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BREXIT

Brexit: Brits in EU feel European and don’t want to return home

The majority of Britons who live in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland and are protected under the Brexit agreement feel European and intend to remain in Europe permanently, but many have concerns about travel problems, a new survey reveals.

Brexit: Brits in EU feel European and don't want to return home
Flags of the European Union outside the European commission headquarters in Brussels. Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP

The research also shows that problems exist and “travel is where most issues relating to the new status currently occur”. For instance, border officials are still stamping passports of UK citizens with residence rights under the EU UK withdrawal agreement, even though they shouldn’t.

“There is constant confusion around passport stamping. I was ‘stamped in’ to France on a short trip… but could not find anyway to be ‘stamped out’ again. I think I can only spend 90 days in other EU countries, but have no idea how anyone can check or enforce that – until someone decides to try. It’s a mess,” was one of the answers left in an open question.

“Every time I go through a Schengen border control, I need to provide both my passport and Aufenthaltstitel card [resident permit in Germany] and watch to check that they don’t stamp my passport. As I am currently travelling a lot that’s been 20-odd times this year…” another respondent said.

The survey was carried out by Professor Tanja Bueltmann, historian of migration and diaspora at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, between October and November 2022. About 1,139 UK citizens replied.

Of these, 80 per cent found acquiring their new status easy or very easy, 60.7 per cent feel their rights are secure, while 39.3 per cent have concerns about their status going forward.

Staying permanently

More than three quarters (76.6 per cent) of respondents said they plan to live permanently in the EU or the other countries of the European Economic Area and Switzerland. In fact, 65.7 per cent said that Brexit has increased the likelihood of this choice.

For some, the decision is linked to the difficulty to bring non-British family members to the UK under new, stricter immigration rules.

“My German wife and I decided we no longer wanted to live in UK post Brexit referendum. In particular, we were affected by the impact of immigration law […] We cannot now return to UK on retirement as I cannot sponsor her on my pension. We knew it was a one-way journey. Fortunately, I could revive an application for German citizenship,” was a testimony.

“My husband is a US citizen and getting him a visa for the UK was near impossible due to my low income as a freelance journalist. We realized under EU law, moving to an EU country was easier. We settled on Austria as we had both lived there before… we could speak some German, and we like the mountains,” said another respondent.

Professor Bueltmann noted that the loss of free movement rights in the EU could be a factor too in the decision of many to stay where they are.

Citizenship and representation

Among those who decided to stay, 38.2 per cent are either applying or planning to apply for a citizenship and 28.6 per cent are thinking about it.

A key finding of the research, Bueltmann said, is that the vast majority of British citizens do not feel politically represented. Some 60 per cent of respondents said they feel unrepresented and another 30 per cent not well represented.

Another issue is that less than half (47.5 per cent) trust the government of their country of residence, while a larger proportion (62 per cent) trust the European Union. Almost all (95.6 per cent) said they do not trust the UK government.

Feeling European

The survey highlights the Brexit impacts on people’s identity too. 82.6 per cent of respondents said they see themselves as European, a higher proportion than those identifying as British (68.9 per cent).

“Brexit has really left me unsure of what my identity is. I don’t feel British, and I certainly don’t identify with the mindset of a lot of British people who live there. Yet, I am not Danish either. So, I don’t really know anymore!” said one of the participants in the survey.

Professor Bueltmann said the survey “demonstrates that Brexit impacts continue to evolve: this didn’t just stop because the transition period was over or a deadline for an application had been reached. Consequently, Brexit continues to shape the lives and experiences of British citizens in the EU/EEA and Switzerland in substantial, sometimes life-altering, ways.”

Considering the results of the study, Professor Bueltmann recommends policy makers in the EU and the UK to address the issue of lack of representation, for instance creating a joint UK-EU citizens’ stakeholder forum.

The report also recommends the UK government to rebuild trust with British citizens in the EU introducing voting rights for life and changing immigration rules to allow British-European families to return more easily. 

