British expats: three reasons to be cheerful

British expats who live in and love Spain should not feel overly worried by the recent Brexit decision.

The shockwaves being felt around the world at the Brexit vote have been seismic. But one group of people perhaps have more reasons than most to feel apprehensive about the implications of the Leave vote: British expats in Spain.

After all, many of the hundreds of thousands of Brits who enjoy their life in Spain do so under the proviso that they are EU citizens and, as such, have every right to live wherever they want in Spain provided they are law abiding and respectful.

The Brexit decision does, at first glance, appear to cast doubts over this harmonious arrangement, at least in the longer-term. But while British politics continues to go into meltdown over what happens next, the EU has already begun softening its stance on how to deal with the UK.

Further voices of support are being heard within individual nations, with Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy among the first to call for calm. So bearing all of this in mind – and fully aware that it is too early to tell really what is going to happen – here are three reasons for Brits in Spain to be optimistic this week…

1. Anything can happen in two years

The much-fabled Article 50 was created by the EU to prevent exactly the sort of panic currently doing the rounds in some parts of Europe. The idea behind it – it’s never actually been put into practice – is to allow a minimum of two years for an EU member state to extricate itself from all of the rules, regulations and agreements that it is currently signed up to.

Nobody knows if all of these agreements have to be fully relinquished and/or abandoned, or indeed how alternative agreements can be put in place. But one thing is (almost certainly) for sure: the doom-mongers that would have us believe that people will be turfed out, shipped off and never welcomed back are way off the mark. Yes, things may become slightly more difficult for Brits hoping to work and live in another EU country, but there is almost zero chance that the drawbridge will be raised completely.

2. The UK and Spain are good friends

After any divorce it is always said that the two parties should try to remain ‘friends’ for ‘the sake of the kids’. And while it’s not the UK and Spain divorcing, these two countries do perhaps share the most responsibilities between them, in this case the ‘kids’ being the thousands of Brits in Spain and the thousands of Spaniards in the UK.

It is in both countries’ best interests to strike a deal that does not see so many people displaced or inconvenienced. After all, Brits have been pouring their money, their hearts and their souls into many parts of Spain for decades (yes, even before the EU), and the chances are good that both countries wish for that to continue.

3. The EU has dropped the hard-talk

In the immediate aftermath of the Brexit decision, the EU basically told the UK: “You’ve made your bed, now lie in it… quickly.” As the days have ticked by, however, a definite softening of attitudes is being detected. German chancellor Angela Merkel has said that the EU “has no reason to be nasty in the negotiations”, adding that the UK would remain a “close partner with close economic ties to us”.

As more and more politicians across the continent come to terms with the result – a result that saw 48.1% of Brits (around 17 million voters) – basically say that they want their country to remain in the UK, there is a realisation that their needs cannot be ignored, no matter what the new UK government has in mind. So expect a further softening of the initial rhetoric, and a wider understanding of each other’s point of view.

An optimist might, in fact, view this as the beginning of a beautiful new relationship.