concerns and what you dealt with in the meeting with the deputy Mercedes
Alonso and what possibilities has the Council offered you in support of
the defense of your rights.
The Family and Citizenship Councillor, Mercedes Alonso, met this
morning with representatives of the Association British in Europe to
study future actions around the Brexit process and its repercussions for
both Britons residing in Alicante & those from Alicante who study or work in the United Kingdom. Both
sides have put on the table the importance of maintaining the rights of
citizenship, acquired over many years, beyond the right of vote or
nationality, which are now under threat with the arrival of Brexit. As
highlighted by Alonso, "from the Diputación de Alicante, as we have
already confirmed to the representatives of British in Europe, we will
continue to collaborate and work to raise awareness of the British
collective of the Costa Blanca - the largest in Spain - What possibilities exist to claim those rights? We
will also be in constant connection with groups and associations as
together we must work together to achieve this equality for all within
the European Union. " For
their part, the representatives of British in Europe - the largest
group of British citizens living and working in Europe - thanked the
Provincial Government for their involvement in planning possible actions
to resolve the situation
08-08-2017.- La diputada de Familia y Ciudadanía, Mercedes Alonso,
se ha reunido esta mañana con representantes de la Asociación British
in Europe para estudiar futuras acciones en torno al proceso del Brexit y
sus repercusiones tanto para los británicos que residen en la provincia
como para los alicantinos que estudian o trabajan en Reino Unido.
Ambas partes han puesto sobre la mesa la importancia de mantener los
derechos de la ciudadanía, adquiridos durante muchos años, más allá del
derecho de voto o la nacionalidad, que ahora se tambalean con la llegada
del Brexit. Tal como ha destacado Alonso, “desde
la Diputación de Alicante, como ya hemos confirmado a los
representantes de British in Europe, vamos a seguir colaborando y
trabajando para dar a conocer al colectivo de británicos de la Costa
Blanca –el más grande de España- qué posibilidades hay para reivindicar
esos derechos. También estaremos en constante conexión con colectivos y
asociaciones ya que juntos debemos remar para conseguir esa igualdad
para todos dentro de la Unión Europea”.
Por su parte, los representantes de British in Europe -el colectivo
más grande de ciudadanos británicos que viven y trabajan en Europa- han
agradecido al Gobierno Provincial su implicación a la hora de planificar
posibles actuaciones para resolver la situación.
Margaret Hales, ECREU and British in Europe responded
''Yesterday
we were invited to meet Mercedes Alonso. She was well aware of the
precarious situation of the British population in Alicante during the
'Brexit' negotiations. Refreshingly she understood perfectly the need to
protect all the rights which we currently hold. .We impressed on her
that when discussions are held in Madrid regarding Brexit the government
in Alicante has a most important position, given that more British
people lived in the province than any other in Spain. We also underlined
the importance of the Spanish government seriously considering
relaxation of the current rules in order to allow dual nationality for
us British citizens who live in Spain.
She
also understood the constant worry Brexit gives us and agreed to be in
constant communication as the negotiations in Brussels twisted and
turned.''
Sue Wilson Bremain in Spain and British in Europe resonded
