British citizens in the EU are by far the largest national group affected by Brexit, with an estimated 1.5 million living on the continent.
As Boris Johnson ploughs full steam ahead into Number 10, his pledge to leave the EU “do or die” on October 31st leaves little comfort for Brits living in the EU27.
A reciprocal deal on citizens’ rights after Brexit is currently wrapped up in Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement (WA). But with that deal now dead, and both candidates for the Tory leadership prepared to take the UK out of the EU without a deal, citizens face more uncertainty than ever about their rights in the future.
While the Government has guaranteed the rights for EU nationals in the UK, deal or no deal, the EU is dragging its feet and leaving a lot to be desired. British in Europe, a coalition of Brits living and working across the EU, has said they “continue to be left hanging, living in limbo, waiting for the impossible.”
Should there be no deal, individual EU member states will be responsible for implementing their own measures on citizens’ rights, including social security entitlements. The European Commission has published a guide to where Brits stand so far in each of the EU27.