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BREXIT

Sign up for The Local’s Brexit & You newsletter

On 29th March 2019 Britain will almost certainly leave the EU. Sign up to The Local's Brexit & You newsletter for the latest on how Britain's departure is affecting the EU's remaining 27 member states – and the Brits living in them.

Published: 4 October 2017 18:18 CEST
Sign up for The Local's Brexit & You newsletter
Photo: Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP
Brexit & You will be your weekly guide to how the 27 remaining member states of the EU are preparing for the exit of one of the union's largest and most recalcitrant members. Switzerland, while not in the EU, both acts as a potential model for Brexit and participates in many EU programmes, so will be affected whatever happens.
 
Every Tuesday, multilingual correspondent Alex Macbeth will bring you weekly news and reflections from around Europe.
 
What we won't do is give you yet another take on the Brexit negotiations in Brussels (the latest round ended last Thursday, and was 'constructive' according to EU negotiator Michel Barnier), Theresa May's rows with her colleagues or Labour's attempts to paper over the cracks in its Brexit policy. What we will do is tell you how the rest of Europe is dealing with a situation that it didn't ask for, but is having to confront – and how Brits on the continent are managing.
 
And we're going to strive to make it constructive: Brexit might be bad news for many of us, but we're going to keep this practical and (mostly) non-whiny.
 
Below you can read the first edition. If you like what you read, sign up here to get it in your inbox every Tuesday. 
 
 
Busting a move: A sneaky guide to cheating Brexit

The rights of British citizens in the EU and vice-versa are at stake in the Brexit negotiations. But how can Brits continue to live and do business in the EU after Brexit, regardless of the outcome? 

Brits who didn't know what the European Union was before Brexit are going to find it much harder to discover the continent after.

Brexit melts away the privilege of moving seamlessly to and between Britain's estranged EU cousins.

If the awkward compound noun wasn't a term used to describe Britain's self-imposed European exile it could easily be the name of a toilet bowl cleaner or a Brazilian mining company.

Whatever it turns out to be, it will throw a spanner in the plans of 1.2 million or so Brits living in 25 Schengen states.

While nobody is getting kicked out of anywhere until at least 2019, Brits may well find they need to fulfil several conditions to haggle an invite to the European Union's free-for-all house party – the Schengen Zone – thereafter.

Phrasebooks, a taste for strange cheeses and basic differentiation of euro coins are enough to surf Europe now, but Brits are going to find their access to the continent heavily restricted after Brexit.

The worst news is it may yet take both sides of politicians in the Brexit negotiations another 18 months to decide who can live where and how.

Britain has suggested two-to-five-year residency terms for EU residents in the UK after Brexit; voices in the EU have said Brits may be able to obtain residency in one EU country but without the Schengen privileges of moving without a visa or a passport to another.

Some EU countries however are already actively recruiting British citizens. Estonia has launched How To Stay In, a website geared towards Brits with information on how to establish an EU company through the country's e-residence programme. 

“The Brexit referendum led to a sharp increase in applications for e-Residency from the UK, with twice as much demand as before the referendum,” Arnaud Castaignet, head of Estonia's E-Residency Programme, told The Local. “We currently have 1,307 e-residents from the UK,” adds Castaignet. “We surpassed 1,000 in the week that Article 50 was triggered.”

The British e-residents have so far established 103 companies in Estonia without having to relocate from the UK. Estonia's e-residency programme offers global citizens the opportunity to set up a company online for €100 and benefit from being able to trade as an EU company.

Online residency will help your goods reach Europe, but you yourself will only be there virtually as the program does not entail the right to actually live in Estonia. 

Malta will however actually let you move to its warm Mediterranean shores, albeit for an annual fee of €15,000, or just over €41 per day.

Anybody wanting to move to the archipelago will need to either rent a place for a minimal annual value of €8,750 or buy an outright property at no less than €220,000, according to Zentura Ltd, a consultancy firm that facilitates applications for Maltese residency and citizenship.

