Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

BREXIT

‘Time to think about the 5 million in limbo’: UK parliament votes to delay Brexit

Lawmakers in London voted to delay Brexit on Thursday evening by a majority of 210 to mark the end of three days of fraught debates and votes in which PM Theresa May's deal was firmly rejected as was a no-deal Brexit.

Published: 14 March 2019 19:36 CET
'Time to think about the 5 million in limbo': UK parliament votes to delay Brexit
How long left? Photo: Shebeko/Depositphotos

A majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK's lower house voted to delay Brexit on Thursday and seek an extension to Article 50 from the EU.

The motion to seek an extension to Article 50 was approved by a majority of 210 MPs. It calls for Theresa May to seek an extension until June 30th 2019 if a deal is approved before March 20th. But the motion also acknowledges that a longer extension may need to be justified if the UK parliament cannot agree on the deal before the EU Council summit on March 21st. 

The lower house also voted on several amendments. Theresa May survived an attempt for MPs to set the schedule for future debates and talks on Brexit, and wrestle control of the process from her hands, by a majority of only two (312 ayes, 314 noes).

An amendment to hold a second referendum was also defeated by a much wider majority of 229.

Some Labour MPs wrote an open letter arguing why they were abstaining even though they support a second referendum “because it isn't the right time.” They hope to be able to achieve a second referendum via other means in parliament. 

While amendments are not legally binding, they offer a barometer of sentiment among MPs. The fact that 332 voted against a second referendum would constitute a majority even if Labour had voted, suggesting more than half of parliamentarians are not in favour of giving the British public a final say on Brexit. 

Desires are nourished by delays?

Senior EU figures have expressed differing positions on granting an extension to Article 50, the clause in the Lisbon Treaty which envisages a two-year window for member states leaving the bloc to agree a framework for future cooperation with the Union. 

Donald Tusk, president of the EU Council – the political body where ministers from the EU meet to agree policy – suggested he was open to granting the UK an extension.

But opposing views in the EU to delaying Brexit were made evident in a tweet by Guy Verhofstadt, the Brexit coordinator at the EU parliament, in which the Belgian MEP appeared to disagree with Tusk.

“Unless there is a clear majority in the House of Commons for something precise, there is no reason at all for the European Council to agree on a prolongation,” tweeted Verhofstadt.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has made clear he wants Brexit out of the way before European parliamentary elections in late May.

“I would like to stress that the United Kingdom's withdrawal should be complete before the European elections that will take place between 23-26 May,” wrote Juncker in a letter to EU Council President Tusk on March 11th. 

EU Brexit fatigue

The issue of an extension has also sewn divisions among member states, fracturing the united front the EU27 is keen to maintain. French President Emmanuel Macron said the Withdrawal Agreement could not be renegotiated but showed lukewarm signs that he was open to an extension.

Many EU leaders see an extension as justified only if the UK can present a viable plan as to how it will use the time to dig itself out of the Brexit quagmire.

“If the British need more time, we will examine a request for an extension — if it is justified by new choices on the part of the British,” said President Macron. 

READ ALSO: Macron says Brexit withdrawal deal not 'negotiable'

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte echoed Macron's thoughts. 

Chief EU Negotiator Michel Barnier isn't keen on an extension and feels his, and the EU's work, has been done. 

“Prolong this negotiation, to do what?” Barnier asked MEPs at the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg on the morning of Wednesday March 13th. “The negotiation on article 50 is over. We have a treaty. It is here,” he added. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, like EU Commission President Juncker, has previously suggested a 55 day extension to Article 50 until the beginning of EU parliamentary elections would be “very easy.” Any extension beyond May 22nd would mean the UK would have to hold EU parliamentary elections, Juncker has stated. 

The final countdown

With the next EU Council summit a week away – March 21-22 – Theresa May  and her negotiators now have a week to try and convince her European counterparts to grant an extension and avoid a cliff-edge no-deal exit on March 29th.

The EU's apparent reluctance to unanimously agree to an extension may just be posturing. Brexit has dragged on for nearly three years, yet as a former senior EU Commission official recently told told The Local “twenty four hours is a long time in Brexit politics.” 

Rights advocacy group British in Europe, formed in 2016 to defend the rights of UK nationals in the EU caught on the front lines of Brexit, repeated its call for the rights of 3.6 million EU nationals in the UK and 1.2 million UK nationals in the EU to be ring-fenced. 

READ MORE: 'We choose France': Dordogne Brits still in Brexit limbo as clock ticks down

BREXIT

INTERVIEW: ‘A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it’s not for Brits in Europe’

A new project from citizens campaign group British in Europe aims to empower Brits in the EU to advocate for their post-Brexit rights. The Local spoke to BiE chair Jane Golding about the problems British citizens face in Europe and why the project is still needed.

Published: 15 June 2024 10:05 CEST
INTERVIEW: 'A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it's not for Brits in Europe'

In the early days of 2021, after the United Kingdom had left the EU and completed the final stage of Brexit, many British citizens returned to their home countries in Europe only to face a grilling at the border. 

Though the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) technically guaranteed their right to live and work in the countries they’d settled in before Brexit, there was widespread confusion about these fundamental rights and many were treated like new arrivals. 

Over time, the chaos at the airports subsided as border officials and airlines were given clearer guidance on the treatment of Brits. But three years later, a number of Brits who live on the continent still face problems when it comes to proving their post-Brexit rights.

This was the reason campaign group British in Europe decided to set up their new EU-funded ICE project. Starting this year in March, it aims to build valuable connections between UK citizens abroad and mentor the next generation of civil rights advocates around the continent. The acronym stands for ‘Inform, Empower, Connect’ and the project’s organisers describe it as “the first project of its kind”. 

