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Time running out to lobby Lords on expat rights amendment

Plea to contact cross-bench peers over possible change to Brexit Bill in next week's debate 

A new amendment protecting the rights of Britons abroad has been tabled for debate in the House of Lords next week after lobbying by groups for Britons abroad in the EU.

Campaigners are now urging Britons in the EU, including France, to email members of the Lords – especially the cross-bench (independent) peers, asking them to back the amendment.

The amendment, which has been tabled for debate at the ‘committee stage’ between Monday and Wednesday next week, says that before article 50 can be triggered the UK must guarantee the rights of existing EEA expats in the UK and it must also make it a priority once Brexit negotiations start to reach an early agreement guaranteeing the rights of existing British expats in the EEA (the EEA is the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).

The amendment also says that British ministers should not agree to an article 50 deal that does not confirm the continuing rights of the two groups. The amendment is by Lord Oates, a Liberal Democrat peer, and can be found on the Lords Amendments website, here

You can contact peers at the following link to Peers and Offices.

The amendment – currently referred to as ‘amendment 38’ -  is solely due to lobbying by a ‘coalition’ of groups for Britons abroad, said Brian Cave of the ecreu.com campaign group for expat rights. Members of the coalition with legal expertise drafted it, the coalition says.

At present the Brexit Bill (full title: European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill 2016-17) consists only of brief words giving Prime Minister Theresa May the right to trigger article 50, the EU’s exit clause.

The prime minister has made pledges to prioritise negotiation on the rights of Britons abroad once Brexit ‘divorce’ negotiations get under way and has said she is willing to protect the rights of EU citizens in the UK if the same is offered to Britons in the EU. However, so far these pledges have not been put into the bill, and are therefore not legally binding on the government.

The full list of current amendments can be found here at the website for the Brexit Bill

The coalition includes: the British Community Committee of France, Remain In France Together (RIFT), Ecreu, Fair Deal For Expats, Brits in Europe, British in Italy, Brexpats Hear our Voice (Belgium), Bremain in Spain, EuroCitizens (Spain), British Immigrants Living in Luxembourg (BRILL) and New Europeans, based in London. The coalition worked closely on the amendment with the 3million, which represents nationals of other EU member states living in the UK. 

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