Our Friends at British in Europe have been working on the EU-funded ICE (Inform, Connect, Empower) project. As part of this they have drafted a legal report on the (Brexit) Withdrawal Agreement (WA) and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights implementation for the 1.2 million UK citizens living in the EU.

This is the first report of its kind focusing on this community, backed up by BiE’s practical experience of the WA negotiations and cases that BiE have worked on across 11 country groups within the ICE project. You can access the full report here. 

The report outlines a number of recommendations from the ICE project based on BiE’s experience of implementation of the WA since 2020. These are listed below.

1. Up to date information and instructions on upgrading to permanent residence

In 2025 and 2026, the majority of WA beneficiary rights holders’ and their family members’ status under the WA will evolve and upgrade to permanent residence. During this period, BiE recommend:

- Ongoing monitoring of the process by the European Commission;

- Clear and regular reminders from the European Commission to national authorities concerning the requirements for the acquisition of permanent residence and the rules around absences;

- Requests to national authorities to keep their websites up to date and that central instructions are sent to the authorities at national/regional/local level;

- Central publicity and information to WA beneficiaries about the evolution of their status and how they may obtain a new residence card evidencing their acquisition of permanent residence.

2. Publicity about the EES and ETIAS systems and how they will apply to WA beneficiaries

Providing clear information about how WA beneficiaries and their family members will be affected by the new EU entry/exit systems is crucial. Practical guidelines on how these systems will work on the ground and across different entry and exit points across the EU (e.g. airports, train stations, ports) are key.

3. Collecting data on WA implementation across the EU

The work of BiE has highlighted the need for more up to date statistics concerning issues that arise with WA implementation. This is particularly important during 2025 and 2026 as upgrades to permanent residence occur and the new EES system is put in place.

4. Strategic litigation

There are several key questions concerning WA implementation that would benefit from referral to the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU). For example, whether family reunification rights of WA beneficiaries can only be used once for any individual family member remains an open question. The Commission has not to date brought any cases against Member States in relation to potential breaches of the WA relating to citizens’ rights, and citizens’ rights groups have to date lacked funding to initiate strategic litigation.

5. Funding organisations that provide advice to WA beneficiaries

Information on issues concerning WA implementation is largely identified through citizens’ rights organisations working across the EU and through Your Europe Advice, the EU’s outsourced advice service, where WA beneficiaries regularly turn for advice on their legal position. Both citizens’ rights organisations representing the interests of WA beneficiaries, and Your Europe Advice must continue to be funded to do this work.

You can support British in Europe’s work by making a donation through this webpage.