If you have the money and are willing to spend it, most countries will offer residency, or even citizenship, as part of an investor program. Cyprus has allegedly been selling passports to pretty much anyone who can afford one, reported the Guardian, while Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania will all be happy to play host if you buy a house worth at least €250,000.

Or you could make a hefty investment; buy a second division football club or fund an innovative chain of hairdressers in your country of choice.

Don't fancy the hefty price tag or the bad hair days? Germany will give you a passport for a mere €255. But only once you've lived in the country for eight years.

Can Brexit help Sweden discover the next PayPal or TransferWise?

Sweden hopes to cash in on the fintech exodus from London.

One country's loss is another's gain. Stockholm has set its sights on picking up some of the fintech business that experts predict London is set to lose.

Cobcoe's report outlines several ‘services' sectors threatened by Brexit. Financial services, as well as back office data, call centres and data storage are key areas where the UK will have to realign fast or risk seeing key companies relocate to Europe from hubs such as London and Cambridge.

Fintech, or technology and software used to enable banking and financial services, is another. The UK is still the leader in the sector in 2017, according a report by CBS Insights. But the same report warns that “fintech insurgents” could cash in on the UK's loss, with Sweden and France most poised to inherit sections of the financial technology market.

The Stockholm Fintech Hub is one such nascent player looking to wrestle business away from the UK in the highly-profitable start up sector. The 226 organizations in the Swedish fintech sector have attracted more than €750 million in funding already and employ more than 3,000 people, according to a recent post by Matthew Argent, founder of the Stockholm Fintech Hub.

“I have witnessed a seismic shift in activity within fintech in Sweden since we launched in February 2017,” writes Argent. “The country's tech unicorns are putting the country on the map as a viable destination for investment and this is influencing the fintech sector.”

Sum Up ready to pack up and leave London

Britain's fintech sector is nervous and some of the leading figures have already decided to relocate.

The founder of Sum Up, Daniel Klein, told Munich's Süddeutsche Zeitung he would be relocating the financial services provider from London to “elsewhere” because of fears about Brexit.

Sum Up, which employs more than 500 people, creates technology to authenticate chip card transactions (Visa, Mastercard etc). The company is UK-based and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

It operates in 31 countries and fears that with the UK out of the single market, it could lose its automatic access to many European markets and become a victim of regulatory divergence.

While London remains the fintech capital of Europe, with more than 1 billion invested into the sector alone in 2017, some of the 1600 or so companies that employ 60,000 people – according to the report – are beginning to fret about Brexit.

David Thomas of Cobcoe says talent must be protected in the Brexit negotiations because “if Europe loses this incredible pool of talent the damage to the economy is going to be immense.”

German trade guru: “I doubt Brexit will ever happen”

If a German business expert is to be believed, then there'll be no need to learn Maltese or file tax returns in Estonian to live on the Costa Brava.

“Agh, Brexit, it is all verbal so far; I doubt it will ever actually happen,” said Anton Börner, president of BGA, The Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services, calling a hard Brexit's bluff in an interview with German daily Die Welt. 

Börner based his doubts on the endurance of the UK economy and the resistance of stock markets to Brexit speculation.

“Market leaders assume that Brexit takes place in politicians' speeches, but not in reality,” added Börner. “Whatever comes will be strongly cushioned in order not to overwhelm the economy.”

British Ambassador slammed by Brits in France over Brexit

The British Ambassador to France has been on the sharp end of criticism from UK citizens in the country, who aren't buying his reassurances over Brexit. 

British envoy Edward Llewelyn posted a video on the embassy's Facebook page in an attempt to update Brits in France on the ongoing Brexit negotiations and to stress there was good news to report back on the progress being made.

But the reaction was overwhelmingly hostile:

“The intransigence of the UK government is making people ill, we are being treated like bargaining chips,” one angry Brit commented, The Local France writes.

If you want to give your local British Ambassador a grilling, see the listings below for Embassy Brexit events (but before you get too angry, remember that diplomats are only doing the government's bidding!).

Brexit news on The Local this week:

France is cutting taxes on bankers to woo companies leaving the UK: France cuts taxes on bankers to woo Britain's Brexit leavers.

