The EU has warned that Brexit negotiations may stall if the UK does not clarify what it agrees to include in its ‘exit bill’.
Its lead negotiator Michel Barnier has welcomed the UK’s acknowledgement that it will have to pay to honour commitments on leaving the EU, but while the EU has listed the bill’s contents and given legal reasons, the UK has not responded. This is needed for there to be ‘sufficient progress’ to move forward with other matters, he said.
The EU has not given a figure, however experts estimate it could be around a net €55-75bn.
UK negotiator David Davis said the talks, carried out by 98 civil servants on the UK side, were “constructive” and “encouraging”.
Both sides’ negotiators said progress had been made after talks on July 17-20 which included finding areas of agreement and disagreement over rights.
Both sides now agree, for example, on uprated pensions and on continued social security and healthcare rights.
However there is still much ground to cover on the subject of post-Brexit rights.
Both MEPs and campaign groups have said the UK’s published offer for expats (tinyurl.com/uk-expats-paper) is inferior to the EU’s. While the EU wants its expats to maintain rights they have held under EU law as EU citizens (tinyurl.com/EU-expats-paper), the UK wants to replace these rights with ones held under a new ‘settled status’ under UK law, which may not be identical.
What is more if any rights are lost by EU27 citizens in the UK, then under a principle of reciprocity, they may also be lost by British citizens in the EU.
EU parliament Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt has said the UK has failed to replicate the EU’s ‘simple, clear’ position and if the final deal is unsatisfactory the parliament will veto it at the end of the process.
Although progress has been made, some heavyweight commentators still take seriously the possibility of ‘no deal’. Mr Davis said the UK could ‘make it work’, but it would only arise if the proposed deal was punitive, which “no one expects”, as both sides “are going for a good deal’.
Campaigner Roger Boaden of British in Europe said ongoing rights for British expats to move to live and work across the EU (as opposed to to stay where they are) which the UK is asking for, but not the EU, is “critical” to many expats, especially those who often work across countries.
He said the EU may be retaliating to a perceived failure by the UK to fully guarantee EU27 citizens’ EU rights.
Chairman of the British Community Committee, Christopher Chantrey, said the positions given in the original EU offer would protect key rights of Britons in France and the UK should “accept and move on”.
He said it was welcome to see agreement on matters like uprated pensions, but worrying to see so many areas of disagreement.
“The withdrawal agreement needs to be settled by October 2018 to give time for ratification by the European Parliament and member states and the UK parliament, yet there remain a host of other important matters to be negotiated first. The UK needs to get its act together and reach an acceptable conclusion on citizen’s rights as soon as possible.”
A table published after July’s talks (tinyurl.com/rights-table) shows areas where the EU and UK now agree, disagree or need further discussion. Contrary to initial expectations, however, in certain respects the UK now offers more rights than the EU.
Areas of agreement
Equal treatment on social security and assistance, access to healthcare, (self) employment, education and training and social charge and tax advantages.
Rights for family members living with expats before Brexit.
Lifetime right to export an uprated pension.
Long-term right to stay of existing expats to be based on ‘permanent residence’ being acquired after five years as a worker/self-employed person/student/self-sufficient person or family member.
More discussion needed
UK to clarify if it accepts a cut-off date to benefit from the agreement of the day of Brexit, not an earlier one such as the day article 50 was triggered.
EU wants to maintain for life the EU pension aggregation scheme for expats; UK proposes respecting aggregation of contributions made before Brexit. It is still considering re later ones.
Areas of disagreement
The EU wants to base the rights of established expats on EU law concepts of legal residence.
In some cases, such as early-retirees and the self-employed, states may require that people show they had comprehensive sickness insurance or had ‘genuine and effective’ work. In checking rights of EU27 citizens to live in the UK the UK is willing to waive such criteria.
A ‘permanent residence’ right may be obtained after five years, but to the EU this is an acquired right which may be proved with a card; to the UK it will be a right given at the UK’s discretion. UK expats with permanent residence cards (see blue box) will not need to reapply but EU27 citizens will need to apply for a new UK ‘settled status’ certificate.
