Voted Best
ISSUE NO. 1751
24 - 30 January 2019
Newspaper in Spain 2017 & 2018
COSTA DE ALMERÍA YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
Protecting citizens’ rights is top priority by Cathy Elelman ENSURING the rights of British expatriates will be protected, deal or no-deal Brexit, is a top priority, British Ambassador to Spain Simon Manley has made clear. Speaking exclusively to the Euro Weekly News during a visit to Almeria the day after the British Parliament’s crushing defeat of Teresa May’s Brexit deal, the Ambassador described the vote as a ‘disappointment,’ but stressed whatever the final scenario of the UK’s departure from the European Union, the British government is working to guarantee British nationals in Spain will have the same rights and benefits as they do now. Admitting the deal reached with the EU is not ideal, Mr Manley did say it is a good deal, also pointing out, ‘the European Union has been very clear it’s the only deal.’ He insisted that for British nationals in Spain ‘it’s a particularly good deal, because it gives the utmost legal certainty. “The things embodied in that withdrawal agreement in respect of citizens’ rights are not new; they’re within the political agreements we reached back in December 2017 and then again in March 2018. “But the importance of the withdrawal agreement is that it embodies those agreements, the guarantees about the continuity of citizens’ rights in an international legal treaty, and therefore gives you greater force of law. So that’s why particularly in respect to citizens’ rights we want to ensure we get that deal.” On the matter of whether a no-deal Brexit is now a real possibility, the Ambassador commented: “It is true to say the risk of no-deal has risen as a
SIMON MANLEY: Offering reassurances to British nationals living in Spain. result of yesterday’s vote,” but added, “As the prime minister made clear it is not, has not been and will not be the government’s intention to leave without a deal, and the government will strive to come to a deal which can have the support of the House of Commons.” Mr Manley stressed that deal or no-deal, the ‘good news’ for British nationals living here is that the UK government has said it will protect the rights of EU 27 nationals currently resident in Britain, at the heart of which is the EU Settlement
Scheme, and now the Spanish government has come up a with a similar statement of intent. It has published details in the form of a basis of what will become a royal decree, also establishing a ‘prepared for Brexit’ section on its Moncloa website, which went live last week. “It is fair to say there are areas where we’d like a bit more clarity on what is intended,” the Ambassador said, but made it clear discussions were taking place ‘to ensure the Spanish offer is genuinely reciprocal of what we’re doing in the UK.’
“We want to make sure people can enjoy the same rights and benefits in the two countries.” See page 6 for more on the interview with Ambassador Simon Manley
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