US bank Citi has applied for a licence in France for activities it plans to move out of the UK post-Brexit, according to an executive.
 
Anglo-Swedish drug maker AstraZeneca has started making preliminary preparations for moving some operations out of the UK in the event of a hard Brexit, chairman Leif Johansson said this week.

Frankfurt could be one of the big winners of Brexit. We've put together some interesting facts about Germany's financial capital: 10 facts you probably didn't know about Frankfurt (even if you live there)

Brexit events to watch

Belgium

Brussels
Wednesday October 25th at 18:00-21:30
Practical Brexit II. A meeting to enable individuals to obtain some guidance on aspects of Brexit. Speakers include UK Ambassador Alison Rose
Language: English
Location: ING Auditorium, Avenue Marnixlaan 24, 1000 Brussels.
Organizers: Brussels British Community Association & British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium

Germany
Badan Badan
Thursday October 19th at 18:30-22:00
Brexit – Ignorieren oder Reagieren (Brexit – Ignore or React?)
Language: German
Location: Hotel am Froschbächel, Henri-Dunant-Platz 2, 77815 Bühl.
Organizer: Small businesses association of the CDU / CSU (political organisation – centre right).
More info


Cologne
Friday November 17th, 18:00
Europäische Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik – nach dem Brexit (European Foreign and Security Policy, after Brexit)
Language: German
Location. Europäisches Dokumentationszentrum USB, Universitätsstr. 33, 50931 Köln
Organizer: Europe Direct, Köln.
More info

Königswinter
October 12th at 19:00–20:30
Brexit means Brexit, a lecture in cooperation with the association for the partnership between Königswinter and North-East Lincolnshire.
Language: German
Location: VHS Siebengebirge (College), Königswinter
Organizer: VHS Siebengebirge
More info

Sweden

Örebro
October 25th, 15:00
How you're affected by Brexit, a seminar on how companies with relations with the UK will be affected by Britain leaving the EU.
Location: PwC, Fabriksgatan 47, Örebro
Language: English
Organizer: PwC Örebro
More info


Netherlands

Various Locations
Open Forums for British nationals in the Netherlands, hosted by the British Embassy:
Language: English
Organizer: British Embassy, The Hague.


Rotterdam – October 5th
More info

Maastricht – October 10th
More info

Eindhoven – October 10th
More info

Arnhem/Oosterbeek – October 19th
More info

Amsterdam – October 24th
More info

Norway

Stavanger
November 15th, 8:30am
Global morgen: Brexit. A talk by Espen Aas, NRK's London correspondent.
Location: Sølvberget, Stavanger kulturhus
Sølvberggata 2, Stavanger.
Language: Norwegian.
Organizer: Internasjonalt Kulturnettverk, Sølvberget
More info

Denmark

Copenhagen
November 23rd, 17:00 
EU, Europa, Alternativet, UK Og Brexit (The EU, Europe, Alternativet, the UK and Brexit)
Language: Danish
Organizer: Alternativet (The Alternative, a green political party)
More info

Hobro
December 5th, 19:00
Brexit v Casper Pedersen
Language: Danish
Organizer: VU (Venstres Ungdom) Mariagerfjord (local youth section of the Danish Liberal Party)
More info

Do you know of a Brexit related event in the EU 27 that The Local should know about? Email james.savage@thelocal.com.

 

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BREXIT

What Labour’s UK election win could mean for Brits in Europe

The UK's new Prime Minister Keir Starmer has swept into Downing Street in a landslide victory. But how will a Labour government affect Brits in Europe? And what, if anything, will the former 'Remainer' do about Brexit?

Published: 5 July 2024 15:31 CEST
Updated: 8 July 2024 13:40 CEST
What Labour's UK election win could mean for Brits in Europe

The Labour party won a landslide victory in the UK general election on Thursday, bringing an end to 14 years of Conservative party rule.

Labour majority

The new Labour government enters office at a time of high political and economic uncertainty, stagnant growth, public services pushed to breaking point, and Britain’s international reputation tarnished after the Conservative government staggered from calamity to calamity in recent years.

