Brexit: Why have British citizens in the EU been left to fight for their own rights?

Brexit: Why have British citizens in the EU been left to fight for their own rights?

Groups of volunteers are spending all their time and hard-earned cash on fighting for the rights of Britons across the EU who are directly affected by Brexit. The British government needs to finally make the 1.2 million citizens in the EU a real priority and ease the burden on campaigners, writes Ben McPartland.

Last week a team of volunteers in different parts of France worked late into the night trying to interpret the newly published French law that spells out what will happen in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

The volunteers, who form the “citizens rights” team at Remain in France Together (RIFT), put aside their normal lives and got on with the job of providing information to the thousands of anxious Brits who were waiting desperately for news of what their futures might hold if Britain crashes out of the EU in a few weeks’ time.

These are the same team of volunteers who have spent their own money travelling to Paris to lobby the French government to alert them to the issues Britons are facing across the country.

Of course, it’s not just in France where unpaid volunteers have taken it upon themselves to explain the impact of Brexit on health cover, driving licenses and residency rights and basically to stick up for the citizens’ rights of anxious Britons, whose lives and health have been damaged by nearly three years of limbo.

Read full story in The Local

2019: The Year We Finally Bury Brexit

2019: The Year We Finally Bury Brexit

This trip to BrusselsI’ve always enjoyed celebrating the New Year – a time to reflect on the previous 12 months, good and bad, and to look forward to a new beginning, a fresh start.

A time for optimism and hope, both ingredients that have been difficult to find on the Brexit menu, especially for us Brits living in the EU and EU citizens living in the UK.

Over the last year, so much has changed, with unpredictable events and surprising twists and turns along the way. Deadlines and Cabinet ministers came and went, but despite everything, Prime Minister Theresa May did have one major success. She actually managed to get everyone to agree on something – everyone hates her ‘deal’.

After many months of wrangling, May came back with the best deal possible from the European Union, bearing in mind her self-imposed red lines. Thanks to May’s ridiculous insistence on restricting freedom of movement, she had left no room for manoeuvre. The EU, naturally, stuck together to protect all their members and the integrity of the single market.

Throughout the entire negotiation period, the Conservative party, and the Brexiteers in particular, clung to their fantasy that the UK would be treated exactly the same as we are now. Even the production of the government’s own assessment papers, revealing the damage that even the softest Brexit would cause, barely altered the rhetoric. Britain would be ‘Great’ again, Britain would strike up new trade deals around the world, Britain could stand alone!

Read Sue Wilson’s full article in Impakter

Brexit Legality Challenged: Susan Wilson v. The Prime Minister

Brexit Legality Challenged: Susan Wilson v. The Prime Minister

For the last three months, as lead claimant versus the Prime Minister, I have been living and breathing the UK in EU legal challenge. I have learnt some new terminology and spent hours reading documents which might as well have been written in Swahili. Mostly, I been doing a lot of waiting, and then some more. The premise of our case against the Prime Minister is this – we are asking the High Court to find on two issues that could fundamentally alter the Brexit process:

  • To declare the Referendum result invalid due to the Leave campaign’s proven disregard for spending rules.
  • To subsequently find that the basis for Theresa May’s decision to trigger Article 50 is unreliable because of this wrongdoing. To argue that the referendum produced a small majority in favour of leaving is an irrational basis for such a momentous and far-reaching decision.

 

The Government has responded to our challenge. Its arguments contend that our claim was out of time, having not been submitted within a set timescale following either the referendum itself, or the triggering of Article 50.

We argue that we are within time as the Electoral Commission’s findings that Vote Leave broke the law have only recently been published.

All legal arguments/documents from both sides are available on our website:

https://www.ukineuchallenge.com/

Our challenge hit a stumbling block when the High Court refused permission for a substantive hearing. However, the swift action of our legal team meant a “Notice of Renewal” was submitted within 7 days and an oral permission hearing was secured.

Read full article in Impakter

Bremain in Spain celebrates huge turnout at People’s Vote march

Bremain in Spain celebrates huge turnout at People’s Vote march

MEMBERS of the 5,000-strong Bremain in Spain association are celebrating a turnout of an estimated 700,000 people at the People’s Vote march in London on Saturday (October 20).

The rally, organised by the People’s Vote campaign, called for a vote on any final Brexit deal between the UK and the EU. Wide-ranging groups, including Bremain in Spain and Españoles de Reino Unido, attended from across the UK and Europe.

See story in Costa News

Department for Exiting the EU minister meets groups representing UK nationals in Spain to discuss Brexit

Department for Exiting the EU minister meets groups representing UK nationals in Spain to discuss Brexit

MINISTER at the Department for Exiting the EU, Robin Walker, was in Madrid yesterday (Thursday) to meet with Spanish government ministers and members of the business community.

He also took part in a roundtable discussion on citizens’ rights with spokespeople from groups representing UK nationals in Spain.

Members of Brexpats in Spain, Bremain in Spain, EuroCitizens and ECREU were welcomed to the British Embassy by Deputy Head of Mission Tim Hemmings, where, as well as meeting with the minister, they spent time with different members of the Embassy and consular teams, discussing issues including health and social care, outreach and communications.

The aim of the day was to provide the representatives of the citizens’ groups with a greater insight into the work the Embassy network does on behalf of UK nationals, provide an update on the progress of the Brexit negotiations and respond to any questions and concerns.

Minister Walker said: “I was pleased to have the chance to meet with representatives of the British expat community and update them about what the government is doing to safeguard their rights post-Brexit.

Read full story in the Euro Weekly