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Italy braces for ‘undesirable’ no-deal Brexit after agreement’s defeat

The Italian government has pledged to step up preparations for all Brexit scenarios, including no deal, the morning after British MPs shot down a proposed withdrawal agreement.

Italy braces for 'undesirable' no-deal Brexit after agreement's defeat
Anti-Brexit protesters in Rome, 2017. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

The Italian prime minister's office said that Rome would continue to work with other EU members “to limit the negative consequences of Brexit, and in particular, to guarantee the rights of Italian citizens in the United Kingdom and British citizens in Italy, the stability of the markets, banking, insurance and financial sectors, and a withdrawal that is as orderly as possible in all other respects to protect citizens and businesses”.

“In this context,” the statement continued, “preparations for all scenarios will continue and intensify, including for the undesirable scenario of a withdrawal without an agreement on March 29th, 2019.”

That prospect looks closer than ever after the UK parliament resoundingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's proposed Withdrawal Agreement on Tuesday night. 

READ THE LATEST: Brits in EU demand to be spared from Brexit 'train crash' after May's deal rejected


Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP

“We are in the theatre of the absurd,” a former senior EU Commission official told The Local.

“What comes next is unclear. The UK must on any reckoning be closer to a no-deal exit than it was before. Article 50 states that the UK will leave on March 29th, deal or no deal. Unless of course Parliament votes to revoke Article 50 – which seems to be excluded in political terms.”

The vote left Brits in Italy facing fresh uncertainty about their future here.

“Following the largest defeat of any government in over 100 years, Theresa May said only that EU citizens in the UK and British nationals in the EU deserve clarity as to their future and their rights. But she singularly failed to offer any plan as to how to achieve that,” said British in Italy, a group that campaigns for citizens' rights.

“Our citizens' rights that have already been negotiated and agreed between the UK and EU could so easily be ring-fenced. Theresa May has offered nothing – not even an extension to the Article 50 period in order to discuss such a proposition with Europe.”

READ ALSO: Italy guarantees citizens' rights for Brits after Brexit


Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

The Italian government has promised that British nationals legally resident in Italy will not lose their rights to live and work here when the UK withdraws from the EU just over 70 days from now, whether there is a deal by then or not. Without an agreement, though, Brits will need to apply for permanent residency to guarantee their long-term future in Italy, in a procedure that has not yet been defined.

A no-deal Brexit would also have consequences for Italian industry, which warned of serious economic fall-out. 

“No deal would be a very negative scenario for Italian businesses,” commented Lisa Ferrarini, head of the Ferrarini food export group and vice-president of Italy's business association Confindustria. “Our exports to the UK are worth around €20 billion a year. Many sectors would be hit, including mechanics, food production, logistics and transport.”

READ ALSO: What's at stake for Italy in the Brexit negotiations?

“No deal would reimpose bureaucracy and customs tariffs, with great difficulties for exports and the movement of people,” Ferrarini said. “Not to mention legislation different from the EU's, which would mean obstacles, tariffs or otherwise.”

The same fears extend to the hundreds of thousands of Italians who live and work in the UK. London, which has enough Italy-born residents to make it the fifth biggest Italian city after Roma, Milan, Turin and Naples, has long been the destination of choice for young Italians seeking opportunities – but no more, one recent study indicates.

Recruitment site Indeed found that number of searches for jobs in the UK from people based in Italy dropped by 13 percent between 2015-18, while over the same period, searches by UK-based users for work in Italy climbed by 16 percent. Whether those came from Italians looking to return or Brits hoping to flee is unclear.

READ ALSO: 

HEALTH

Brits living in Italy under post-Brexit rules won’t pay healthcare fee

British nationals who moved to Italy before January 1st 2021 are exempt from paying Italian healthcare fees, according to an update on the UK government website for British nationals overseas.

Brits living in Italy under post-Brexit rules won't pay healthcare fee

Italian authorities have clarified that British residents covered by the post-Brexit withdrawal agreement (WA) should not be subject to fees for using the Italian national health service (servizio sanitario nazionale, or SSN), according to the update published on the British government’s Living in Italy website on Friday afternoon.

“The Italian government has recently decided that British nationals who entered and have been living in Italy prior to January 1st 2021 and are beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement can register for free with the Italian national health system and are therefore not required to make voluntary contributions,” it read.

READ ALSO: Trouble proving residency rights leaves Brits in Italy paying €2k health charge

The unexpected announcement came as a relief to many of The Local’s British readers, who have been battling local authorities’ varying interpretations of the rules for those who are covered by the WA.

However there were no further details available immediately about how the rules would work or how this would be communicated to local healthcare offices around Italy.

The British government’s update stated: “We continue to engage to fully understand guidelines and requirements,” and added that any updates would be published on the website.

Clarissa Killwick, citizens’ rights campaigner with Beyond Brexit, told The Local the update on Friday had come as “a big surprise”.

“Obviously very good news, but we need to wait and see the detail as to how this is going to work.”

READ ALSO: Why Brits in Italy say they’ve been ‘hung out to dry’ over €2K healthcare fee

“There has been a very positive reaction from our members,” she said. “I can feel a great weight lifting from those who have gone through a lot of anxiety since the new minimum of €2,000 for SSN voluntary contributions was first mooted last October.”

Italy’s government confirmed the new minimum €2,000 charge applies from the start of 2024, though there has been a persistent lack of clarity over exactly who it applies to.

In the absence of clear national guidelines, local health authorities have reportedly applied differing interpretations of the rules for WA beneficiaries, with several British nationals reporting being wrongly charged the fee in January.

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