Voted Best
ISSUE NO. 1786
26 Sept - 2 October 2019
Newspaper in Spain 2017 & 2018
COSTA DEL SOL
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
BRITISH expats took to the streets of Malaga on Sunday September 22, to underline their concerns ahead of Brexit. Dozens of protestors waving the British, Spanish and European Union flags gathered on Sunday to express their concerns about possibly losing access to healthcare, with many saying that Madrid has done more for them than the UK. Spain is home to around 300,000 Britons and is the most popular European retirement destination for UK residents, with around a third of them aged over 65. “We feel really forgotten here in Spain,” said Hilda Spearing, a 66-year-old who has lived in the Malaga region for 25 years. “Many of us here are pensioners - will we lose our healthcare overnight, for example?” she added. Protesters held banners reading ‘They’re trying to make us leave the EU’ and ‘Take back control: My grandkids’ future.’ “Spain is doing everything it can to protect us,” said Tina Hughes, a 58-year-old from West Midlands, who has lived in Spain for more than 10 years. “The UK government don’t care and have abandoned us.” Faced with the risk that
Bentje Brauns/twitter
BRITS ON THE STREET
DEMO: Dozens of Brits gathered in Malaga.
British citizens will be left without medical assistance in the event of an abrupt exit on October 31, the UK Government has proposed to each EU member country that the current health provisions be maintained until December 31, 2020. However, the 27 refuse to sign individual pacts with the UK, which could lead to health ties being severed in a month. Last week the Spanish Foreign Minister, Josep Borrell, said that “there is no Spanish position, there is a European position.” This is at odds with the contingency measures already put in place that guarantees health care for UK citizens in Spain on the same terms as now as long as the UK does the same for Spanish citizens in the UK. UK Health Minister, Matt Hancock, explained that the UK will in any case initially cover the health costs of British residents in the EU for six months if there is a no-deal Brexit.
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