READ ALSO: Hundreds of Britons across Europe given orders to leave

“It’s a completely innovative project – especially the fact that it’s across so many countries,” Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe and one of the project’s founders, told The Local.

Bringing together groups from 11 EU member states, the project aims to train up volunteers to understand both the Withdrawal Agreement and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as learning skills like advocacy and communication, using real-life civil rights cases that are referred to British in Europe.

“The ultimate goal is to amplify the messages across the wider group,” said Golding. “You start with the volunteers, they go back to their groups, then the people that we train, they go back and train people. Then they pass on that knowledge to the wider groups, on their Facebook accounts and through social media, and hopefully it all snowballs, not just in their countries but across the EU.” 

READ ALSO: What Brits in Europe need to know about UK’s new minimum income rules

‘Far-reaching repercussions’

So many years after Brexit, it’s hard to believe that there’s still a need for a project like ICE that empowers Brits to protect their rights. Indeed, the future of groups like British in Europe and regional groups like British in Germany and British in Spain felt uncertain just a year or two ago. 

But Golding says there are still serious issues cropping up for Brits in several countries around Europe – they just have a different quality to the problems that arose at the start.

“In some ways it’s needed even more because as we predicted right at the beginning, at the first stage of implementation, you’ve got the more routine cases,” she explained.

“What we’re seeing now is not as many cases, but when the cases come up, they’re complex. They can have such far-reaching repercussions on people’s lives. And of course, memories start to fade. A lot of people think Brexit is already done, but it’s not.”

Volunteers in British in Europe ICE project

The volunteers of the British in Europe ICE project pose for a photo at the kick-off meeting in Brussels on May 21st, 2024. Photo courtesy of Jane Golding

Though the rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement apply across the continent, different countries have taken different approaches to implementing them.

That means that while in Germany, for example, UK citizens simply had to declare that they lived in the country, people in neighbouring Denmark had to apply for their rights. 

This led to a notorious situation in Denmark in which as many as 2,000 Brits were threatened with deportation after not applying in time or completing the right application process. According to Golding, this had a lot to do with the fact that people who arrived in 2020 weren’t given the same information as other UK migrants who arrived before. 

In Sweden, meanwhile, the situation is still difficult for many Brits who lived there prior to Brexit.

“There have been issues with an anomalously high numbers of refusals compared to other countries, and they seem to be taking a very strict approach on late applications,” Golding explained. 

READ ALSO: Brits in Sweden still in limbo years after Brexit deadline

Portugal has been another difficult case. Although the country opted for a declaratory system where Brits could simply exchange old residence documents for a new ID card after Brexit, reports suggest that the authorities have taken years to issue these cards, leaving many of the some 34,000 Brits in the country in limbo.

“While people are still waiting to have their status confirmed and have their card in their hand, it’s difficult to access a whole range of services, like health services, or applying for jobs or dealing with the authorities, or even going to the bank,” Golding said. “All of these problems just affect people’s lives.”

A French border guard checks a passport at the border

A French border guard checks a passport at the border. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

There are also concerns about the EU’s new exit and entry system (EES), due to come into force in October, which is based on biometric documentation.

“We still do not have clear data on how many people in declaratory countries like Germany, where it wasn’t compulsory to apply for the card, don’t actually have a card,” Golding said. “How is that going to play out if it’s a document-based digitalised system?”

READ ALSO: How Europe’s new EES border checks will impact flight passengers

A lack of support

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still available to support NGOs in Europe helping Brits with their migration and civil rights issues. But that temporary funding soon expired, leaving groups like British in Europe largely on their own.

“The whole point is people’s lives change at very different paces,” Golding said. “And now this project is really going to start to pick up some of those cases and report on those issues, which is really crucial and exciting for the precedent that it sets, and it’s very clearly necessary still, because people don’t just sort their lives in the 18 months that the FCDO chose to supply that funding.”

This feeling of being left alone and increasingly isolated from the UK is one that many Brits in Europe have felt in the aftermath of Brexit. But the upcoming UK election on July 4th could be a game-changer.

This time, following a change in the law, Brits who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to vote for the first time.

Polling station in the UK

A polling station in the UK. Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

When it comes to the election, the message from British in Europe is clear: “Make your voice count now, make your vote count, make sure you use it,” Golding said. 

With the June 18th registration deadline fast approaching, BiE is advising UK citizens abroad to apply for a proxy vote as soon as possible, rather than relying on a postal vote from abroad. Since the 15-year rule was abolished on January 16th, more than 100,000 British citizens have registered to vote, according to official statistics. It is unclear how many were registered before the change in the law. 

READ ALSO: How Brits living in Europe can register to vote for UK election

With an estimated 5.5 million Brits currently living abroad – 1.3 million of whom are in the EU – this could have a significant impact on the electoral landscape, Golding says. But most significantly, the change is creating a feeling of connection and belonging that wasn’t there before.

Nurturing this sense of belonging is one of the main goals of ICE.

With these bridges being built, British in Europe hopes to create a network of support that spans across borders.

“Now we’ve met. We’re going to meet,” said Golding. “We know we’re going to meet again in Berlin in October and then we’ll meet again in the new year in 2025 as well. It means a huge amount because even British in Europe, our steering team, we’ve only met physically three times.”

This opens up the possibility of people sharing their knowledge from country to country, Golding explained.

“There is crossover and the reassurance of having that EU wide view and knowing that you’re not alone and knowing that in this country, we managed to get this solution,” she said. “And then you can go back and say to the authorities in your country, well, in that country they did that – all of that helps. It’s really good.”

SHOW COMMENTS