France ‘should do more to prepare’

Countries like France should do more to work out procedures for Britons after Brexit, says EU Parliament Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt.

“Most member states have not started the process and many have not yet determined the procedures. We will remain very vigilant,” he said in a speech.

It came as UK Home Secre­tary Sajid Javid said the UK is working on a simple online application for EU citizens in the UK, which should be running by the autumn and he is not aware of other countries doing the same.

It is planned that people would only be asked to prove identity and that they live in the UK and to declare criminal convictions.

Mr Javid said refusal would only be for “a very good reason” and criminal record checks would be about “serious and persistent criminality”.

Meanwhile the British ambassador to France told Connexion he would encourage Britons in France to apply for a carte de séjour, a step which can be done now, before any post-Brexit requirements are finalised.

Campaign group for Britons in the EU British in Europe (BiE) said that, while they welcome interest from the UK on citizens’ rights, the display of concern is misplaced.

Chairwoman Jane Golding said it was because of British demands concerning registration of EU citizens in the UK that Britons in the EU are likely to have to apply for a new status and the right to stay – what the UK calls ‘settled status’ – as opposed to just having to confirm their entitlement to rights already acquired. It was also at Britain’s insistence that the deal says states can ask for criminality declarations and checks.

EU citizens in the UK are dissatisfied with a £65 fee per adult and £32.50 per child for the paperwork (though it will be free for those who have an EU permanent residency card).

The Brexit negotiations have become bogged down over the Irish border, with the UK refusing the EU’s suggestion of Nor­thern Ireland alone remaining in ‘regulatory alignment’ with the EU (concerning movement of goods). The solution is notably rejected by the DUP.

With a summit of EU leaders set to take place on going to press, it is unclear how headway will be made before October when the EU has said a final deal should be in place.

Former European Council presi­dent Herman Van Rompuy has said the deal may be finalised in late autumn, “at the last moment, with your [the UK’s] back against the wall, the abyss in front of you and a knife under your throat.”

The Withdrawal Bill, which details how EU laws may be incorporated into UK national law, has been signed off with none of the amendments the Lords had hoped to add, including staying in the wider Euro­pean Econo­mic Area. This, among other issues would have protected Britons’ automatic right to live and work in France.

An amendment giving MPs power to decide what to do if there is ‘no deal’ also failed.

In early June, BiE campaigners spoke to a British MPs’ select committee on Brexit, urging it to tell the government to put ‘onward’ free movement back on the negotiating table. This relates to the lifetime right to live and work across the EU.