The Constitutional Affairs Committee of the European Parliament last week held a hearing to discuss a proposal to ring fence the status and the rights of EU-27 citizens in the UK and Britons in Europe post Brexit, writes New Europeans founder Roger Casale.
"I first drew up the proposal to introduce an EU Green Card and introduced the concept to the Committee.
"The way to ring fence the rights and status of the 5 million citizens whose lives have been thrown into limbo by Brexit is to introduce an EU Green Card. The card would give EU27 citizens in the UK a physical proof of status and mean that Britons who are resident in EU members states could continue to enjoy the right to freedom of movement.”
Danuta Hübner MEP (pictured below), who chairs the Committee, told me that she had brought forward an important proposal which could have even wider application than the issues that had been created by Brexit.
Speaking at the hearing, Hübner said: "Despite the chaotic process of Brexit, let’s hope that it will be citizens in the end who will be the winners.”
The European Commission, which was present at the hearing on Monday, will be asked by the Committee to study the proposal with a view to bringing forward a draft legislative proposal.
Richard Corbett MEP said: "The Commission must know this proposal and they certainly were aware that this was on the Committee’s agenda. I am a little disappointed they are not yet ready to give a response.”
The EU Green Card is a multi award-winning proposal. It won the Financial Times Future of Britain Award in 2017, a presidential medal from Emmanuel Macron in 2018 and the Schwarzkopf Europe Award in 2019.
A petition calling on the European Commission to introduce a Green Card for Europe has already attracted 60,000 signatures.
In an appeal to the Committee to press the Commission further, I reminded members that the European Parliament had voted for a resolution in December 2017 to guarantee the free movement rights of Britons in Europe.
We are citizens of Europe, and we look to you our representatives in the European Parliament, to defend our rights.
New Europeans is continuing to brief MEPs on the proposal and has also embarked on a series of briefings and press conferences in EU member states to push the proposal.
On 26 March, Ungaro Massimo will host a press conference for New Europeans at Palazzo Montecitorio in Rome, the seat of the Italian parliament at which I will present the Green Card proposal to a cross-party group of Deputies.
