Thread by @BritishInEurope

After the excitement of today - why does the Costa amendment mean so much to us? 5 key points about no deal and @BritishInEurope

A THREAD...

1) There is currently no legal certainty for the majority of Brits in Europe, as many EU27 countries are either not officially announcing or not confirming their no deal plans until they see what the UK does in relation to their own citizens.

2) The withdrawal agreement (which allows UK citizens either to apply, or simply register for a new status in their host country and to continue to work and receive healthcare and pensions) would go up in smoke...

...meaning UK citizens without a second EU nationality would have to rely entirely on the goodwill of their host country and national law for their legal status.

3) The UK government has said it cannot guarantee that it will continue to pay S1 healthcare in the event of no deal. This means pensioners – 1 in 5 of Brits in Europe – could lose their automatic right to healthcare if the country they live.

This also affects posted workers, and some students. France has said its no deal plans WILL cover S1 healthcare for 2 years. We have heard that the Danish proposed law may also continue current rights. We don’t know about others.

4) Reciprocal social security arrangements which can only be coordinated at EU level would disappear. So, for example, the pension contributions of people who have worked in multiple countries would be in question e.g. a Brit in Germany with pension contributions in Italy & UK,

...whose pension contributions would currently be aggregated across the EU, might find their future pension pot reduced after Brexit, or, in some cases, contributions lost altogether. This could only be agreed at an EU level, hence the urgency of the Costa Amendment.

5) Free movement would end on 30th March meaning small business owners/freelancers who need to work in more than one country, or work across Europe on short-term contracts would potentially lose their businesses overnight...

...and British employees of large European companies would be subject to 3rd country national employment restrictions meaning they would no longer be able to move around Europe as easily as other Europeans and could face career restrictions or even lose their jobs.

So things for us are very uncertain if there is a no deal in a month's time. We deserve some security after living in limbo for nearly 3 yrs. It is time we were no longer bargaining chips so we are able to get on and live our lives as we were promised we would be able to.

The Costa amendment is the first step in achieving what has so far eluded the UK Gov & the EU Commission - putting citizens first even if there is no deal.

ENDS