Jason MoorePalma03/02/2018 00:00
TW
6

It seems rather amazing that almost 18 months after the Brexit referendum the British government is coming up with mixed messages. "29 March, 2019 May will lock out European citizens" runs a headline in a national Spanish newspaper yesterday. The headline is slightly over the top. What the British government has said is that after Brexit European citizens heading to Britain will not have the same rights as those who settled there before Brexit. You can expect the same treatment for Britons moving to Spain. But the government has said that rights will be lost; it would be rather nice if the government said what rights, because it would make a difference for Britons planning to move to Spain.

There is plenty of concern about Brexit but these mixed messages are only making the problem worse. Before making a statement the British government should give the full picture not just a headline-grabbing sentence. Imagine that you have been saving and planning to retire to Spain and then all of a sudden you are told that you are going to have diminished rights. What do you do? There is still much to settle in the big Brexit negotiations so perhaps it would be better if a tight lip was kept on comments which could have an adverse affect until all the facts are known. Brexit is not just about Britain leaving the European Union and setting up a trading block it is about people, and at the moment there are plenty of people who are concerned.