A Full Programme in Brussels

On 24th June, British in Europe was in Brussels along with the3million to present at the latest meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Specialised Committee on citizens’ rights. Our oral presentation covered best practice, permanent residence upgrades, the new Entry/Exit system [EES], the challenges of holding multiple immigration statuses, and ongoing issues in Sweden. An accompanying written submission, circulated to all attendees in person as well as all national authority participants online, expanded on these and included additional concerns around equal treatment and the situation in Portugal.

Alongside the Specialised Committee meeting, we had a full programme of meetings across the week, and including with DG MOVE (Mobility and Transport), David McAllister MEP, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, and held follow up meetings with DG EMPL (Employment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion) on social security coordination, the citizens’ rights team from the Secretariat General, and DG JUST (Justice and Consumers).

It was encouraging to hear recognition of the role that British in Europe continues to play in supporting WA implementation while easing pressure on institutional actors. We were also reassured by a clear appetite across EU bodies to stay engaged on citizens’ rights.

Permanent residence

Upgrades to permanent residence remain a major concern. We shared general examples during the Committee meeting and included detailed cases from nine countries in the written submission. Encouragingly, the European Commission responded constructively, noting that the issue is under regular review - including at February’s FREEMO meeting of national authority experts.

Best practice

We highlighted issues of good practice, drawing on examples from Greece, using interviews from our event earlier this year in Athens, as well as examples of good collaboration in Austria and strong communication and publicity in the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. We also noted that implementation went well in Czechia and Hungary.

EES

Due to begin roll-out in Autumn this year, EES was another key focus of our meeting with the Specialised Committee. We asked the Commission for clarity on several practical issues - in particular, what exempt individuals such as WA beneficiaries will need to present at the border, whether both passport and residence documents can be used at automated gates, and what happens if these documents are later replaced or renewed. We also raised separate concerns about how dual nationals will navigate joint UK–EU border controls such as at Eurostar terminals.

A formal announcement on the timeline for the staged introduction of EES is expected before the summer holidays. Ahead of our planned information campaign later this year, we’ve been asked to contribute anonymised case studies to highlight key practical concerns for WA beneficiaries. DG HOME (Migration and Home Affairs), the Commission department responsible for EES, was open to discussion and we are actively following up.

Multiple statuses

We highlighted continuing problems in proving multiple statuses, after becoming aware of specific issues in France and elsewhere. The Commission is exploring how best to work with national authorities to ensure WA beneficiaries can hold and prove more than one lawful status where applicable.

Country-specific concerns

The serious issues that WA beneficiaries face in Sweden were a key focus of our presentation at the Specialised Committee, and in our meeting with David McAllister MEP. We then also put forward a briefing on the specific problems for UK nationals in Sweden for David McAllister to pass to the Swedish Prime Minister later in the week. In our more detailed written presentation to the committee, we further raised the serious issues that persist for WA beneficiaries in Portugal.

Equal treatment

As regards equal treatment, we flagged concerns with property rights, TB screening, and social housing in Austria, and returned to the question of student loans in Sweden.

Social security

In our meeting with DG EMPL, we received clarity on several outstanding social security coordination issues. We had a very productive meeting with officials from DG EMPL and it was great to make this contact with the officials as we expect problems in this area to increase going forward. We will prepare a separate blog on the issues discussed.

Next steps

Our meetings in Brussels reinforced the importance of continued scrutiny and engagement, and it was encouraging to hear how appreciated British in Europe’s efforts are in the European Commission.

It was great to get clarity and updates on important areas like permanent residence upgrades, EES and social security. Nevertheless, it was clear that implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement remains uneven, and key challenges – for example around those permanent residence upgrades, the future working of border systems, and equal treatment as well as issues in individual countries – still remain for many UK citizens living in the EU.

We’ll continue to work closely with the European Commission, and national authorities, as well as with our colleagues in the3million to ensure that the rights guaranteed under the Withdrawal Agreement are upheld in practice.