Leading up to the election, the question was not if Labour would win but when, and how big the majority will be. In the end Labour won one of the biggest landslides in British political history, taking 412 seats. 

What the new Labour government does (or more likely, doesn’t) do with its massive majority could have big implications on life for approximately 1.3 million UK nationals living throughout the EU.

Writing exclusively for The Local after his party’s election win, the UK’s new Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Britain would reset its ties with the EU.

“As the new British Foreign Secretary, with our Prime Minister Keir Starmer, this government will reset relations with Europe as a reliable partner, a dependable ally and a good neighbour.”

Lammy added: “We must do more to champion the ties between our people and our culture. Holidays, family ties, school and student exchanges, the arts, and sport (I was of course cheering on England in the Euros…). Thanks to this, our citizens benefit from the rich diversity of our continent.

“If we are to fulfil our ambitions for a reset, we must also improve Britain’s relationship with the European Union… I look forward to seeing Britain reconnect with our European neighbours in the years ahead.”

For many Brits in Europe (as well as those in the UK), the elephant in the room is, of course, Brexit.

Starmer and Labour’s Brexit policy

But what, if anything, does a Labour government actually mean for Brexit and Brits in Europe?

For many, Starmer first came to national prominence in his role as shadow Brexit secretary under former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. He was then an ardent Remainer, and largely responsible for Labour’s eventual position on a second referendum, demanding that the British people deserve a “confirmatory vote” on Europe.

How things have changed. In the build-up to the election Starmer categorically ruled out the idea of rejoining the single market and the customs union, let alone a second referendum on rejoining the EU. He has, however, stated that he will take steps to ease trade barriers and sign a bolstered security agreement with Brussels.

Asked recently by the British press if he could envision Britain re-entering the EU in his lifetime, Starmer was unequivocal. “No. I don’t think that that is going to happen,” he said. “I’ve been really clear about not rejoining the EU, the single market or the customs union – or a return to freedom of movement.”

These comments sparked a certain amount of anger and disappointment among many Brits in Europe. Although they were made before the actual election with Starmer still in campaign mode.

In essence, despite his Remain-backing past, Starmer’s position seems to be that Labour can improve the Brexit deal signed by the Johnson government in January 2020, rather than tear it up or try and force the UK back into the EU on new terms.

For those hoping to rejoin the EU one day, this will be disappointing. Brexit became something of an internal psychodrama for the Conservative party, yet Starmer’s Labour appear to have accepted it as the political framework and don’t dare reopen the debate.

So for the hundreds of thousands of UK nationals living in Europe there will be no return of their freedom of movement and EU citizenship anytime soon.

So will Labour change anything for Brits in Europe?

Labour has been tight-lipped on what its Brexit policy will actually mean in practical terms, but of the few concrete proposals it has outlined so far there are plans to revamp a veterinary deal on animal products to ease on paperwork and border checks, as well as making it easier for qualifications to be recognised abroad.

Labour has also promised to enshrine rights to consular assistance for UK citizens abroad in cases of human rights violations, and to make reciprocal arrangements for touring artists and musicians moving between the UK and EU.

In terms of broad strokes commitments, however, it’s hardly ambitious.

Some economic experts have suggested that rejoining the single market or customs union would significantly boost the British economy, so some hold out hope that the political and economic reality may force the new Labour government to reconsider its position on Europe somewhere down the line.

What about the roll out of the the EU’s new EES border system?

Britons travelling to Europe will face likely travel disruption when the EU finally rolls out its new biometric border checks known as Entry/Exit System or just EES.

There had been much talk of the UK government trying to get the rollout delayed in a bid to avoid or at least postpone the likely chaos. Could Keir Starmer’s government put pressure on the EU to delay EES?

Well the main point to note is that it’s up to the EU when it rolls out EES, not the UK government. It is due to be launched in October or November although an exact date has not been announced. However if there is any delay it will likely be because of concerns on the EU side rather than because of pressure from the UK.

READ ALSO: When will Europe’s new EES passport system be launched?

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