On 18 February, EuroCitizens
held its fifth monthly meeting in Madrid. Our
group is making significant progress in getting the voice of UK
nationals in Spain heard and increasing awareness of the insecurity
facing hundreds of thousands of families due to the EU referendum. A key point that
came out of our meeting was the importance of maintaining our European
citizenship, not just having resident permits. Residence is
insufficient unless accompanied by full EU rights.Our treasurer updated us on the registration figures and our data protection policy. We now have 350 associates, double that of early January and we aim to have over a thousand by Easter. Various members of the committee then informed us about our contacts with other groups around Spain like Bremain (Valencia), Brexpats (Malaga) and ECREU. We have also established close links with the group ‘Españoles en el Reino Unido’. Journalist and writer Giles Tremlett is our representative in a new umbrella group of UK citizens in Europe which presented an Alternative Round Paper two weeks ago and which is coordinating lobbying efforts both in Westminster and Brussels.
Three members of the committee reported on their recent meeting with Simon Manley, HM Ambassador to Spain. They presented him with a document about the concerns of UK nationals which will be passed on to the Department for Leaving the European Union. They also suggested a hotline for Britons to ring the embassy with their concerns. We will continue to use all official channels available to get our voice heard. On Tuesday 21 February, six members of EuroCitizens will participate in a focus group in Madrid with the Director of Consular Services.
EuroCitizens is beginning to make an impact in the press. Two weeks ago there was an in-depth article about our group in Veinte Minutos (artículo). This week we will appear in Espejo Público in Antena 3. On 2 March a member of EuroCitizens will participate in a BBC programme in Malaga about the impact of Brexit. On Wednesday 22 March we will participate in a working lunch organised by el Movimiento Europeo to which high-profile journalists have been invited.
To finish our meeting we discussed the organisation of the round table on 8 March in the building of the European Parliament in Madrid. We have five participants: an MEP, a representative of ‘Españoles en el RU’, speakers on health, education and legal aspects. This will be our first big public event and will be a major opportunity to get across our demands.
