Rights deal not right yet

Campaigners from the British in Europe (BiE) coalition have been urging politicians to remember that the citizens’ rights part of the Brexit deal still leaves much to be desired.

Its president Jane Golding, a lawyer based in Germany, joined Christopher Chantrey of the British Community Committee of France at the Assemblée Natio­nale and she also spoke to MEPs when they held a new hearing on rights last month.

BiE have produced a 21-page report on where matters stand on expat rights (tinyurl.com/BIE-report) and a shorter piece on ‘Where does the December agreement leave me?’ (tinyurl.com/where-leave). They insist on the importance of rights negotiations continuing in parallel with the other talks, which are now focusing on a possible ‘transition period’.

They also stress that the rights agreement has not been ‘ring-fenced’ so could fall away if there is no agreement on matters such as the Northern Ire­land/Ireland border, the transition or a ‘framework’ for the future relationship on trade.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier has said a transition is ‘not a given’. The parties disagree over whether the rights deal would apply to those coming during it.