Jason Moore10/12/2016 00:00
TW
6

I welcome the plan by the European Union to give British citizens "EU status" when and if Britain finally leaves. It must be remembered that British citizens enjoy some privileges as a result of Britain’s membership of the European club which would disappear post-Brexit. One of my biggest concerns is whether or not British citizens would need work permits as a result of their non-EU status. But the EU plan is a good one. The only drawback, as we reported two weeks ago, is that British citizens may have to pay the EU for their EU status.

Now, it all works well and nicely as far as the European Union is concerned but what about the British government? You could have a situation where two million British citizens are members of the EU (basically those living in the EU) and 50 million (those living in Britain) who are not. Also, as EU citizens would it mean that Britons would not get the same treatment from the British government? The situation is complex but I am willing to give the EU the benefit of the doubt.

Apart from work permits, British citizens may also lose their vote in the local elections on the island and of course in the European elections. The British government has said that it wants to resolve the status of British citizens leaving in EU countries post-Brexit as soon as possible and there is much speculation. However, it appears that at least the EU cares about British citizens living in the Europe and is willing to make our lives slightly easier when Britain departs.

I started this article by saying "when and if" Britain leaves because I am still not convinced that the UK will ever really exit. There is so much to do that I can see the issue dragging on for years. In the meantime we can look forward to plenty more speculation about our status and what we will need post-Brexit.