British nationals in mainland Europe say they feel like ‘bargaining chips’, and that first-stage deal does not guarantee rights

British nationals living in mainland Europe say they are alarmed by claims that their rights have been protected by the Brexit deal sealed by Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker.



One Briton, Ingrid Taylor, who is settled in Germany, described claims that their rights were now guaranteed as “a barefaced lie”.

Brexit impacts on the future lives of an estimated 1.2 million Britons settled in mainland Europe, most of them working. They have accused May and Juncker of sacrificing them in the rush to sign off phase one of Brexit talks.

Taylor said that she believes the European commission has started to use British people in the rest of the EU as “bargaining chips” in reaction to the “intransigent stance” Theresa May took on EU citizens living in the UK.

“After what happened on Friday, the anger has risen,” she said. “We feel betrayed, we feel anger, we feel we have been sacrificed on the altar of trade.”

One of the biggest fears of such Britons is that they will remain “landlocked” in the country in which they now live, unable to move across borders to work for meetings, or for business contracts.

Quick guide What are Brexit options now? Four scenarios Show Hide Staying in the single market and customs union The UK could sign up to all the EU’s rules and regulations, staying in the single market – which provides free movement of goods, services and people – and the customs union, in which EU members agree tariffs on external states. Freedom of movement would continue and the UK would keep paying into the Brussels pot. We would continue to have unfettered access to EU trade, but the pledge to “take back control” of laws, borders and money would not have been fulfilled. This is an unlikely outcome and one that may be possible only by reversing the Brexit decision, after a second referendum or election. The Norway model Britain could follow Norway, which is in the single market, is subject to freedom of movement rules and pays a fee to Brussels – but is outside the customs union. That combination would tie Britain to EU regulations but allow it to sign trade deals of its own. A “Norway-minus” deal is more likely. That would see the UK leave the single market and customs union and end free movement of people. But Britain would align its rules and regulations with Brussels, hoping this would allow a greater degree of market access. The UK would still be subject to EU rules. The Canada deal A comprehensive trade deal like the one handed to Canada would help British traders, as it would lower or eliminate tariffs. But there would be little on offer for the UK services industry. It is a bad outcome for financial services. Such a deal would leave Britain free to diverge from EU rules and regulations but that in turn would lead to border checks and the rise of other “non-tariff barriers” to trade. It would leave Britain free to forge new trade deals with other nations. Many in Brussels see this as a likely outcome, based on Theresa May’s direction so far. No deal Britain leaves with no trade deal, meaning that all trade is governed by World Trade Organization rules. Tariffs would be high, queues at the border long and the Irish border issue severe. In the short term, British aircraft might be unable to fly to some European destinations. The UK would quickly need to establish bilateral agreements to deal with the consequences, but the country would be free to take whatever future direction it wishes. It may need to deregulate to attract international business – a very different future and a lot of disruption.

British in Europe, an organisation representing 10 core campaign groups, has called on the European parliament to vote against endorsing the deal struck between May and Juncker on Friday.

“We are very upset about it, as it is not fixed. The media are being told that we can live as we did before and that is simply not the case,” said Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe.

“In May, the European commission offered to confirm our existing rights but the UK government didn’t accept the offer, and now we are left worse off.”

The row centres on a promise made by the European commission in May to guarantee that Britons already settled in the EU could continue to move freely around Europe for work, holidays or retirement.

It would have meant that a British family who had moved to Germany or any other country 30 years ago could still plan on retiring in the south of France, or working across borders, as was their entitlement under EU law.

Britons in Europe 'face huge loss' if EU and UK cannot agree on rights Read more

But to the shock of British in Europe, the commission reneged on the offer in July after the UK declined its overall offer and came up with its own, limiting the rights of EU citizens living in the UK post-Brexit.

“The offer was on the table and it could have been agreed there and then, but because of the intransigence of the government towards EU citizens in the UK, they took it off,” said Taylor.

The European parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, warned on Friday it would not approve the deal unless it included those rights for Britons in mainland Europe.

Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) #Brexit #citizensrights 1)All rights & benefits covered 2) No more"settled status"3)Direct effect in UK law 4)ECJ binding. But withdrawal agreement for EP only if 1)Also for future partners covered 2)One cost-free declaration per family 3)Free movement of UKresidents in whole EU

“This deal is even worse than we expected. After 18 months of wrangling, the UK and EU have sold 4.5 million people down the river in a grubby bargain,” said British in Europe in a statement.

Sue Wilson, chair of campaign group Bremain in Spain, voiced similar concerns.

“The Tories are crowing as if they’ve pulled off a major success that we should be celebrating and accepting with gratitude. I can assure you that British citizens in the EU are not celebrating or grateful, but more fearful than ever of being thrown under the Brexit bus,” she said.

“Rather than resolve these outstanding issues, both sides have clearly agreed to lower the bar as to what constitutes ‘sufficient progress’,” she added.

Wilson fears that “citizens’ rights issues will be buried under discussions of trade and transition” in the coming year.

In the UK, groups campaigning for the rights of EU citizens are also wary of the deal. Nicolas Hatton, the co-founder of the campaign group the3million, said there was a “big gap between what the government is claiming what EU citizens know is happening”.

Hatton has had many English friends come up to congratulate him after Friday. “They say ‘well done’”, he said. “The government has done a good job on misleading everyone.”