Hornets_Nest

European Parliament considers plan to let individual Brits opt-in to keep their EU citizenship:

European Parliament considers plan to let individual Brits opt-in to keep their EU citizenship | The Independent

rachelk

Oh, I wish!

Absurd comments from Brexit campaigners about unity duly noted.

livinginnyc

This!

I just hope it gets extended to British Citizens residing outside of Europe

teuchterpete

Does it not just refer to EU citizens? Not British citizens. Still we can all hope. As Ian McMillan ( the Barnsley poet) said. "The Brexit lunatics have taken over the asylum" Well if this happens, then we can all sit back and let them get one with it.

livinginnyc

No it refers to UKC's opting to retain EU citizenship

BritInParis

Sorry, simply won't happen. This is fantasy island stuff.

Pulaski

I am not even sure what it means. And anyway what would there be to stop another country voting to leave if all its citizens could independently retain all the "benefits" of EU "citizenship" while their country leaves the EU?

bobd22

I agree can't see this either happening or how it would work?

Fredbargate

I posted the following on another thread

Can you imagine if all the people who voted remain opted for this

16,141,241 people who would be the ninth largest EU population just behind the Netherlands and in front of Belgium.

Pulaski

Well presumably they'd have to pay their share of Britain's net EU contribution of about £527 per annum, ..... and pay more than the market price for their groceries.

BristolUK

I read the guardian report which referred to a five-fold increase in Brits across 18 EU countries applying for citizenship of those countries.

If that was a good enough way forward then no proposal would be needed so I imagine it would apply to all British Citizens.

The Guardian reported it as ensuring freedom to live, travel and work for nationals of countries that have left the union – including Britons which makes sense because Brits would have been a national of a country who had left the EU.

If we Brexited before it was passed, then it might only apply to those who left after.

The surprising bit is giving voting rights for the European parliament. The amendment might be opposed on that basis alone rather than associate citizenship. Perhaps the amendment needs amending.

Care to say why?

I can see that given how divisive the whole thing has been in the UK with people being very unhappy at potentially losing rights to live/work in Europe, that such an option might make it easy for some other countries to consider their own --exit.

On the other hand the fact that potentially significant numbers of citizens of a country may feel it necessary to do this, should their governments want to pull out of the EU, might dissuade those governments from actually doing so.

It doesn't look good doing something that may cause so many citizens to align themselves with nations other than their own. If it happened in cold war days the Kremlin would have had a propaganda field day.

It would probably work in the same way that other systems involving "part membership", common agreements etc have been in place for decades.

After all, those very same agreements were held up as examples of how things were already working without EU membership and so could work after Brexit.

BritInParis

Many, many practical and legal reasons but the main political one is the lack of reciprocity. Why should the rest of the EU give British citizens all the benefits of being in the EU when its own citizens will not be given the same privileges? If you are living in the EU and want to remain a member of an EU country then naturalise.

bobd22

I was just about to post literally the same. It was the freedom of movement from the EU and from outwith the EU that a large proportion of those wanting out of the EU voted against. I can't see how this associate membership can work unless uk reciprocates and I don't see that happening . I believe that eu citizens already settled in uk will be able to remain yes but other than that it will be down to what skills they have to offer. Also let's say this associate membership gets go ahead and works, what then happens to those that take it but uk says no free health care or pension increases? The negotiations haven't begun yet we don't know what may be on the table.

BritInParis

I should also add it's just one Luxembourgish MP's suggested amendment that's being used by The Indy and others for some Remainer clickbait. It's the EU equivalent of a private member's bill, it's stillborn as far as becoming legislation.

bobd22

Yes I had gathered that. But I know some people are clinging to it in hope? As I said previously main thing everyone needs to know realy is how Brexit may or may not affect health care firstly and annual pension increase second.