Joe Duggan (Reporter)
EXPAT campaign group Bremain In Spain is battling for Brits living abroad to be given EU passports post-Brexit.
The group has backed the Choose Freedom Campaign, which wants Brussels to protect expats’ rights once the UK exits the EU.
Its European Citizens’ Initiative needs one million signatures from at least seven European countries for legislation to be put before the European parliament.
Bremain in Spain spokesperson Sue Wilson said: “For those living in Europe, who have been denied the opportunity to vote because of the 15-year rule, this is fantastic news.
“Whatever the result of the campaign, I hope – at the very least – that it will prove to all European governments how strongly we value our EU citizenship.”
If one million votes are collected, a delegation from the group will put their case to the European Parliament.
The group has up to a year to collect the votes, following which the European Commission will have three months to make a decision.
Around 4,000 people have voted for the initiative already, although UK citizens in France, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Austria and Portugal are barred from taking part.
The bid has been launched by Glyn Hughes, a 57-year-old designer from Derbyshire.
Next Friday, writer and The Guardian journalist Giles Tremlett will talk at Brexpats In Spain meeting at La Cala Town Hall.
To vote, vist: www.bremaininspain.com/events/choose-freedom/.
Can anyone explain why certain named countries are “barred from taking part”? Particularly, France and Portugal? There would surely be many signatures garnered from those places.
It’s not the countries who are barred, it’s the UK citizens living in them. Would still be good to know why though, but again it shows the EU is not working in a universal manner. Too many exceptions and loopholes.
OK. Lazy posting. Of course I refer to the EU citizens IN those countries. But struggle to understand why these presumably independent entities running this campaign/petition, cannot solicit votes/signatures from, for instance, France and Portugal? Got to be plenty of support in those places for an EU passport.
Would love to be able to collect votes from France, Portugal etc., but it’s not the EU rules, it’s the rules of the individual countries, so it’s France preventing UK & Irish citizens from voting there, not the EU. If you click on the link to the campaign in the article, & look under voting rules, there’s a table that explain who can vote where. Apologies to those that can’t vote – get your French neighbours to vote on your behalf. It won’t exclude your from applying for an EU passport if we are successful.
The form is badly worded. When it says “Where are you from?” it means “Where are you living?”
If you use the link above, there are instructions on how to vote, & also FAQs
Thanks Sue. Should have done that first. Still seems massively unfair and baffling, that individual countries can refuse to recognise a movement that is every bit as significant as a “leave” vote. I’ve signed, wife has signed. Other arms will be twisted. Roll on a million!
Stefanjo, hope Fred has clarified your miss-understanding of the posting. Usual mentality I suppose.
Carlos, stop winding people up, or you’ll have to start looking for a new alias again lol.
Fred, my name is Carlos and I’m not winding people up, just confirming a fact printed by you, or are your fact’s incorrect. (like many others). Besides the person you seem to be protecting naturally doesn’t wind people up with his constant posting of the greatness of being suck with the EU. Pity you don’t complain about the constant barrage of the people that lost the vote whereas negotiations have not even started. As I had said, I hope people living in Spain remains states que, which would make everyone happy. So lets stop hitting the people in the UK that had a democratic vote for a change.
If British immigrants in Spain (expats is a bit of s misnomer) want an EU passport then perhaps they should take full Spanish residency to get a Spanish (EU) passport. On the other hand just wait to the EU inevitably imploded.
Or an Irish one if having either at least one Irish grandparent or parent. Thousands of those already issued. Far easier to get than Spanish citizenship, if one qualifies. Also permissible to hold dual citizenship with The Emerald Isle passport.
Never use the word expat – we are no different from any other migrants/immigrants. Why should Brits give up their British Citizenship? Just because we live in Spain doesn’t make us any less British or patriotic? I’d happily become a Spanish Citizen if I could hold dual nationality, but I can’t. Not at all concerned about the EU imploding. It’ll come out of this stronger than ever, unlike the UK which will reduced to a small island with a small island mentality to go with it. Already sunk from 5th largest economy to 7th in the last 6th months.
I think not Sue if you read the press, the UK is not affected adversely at all by the resignation from the EU. It is the EU that is now in panic mode and it is in danger of failing as a bureaucracy as its currency is also failing. Greece, yet again, heading for potential bankruptcy, and the EU again, threatening them, but of course they cannot allow it t happen, as it will be another nail in the coffin.
In two years time, I believe we will se a very different Europe, with Britain strong on the outside looking in.
We have both signed up. I hope other OP readers who voted Remain will too.
It does seem rather cheeky to move to another country, not fully integrate, and then demand a failing, corrupt, and undemocartic governing body to protect our ‘foreign’ rights.
Yet this is the demand by the same people who, quite rightly, protest against other immigrants bring their backward customs with them, like shria law.
Maybe you should have thought about how other countries work before moving there!!
And YEAH BREXIT, finally moving in the right direction.