Me79

As someone considering moving to the Canaries or possibly mainland Spain in 5 years or so (including buying a property), what are the implications for freedom of movement should GB hold a referendum and elect to leave the EU?

Apologies if this is a stupid question, I am new!

Rosemary

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billgates

The only way that GB would leave the EU is if UKIP get a majority government and considering they don't currently have a single MP I would say it's pretty unlikely.

If Cameron gets re-elected and honours his promise of a referendum in 2017 then he will do what he did for the Scottish referendum times a million.
In other words he will get the BBC and all other MSM spouting any old garbage and propaganda he can think of, we'll have to put up with his fat face crying "genuine" tears at the thought of breaking away, plus as many of the biggest employers he can successfully bribe/threaten to get them to say the sky will fall down and the UK will disappear down a rabbit hole for the next hundred years.

Liar Clegg and the Libdems love the EU and are basically unelectable anyway, so nothing to see there.

The Ed Miller Band, well...they can't even form a half hearted opposition even when Cameron is at his lowest ever popularity level so I can't think for a second that they would even contemplate such a move, and Balls loves his Nazi uniform anyway.

So I wouldn't worry about it happening any time soon.

Fred James

If the UK left the EU it is pretty certain they would retain membership of the EEA like Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, or negotiate with the EU like Switzerland.

The EU freedom of movement rules and other reciprocal arrangements like healthcare, acceptance of driving licences etc apply across these countries as well.

calman014

I agree, "Leaving the EU" is not possible in the true sense of the word..the mess the UK is in is really down to the government of the time signing away all kinds of rights in Maastricht a few years ago. I certainly wouldn't let it influence my future plans..

chopera

I read somewhere that the proposals for devolution within the UK would remove the authority from Westminster to take the UK out of the EU anyway. The various countries that make up the UK would have the last say on the matter.Not sure how true this is though.

Anyway, the implications are unclear if the UK did choose to leave the EU. It wouldn't be an overnight thing, but rather the start of renegotiations of existing treaties that would go on for many years. The outcome of those are anyone's guess, the only guarantee being that no one will be happy!

missile

Don't know where you heard that? The devolved parliaments are ultimately subject to control by Westminster - not the other way round.

amideislas

In any of these independence cases - whether Scotland, Catalonia, or the UK leaving the EU...

... and regardless of the rhetoric from either side of the argument...

NONE of them... whether staying or leaving ... will be anywhere near the disaster the opponents on either side would have you believe.

If the UK leaves the EU, there will be some hard feelings for a while, but the UK would be just fine in the long run.

Same with Scotland or anywhere else. I personally don't believe it would have been >practical< for Scotland to leave the UK (it was more of an emotional issue to begin with), but even had it voted to leave, Scotland would've been just fine after a decade or so of "adjustments". Same with Catalonia or the Basque country or anywhere else seeking "independence". The "disasters" would be pretty limited overall, and frankly, small, well-run countries tend to be a lot more efficient and prosperous anyway. Especially those loaded with natural resources.

But you can't have a popular political argument without the threat of a looming disaster, so no matter what, combatants on both sides will illustrate the threat of a looming disaster if it doesn't go their way.

The only advice I'd offer politicians is to give people their space and let them have their say. Otherwise, people can become pretty vindictive - and we all know what happens when an entire nation feels oppressed. The results can be unpredictable. Scotland's referendum was quite rightly conducted, IMO, and the people have spoken. No crying in the sandbox. Done deal.

In the end, it really won't matter all that much either way. But in this case, the good news is that at least the EU will have to take notice and think through reality a bit more, employing a bit less idealism and more realism.

I know that's a big cultural adjustment for many Eurocrats, but they need to begin to realise that the perfect society just isn't possible - especially if attempting to achieve it through protectionism and regulating every petty aspect of every imaginable anything within its borders, which is where the EU has the most risk of failing the project.

missile

Like that is ever going to happen

chopera

Westminster vows never to allow vote on anything that matters ever again

HBG

I recently came across a Swiss couple who have lived in Spain for 17 years, retired many years ago from responsible employment in Switzerland. They came to a local British Help organisation here in Spain, there being no equivalent from their own country because they are much fewer in number.

Their terrible dilemma? The husband unfortunately needed surgery and subsequent lengthy chemotherapy for cancer here is Spain, not covered by their private medical insurance and being Swiss are not in the EU and are not covered by any reciprocal state health schemes.

They had to sell their house here in Spain to pay for the expensive procedure in Torrevieja hospital, probably one of the best around for this kind of treatment.

Unfortunately, the cancer came back recently and they can't afford to pay for any more treatment. Flying home is no longer an option for the seriously ill husband and he needs supervised medical transport home to Switzerland by road.

We've got volunteers who are prepared to help.

stuboy

Sad situation. I'd drop him off in Dover.

HBG

Luckily we have a former ambulance at our disposal and two volunteer drivers who will take him home to Switzerland in a single day journey with his wife to look after him during the comparatively short journey.

If Switzerland had been in the EU with reciprocal state health schemes like other EU members including the UK, being a legal pensioner, his treatment wouldn't have cost him 200,000 Euros, it would have been free, as it currently is for the rest of us.

I've got no idea what will happen in the seemingly unlikely event that the UK will leave the EU in 2017, and certain trade agreements may well be in place to ease the pain, but at ground (people) level, Spain especially, will just show us foreigners the door and seize our property and assets for the Spanish people.

And since the Tories may well have got us out of the European Human Rights act by then, we will have to apply to our own courts in the UK for compensation from a foreign government. None of us will live long enough to recover anything.

scrubbedexpat095

@HBG 'Spain especially, will just show us foreigners the door etc'

I'm curious, will they also throw out all the other non EU members currently living here totally legally as well or will it just be us be because of Gib ?

la mancha

‘but at ground (people) level, Spain especially, will just show us foreigners the door and seize our property and assets for the Spanish people.’

They wouldn’t, HBG, because the UK would reciprocate. Besides, we all had a good relationship before Spain joined the EU, and even before the UK joined.