Ring-fence our rights now, say campaigners

With British MPs unlikely to vote in favour of the negotiated deal and the vote being put off by Prime Minister Theresa May, and with the EU saying no other deal is available, it is looking more likely than ever that we will see either Britain crashing out with no deal or, alternatively, no Brexit at all.

This comes as the European Court of Justice said that Britain may, until Brexit day, cancel Brexit if it decides to do so, according to its own constitutional procedures (eg. an MPs’ vote or another referendum, also known as a “People’s Vote”).

In another twist, an amendment was passed by the UK parliament giving MPs the right to a final say on how the UK should proceed if the Brexit deal is voted down.

No-Brexit would retain the status quo for Britons in France and ensure future generations could continue to come to the country freely to work or retire, as they have for the last 26 years since the full EU single market came into force.

No-deal would mean British people in EU countries become technically illegal immigrants on March 30 unless emergency laws are put into place by the countries where they live.

France and Germany are so far said to be the only countries to have created legislation to deal with this. Europe Minister Nathalie Loiseau’s new Brexit law is currently going through final stages.

A source in the Europe Ministry confirmed to Connexion that Mrs Loiseau aims to be “very protective” of Britons’ rights in the case of no-deal and she “has a strong will to protect Britons in France”. Even so, British in Europe points out that the draft deal, while imperfect, is better for British expatriates than having to fall back on such help, not least because it contains clear guarantees of the rights continuing for life.

What is more, it covers a raft of areas in its 600 pages, and individual countries seeking to replicate it would be time-consuming.

For Britons here, it would require laws to be passed both in the UK and France, plus bilateral deals being agreed between the UK and France, or the UK and EU, on matters such as pension up-rating and aggregation, healthcare and social security.

If the draft deal is accepted by UK MPs, the final hurdle would be a debate and vote by the European Parliament which is not now expected before February or March due to formalities required to present it to the parliament, including translation into different languages.

However, it is thought the MEPs would not, at this stage, object to the deal, despite the fact that it falls short of their previously expressed wishes, including full continuing free movement rights to live and work across the EU and voting rights.

The parliament’s Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt told Connexion: “The withdrawal agreement and political declaration [on the future UK/EU relationship] are the only and best agreements possible, considering the positions of the UK government and the Good Friday Agreement.

“I believe this framework provides for the possibility to establish in the future a really close relationship between the EU and the UK.

“The basis of this would be an ‘association agreement’, as the European Parliament has proposed from day one.”