Both parties agree a right of permanent residence is lost after two years away, but the UK would waive this for people who maintain strong ties with the UK (eg. through work or family).
The UK wants to do criminal checks to assess people’s right to stay; the EU says this should not be done ‘systematically’.
The EU wants expats to maintain their EU right to bring over family members from anywhere in the world. The UK wants to restrict this to whatever rules are later agreed for EU citizens who arrive after the cut-off date or to rules applicable to British citizens wanting to bring in family from outside the EU (involving certain earnings requirements).
The EU says rights under the withdrawal agreement should be enforceable by the European Court of Justice. The UK says its own courts can do the job.
The EU says the Commission should have a role monitoring compliance; the UK says an independent monitor should be established within the UK.
The UK wants expats on both sides to have local voting rights; the EU says it cannot guarantee Britons’ rights to local voting as they will not be EU citizens. Neither suggests Britons would be able to vote in EU elections.
UK wants Britons in the EU to keep a right to move around the EU for life; EU says they would only have rights protected in the country where they live. Connexion understands however there could be a rethink if the UK agreed EU expats can freely leave the UK to live in other parts of the EU then come back.
The EU wants to maintain EU rights to export certain welfare benefits, for life. The UK only agrees for benefits exported before Brexit day, after which normal UK rules should apply.
Carte de séjour: your right despite persistent problems
Readers continue to report problems with obtaining ‘permanent’ cartes de séjour which Britons who have lived in France for more than five years are entitled to.
Recent issues include being given cards not intended for EU citizens or being charged hundreds of euros and (wrongly) paying for sworn translations of birth and marriage certificates. Another reader was told that ‘permanent’ cartes do not exist.
Other people are seeking French citizenship. According to statistics obtained by Le Monde, 1,363 Britons applied in 2016, up from 385 in 2015; those obtaining it rose from 320 to 439. The Financial Times says 2,369 French people applied for British nationality in 2016.
Here are some key points about cartes de séjour:
- Britons in France remain EU citizens with full rights until such a time as the UK leaves the EU, which is not expected to happen until at least March 29, 2019.
- There are only two cartes that are relevant; if you have been in France less than five years it is the Carte de séjour ‘Citoyen UE/EEE/Suisse’ (tinyurl.com/carte-citoyen); if you have been in France more than five years it is the Carte de séjour ‘Citoyen UE/EEE/Suisse – Séjour permanent’ (tinyurl.com/carte-sej-info). The latter has a renewal date in 10 years’ time, but renewal is by a simple process to check you still live in France.
- Your card must mention EU citizenship (citoyen) and not just EU. For example a Carte de resident longue durée – UE, which is valid for 10 years and allows non-EU citizens to live and work in France without a visa, is not for Britons in France. It does not say ‘citoyen’.
- EU citizen cards are free. It is incorrect to be charged.
- EU citizen cards do not require marriage or birth certificates, translated or otherwise.
- It is advisable to telephone your préfecture first before visiting to check you have the right documents and know where to go. You usually have to go in person, with originals and copies of papers.
- If you cannot obtain your rights, you can raise a complaint via the EU’s Solvit service: ec.europa.eu/solvit/index_en.htm
Britons still No1 foreign buyers
Despite the EU referendum last June, Britons remained the leading non-resident buyers in France in 2016, accounting for almost a third (32%) of non-resident foreign buyers, the annual Observatoire BNP Paribas International Buyers study reveals. This compares with 34% in 2015.
The report says more than a quarter (28%) of Britons wanting to buy in the euro zone at the time of the vote then abandoned the project but more than 6 out of 10 (65%) were not put off and in fact for 22% the vote result was an incentive to speed up plans to buy abroad.
Bordeaux barrister Julien Fouchet has now lodged his case challenging the legality of the Brexit referendum on behalf of 13 British expats. He claims the vote was illegal because Britons who had lived in the EU (or elsewhere overseas) for more than 15 years could not take part despite the major impact on their lives of the decision. Any updates on this will be posted at the Brexit section ofconnexionfrance.com
