Expat Campaign Groups To Demand Clarity And Closure For All

For expats who think it’s all over now as regards Brexit, campaign groups are mobilising again to ensure they’re not left out of the transition period negotiations.

One of the shames of the past three year’s negotiations was the incontrovertible fact that those who stood most to lose had no say at all in their futures as British expats in Europe. A huge number didn’t even have the chance to vote in the original referendum due to having lived outside the UK for more than 15 years or having been unable to get their postal votes to the UK due to unacceptable delays in getting their voting papers. Subsequently, it became obvious they were being seen as totally unimportant in the giant scheme of things, with no-one caring or coming to their rescue.

The various campaigns did what they could to keep British expats in Europe aware of each new move, which is more than can be said for the equally various British consulates and embassies, most of which seemed to have no better idea about developments than local expats themselves. As a no-deal catastrophe crawled nearer, some Brits gave up and returned to the UK but many simply grew more and more angry at being used as bargaining chips. Throughout all this, the campaign groups kept up their fights for expats’ rights on both sides of the English Channel, and are still in there fighting for clarity and closure.

Both British in Europe and the 3 Million group are now focusing on the details of implementation of the withdrawal agreement and its effect on expats both in Europe and in the UK. The campaign for the guaranteeing of expat rights both in the EU 27 and the UK will continue in an attempt to prevent the criminalisation of those who’ve failed to apply. What’s needed, both by Brits in Europe and EU citizens in the UK, is a simple registration programme giving physical evidence of status.

Also and importantly, negotiators will need to be reminded of the number of crucial issues which aren’t included in the current Withdrawal Agreement as they were postponed to negotiations during the transition period. The most important for many expats is free movement for UK expats living, working or retiring in EU member states. For expats feeling more angry than sad, the Brexpat Hear Our Voice pressure group remained defiant after the announcement of the election result and are committed to fighting for expat rights for their mostly British members as well as for EU expats in the UK. The group’s main concern is erosion of the EU’s fundamental values of respect for human rights, human dignity, democracy, equality and the rule of law.