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.
Comments
I don't live in Britain, but if I did, l would taking note of the amount of businesses that are haemorrhaging from the UK. Sooner or later the loss of these companies will trickle down to affect your company.
Luck, will be all you will have when this happens.
HMM
Luck has got nothing to do with running any business.. But thanks anyway..
Good luck with your transport business in post Brixit Britain.
HMM.
I am quite lucky to live and work pretty much were I please. I have a transport company in the UK and leaving the EU will cost me money, but I feel it is worth every penny..
Do you intend going back to live in a post Brixit Britain ... probably not...
No, you and people like you, will probably prefer to live in nice sunny, worry free Portugal that remains in the European Union, not in cold wet North East Europe where life will never be the same again.... if the UK ever finally decide to leave, that is ...
We should of been celebrating today as we should of left the EU. As that is what 17.5 million voters asked for. The main Political parties in the UK have had there day . What comes next isn't going to be good. The far right and the far left will gain strength from this and your main political parties will loose a lot of Voters. The Lemin s at Westminster have not just betrayed the people. but have opened the door to new political parties forming..
But it's not just the ringfenced rights, we feel very strongly that we are integrated as Eu citizens, many years some of us, and just can't envisage losing our identity, our citizenship of the Eu and all that goes with it.