European Court of Justice: Case aims to restore European Citizenship to British Citizens living in the EU
A slight deviation from my usual marketing blog this week, because I think it’s an interesting and important topic. If, like many of my friends and colleagues, you are a British Expat living in the EU, or if you yourself have friends and colleagues who are, please share this article with them. To quote “It is emphasised that this is a legal and not a political case. It does not seek to contest the results of Brexit, except insofar as the 1.4 million residents have lost their right to vote and any access to elected representatives, in their countries of residence. In many cases, under the British so-called “15 year rule”, such residents have lost their right to vote and access to norms of democracy and are thus effectively disenfranchised and “stateless”.”
British expats living in Europe are, post-Brexit, no longer European Citizens. It’s an aspect of Brexit that is not so widely reported, but it is one that adversely affects approximately 1.4 million British Citizens who, despite having committed both to living in Europe and to being European, have in effect been left in limbo, relegated to a second-class, non-Citizen status. In practice, this means the loss of fundamental and important rights they previously enjoyed.
European Court of Justice case ref. C-673/21 contends however that there is no proper legal foundation for taking away European Citizenship, or for the abrogation of the important rights that go with it. Furthermore, to do so is in violation of a number of the Treaties that represent the underlying legal framework of the E.U. as well as contravening the European Convention for The Protection of Human Rights.
The substance and credibility of the case is demonstrated by the fact that it has risen through the hierarchy of the French Courts and has now been referred on to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. It is on an expedited basis, scheduled to take place towards the end of this year. The appeal challenges the E.U withdrawal agreement specifically in the above respects, i.e., that many important rights enjoyed by “Brexpats” have, in essence, evaporated without there being a proper legal foundation for this happening, and in contravention of the above-mentioned treaties and Human Rights Convention.
The case is being fronted by Julien Fouchet of legal firm Cornille Pouyanne Fouchet. The case is also being supported by EU Britizens – a voluntary organisation seeking to support and represent the interests of British Citizens living in the EU. To quote from their website “It is emphasised that this is a legal and not a political case. It does not seek to contest the results of Brexit, except insofar as the 1.4 million residents have lost their right to vote and any access to elected representatives, in their countries of residence. In many cases, under the British so-called “15-year rule”, such residents have lost their right to vote and access to norms of democracy and are thus effectively disenfranchised and “stateless”. The objective of addressing this injustice is wholly feasible regardless of the fact that the Brexit withdrawal agreement is seen by many as done-and-dusted.
The more support the case gets the better its chances of success. It’s on a “pro-bono” basis, so none of the litigants have been asked to pay fees. But there are, inevitably, costs to be covered. If you would like to make a donation in support of the case you can do so here: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/dont-touch-my-european-citizenship/.
For more information, please visit https://eubritizens.eu/. And please do pass a link to this site on to anyone you think might be interested.