10 July 2017

EurActiv: UK offer is far from what citizens are entitled to

While we accept the Brexit decision was a democratic choice, we were never convinced Brexit would be a positive development economically, certainly not for the standing of Europe and the UK in the world, and most importantly: not for citizens. The UK proposal on citizens’ rights, only confirms this belief. The proposal falls short of its own ambitions to “put citizens first”. If implemented, it would cast a dark cloud of vagueness and uncertainty over the lives of millions of Europeans.

Comparing the UK’s proposal with that of the EU’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, the differences are striking. In the EU proposal, British people and Europeans keep the same rights and the same level of protection they currently enjoy under European law. All rights acquired before the date of withdrawal will be directly enforceable, with life-long protection, full reciprocity and equal treatment. A position as simple and clear as it is fair. That is what a majority of the British people want, when they indicate they seek to keep their EU citizenship.

The UK response to our proposal came three weeks later. It was a damp squib. The British government proposes that – the day after Brexit – Europeans obtain the status of ‘third country nationals’. These nationals would get fewer rights in the UK than British citizens are offered throughout the EU. Europeans will not only lose their right to vote in local elections, their future family members will also be subject to minimum income requirements, and it is unclear what the status of ‘post-Brexit’ babies will be. The British proposal carries a real risk of creating a second class of citizenship. It is even in contradiction with the ‘Vote Leave’ manifesto which promised it would treat EU citizens “no less favorably than at present”.

On top of this lack of reciprocity, it seems that Britain wants to become the new champion of red tape. Each family member, including children, have to make separate applications for “settled status”. Those who will not meet the five years’ residence requirement by the end of the grace period will have to make two applications: a first one to apply to stay; and another one to apply for “settled status”. Moreover, no guarantees of equal treatment are provided between these applicants. [...]

Full statement on EurActiv

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