SHARE
COPY LINK

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.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

EUROPEAN UNION

‘Momentum’: Switzerland signals readiness to return to EU talks

Switzerland on Wednesday signalled readiness to resume talks with the EU towards a cooperation agreement, after shocking its largest trading partner in 2021 by suddenly cutting short years of negotiations.

'Momentum': Switzerland signals readiness to return to EU talks

The Swiss government said it had given the green light during a closed session Wednesday to “draw up key parameters for a negotiating mandate” with the European Union.

It said in a statement the foreign and justice ministries, along with the ministry of economic affairs, education and research (EAER), had been asked to prepare such parameters by the end of June.

At the same time, “work will continue to clarify common ground with the EU in order to start negotiations”.

Ties between Brussels and Bern have been strained since Switzerland suddenly decided in May 2021 to end years of discussion towards a broad cooperation agreement with the bloc.

EU-Swiss ties are currently governed by a patchwork of agreements, and for more than a decade discussions were ongoing towards an overarching accord that would have harmonised the legal framework governing the relationship.

But the talks hit an impasse after the EU refused to budge on Swiss demands to exclude key issues relating to state aid, wage protections and freedom of movement.

Since then, Switzerland has been trying to pick up the pieces and establish common ground with Brussels through so-called exploratory discussions.

So far, eight rounds of such exploratory talks have been held, with the next such discussions due on April 20, Bern said, adding that technical talks were also taking place on a weekly basis.

“These have led to a detailed understanding of both sides’ positions and possible solutions in the individual dossiers,” it said.

‘Positive momentum’

Following an in-depth domestic and foreign policy assessment, the government said it had noted “positive momentum” in the discussions held at various levels.

“The task now is to work out solutions for the remaining outstanding issues, in order to establish common ground for the preparation of a negotiating mandate,” it said.

The government said it still wanted to see a “package approach” in the negotiations.

Rather than a single agreement regulating institutional issues by for instance requiring the adoption of EU law developments and supervision, it said it preferred seeing the development of a whole package of new specific agreements, focused on things like electricity, food safety and health.

“This approach enables a broad balance of interests and increases the chances of success in any subsequent negotiation,” the statement said.

On the contentious issue of wage protection, the government said it had instructed the EAER to work closely with Switzerland’s 26 cantons and social partners to draw up proposals towards supplementary measures securing current levels of protections on the domestic labour market.

It said the departments responsible had also been instructed to “clarify the outstanding issues relating to electricity, land transport and health”.

State secretary Livia Leu, Switzerland’s chief negotiator with the EU, had been tasked with “finalising the common basis for future negotiations”, it said.

SHOW COMMENTS