A plan to allow UK nationals to keep a form of EU citizenship after Brexit will be one of the options available in forthcoming talks over Britain’s departure, the European parliament’s chief negotiator has said.

The proposal for people from former EU nations to be granted “associate citizenship” was first raised last month by Charles Goerens, a liberal MEP from Luxembourg, meaning British citizens who opt in could still travel freely and live on the continent.

Goerens has agreed with Guy Verhofstadt, who will lead on Brexit talks for the European parliament, that the idea should be part of negotiations. The MEP said this was necessary in the wake of Wednesday’s vote by MPs to commit to a spring timetable for the start of the exit process.



Verhofstadt told a meeting of the parliament’s constitutional affairs committee on Thursday that he would make sure the idea of associate citizenship was “on the table” for the withdrawal talks.



“Some things cannot wait until treaty change,” he said. “Therefore, the ability to keep European citizenship for those who risk losing it will be on the table of the upcoming Brexit negotiations and will be discussed at the moment of the parliament’s resolution, right after the triggering of article 50 in March.”

The House of Commons voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to pass a motion endorsing Theresa May’s plan to trigger article 50, which begins the EU departure process, by March, also committing the government to outline its Brexit plan by then.

Goerens said the vote had made the prospect of article 50 coming into force “very real indeed”. Given this, he said, he had agreed with Verhofstadt that it was “a very important issue that cannot await treaty change - as was my intention when I first tabled my amendment – since this might take years”.

He added: “The European parliament will define its position on the Brexit agreement through a resolution during spring 2017. This seems to be the best opportunity to give Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt the possibility to enforce the associate EU citizenship.”

Such a plan would be very popular with a number of Britons, especially given a huge rise in the numbers seeking formal citizenship of other EU countries.

However, Goerens’ plan, which would grant associate citizenship to “those who feel and wish to be part of the European project but are nationals of a former member state”, is likely to face opposition from other MEPs, and would also need to be approved by member states.