This article was prepared in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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EUROPEAN UNION

Why any deal between Switzerland and EU lies in the hands of the Swiss

The newly resumed round of negotiations between Switzerland and the European Union is now underway. But even if agreements are signed, stamped, and sealed, this doesn’t automatically mean they will go into effect.

Why any deal between Switzerland and EU lies in the hands of the Swiss

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Swiss President Viola Amherd launched negotiations in Brussels on Monday on “a broad package of measures to deepen and expand the EU-Switzerland relationship”, the European Commission said in a statement. (Read more about what’s at stake, below).

“Today is the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship with Switzerland based on a renewed trust and engagement between partners and neighbours,” she added.

This is a positive development after Switzerland suddenly walked away from more than a decade of negotiations in May 2021 due to the EU’s refusal to budge on Swiss demands to exclude key issues relating to state aid, wage protections and freedom of movement. 

The move angered Brussels and strained the relationship between the two sides.

But after nearly three years of tiptoeing around each other, the two parties finally got back to business on Monday.

What does Bern hope to accomplish during the talks?

In a nutshell, these are some of the issues Switzerland will bring to the negotiating table:

Immigration

The majority (1.4 million)of foreign nationals living in — and still coming to — Switzerland are from EU states, so immigration is a hot-button topic.
Wage protection
“The objective of ensuring wage and working conditions by maintaining the current level of protection sustainably will be reaffirmed,” the government pointed out.

Electricity

Swiss government therefore wants to negotiate an agreement with the EU, in order to allow full access for Switzerland to the single market for electricity and “ensure cooperation in this sector with the EU in the future”.

Transport

In parallel with the opening  of international rail passenger transport, the Federal Council will seek to maintain Switzerland’s prerogative to allocate slots on its own territory.

“The controlled opening up of international rail transport must not affect the quality of public transport in Switzerland,” the government said. 

Swiss sovereignty

The government wants to ensure that Switzerland will always be able to decide autonomously whether or not it wishes to adopt European law.
Its direct-democracy system of referendums must also remain intact.
In the event of a dispute, Switzerland and the EU will be equally represented in an arbitration tribunal, which will have to decide.

READ ALSO: What is Switzerland’s deal with the EU?

If both sides agree on these, and other points that are being negtioted, when will new treaties come into effect?

It may take a while, but a better question to ask is: will these agreements be enforced at all?

That’s because when it comes to implementing new laws — regardless of whether they were hatched in Bern or in Brussels — the people will have the last, decisive, word.

Chalk it down to Switzerland’s famous, unique brand of grassroots (or direct) democracy.

Under this system, any new legislation to which any group of Swiss citizens opposes, will come to a referendum.

To do that on a federal level, opponents must collect 50,000 valid signatures within 100 days of the publication of the new legislation. The law will only come into force if it is accepted by a majority of the voters. (Only Swiss citizens over 18 can sign the petitions and vote in national referendums).

READ ALSO: How Switzerland’s direct democracy system works

Do Swiss citizens always vote against closer ties with the EU?

No.

In May 2000, for instance, 67.2 percent voted in favour of the first package of bilateral agreements with the European Union.

And in 2005, 56 percent of voters approved the extension of the agreement on the free movement of persons.

However, in terms of actually joining the EU, the voters have been overwhelmingly against this move.

In 1997 and 2001, more than 74 percent had rejected popular initiatives seeking EU membership.

What about the latest round of negotiations?

It is too early to say, but the opposition to any further links with Brussels is gaining momentum, especially among the right wing — historically a driving force against the EU.

The populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) is speaking against “the EU submission treaty,” while its sister group, Pro Schweiz, has collected enough signatures to launch a vote on reinforcing Switzerland’s neutrality and, by extension, rejecting anything that smacks of cooperation with the European Union.

It is therefore certain that either or both groups will launch a referendum to stop the government from implementing any more pro-European policies.

This doesn’t mean however, that the Swiss, who are mostly a pragmatic lot, would reject the new agreements at the ballot box — since the majority had already accepted the treaties mentioned above.

Either way, Blick newspaper reported that “it is the Swiss people who will decide whether  the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the European Union will be finalised.” 

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