British expats launch legal appeal against European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker

A group representing British expats is arguing that the European Commission head has no legal right to act in a “presidential” manner.

The head of the European Commission (EC), Jean-Claude Juncker, has taken a hardline stance on the UK since the Brexit vote on June 23, repeatedly stating that there should be no official discussions between the EU and the UK until the British government triggers Article 50 – the clause in the EU contract that begins the two-year withdrawal process from the Union…

However, a growing number of British expats who reside all over the EU have rejected this stance, and have created an organisation called Fair Deal For Expats that will this week hope to launch an official action against the European Commissioner in the EU’s general court in Luxembourg.

The chief grievance of the Fair Deal For Expats group is that, by forcing the UK to first press the Article 50 button before talks can begin, Juncker is ensuring there is no room for diplomatic manoeuvre until that happens.

The EC chief is on record stating that his role is, basically, to make it difficult for the UK to benefit from a divorce from the EU. Given the responsibilities of his job, such a stance makes sense, but it also serves to alienate and restrict the rights of millions of EU citizens – chiefly British nationals who live, work and prosper in other EU states such as Spain, France and Germany.

Juncker said in June, a week after the Brexit result: “I have forbidden Commissioners from holding discussions with representatives from the British government – by presidential order, which is not my style.”

With little-to-no official dialogue in the offing, hearsay and scaremongering has become par for the course, with recent reports suggesting that Brits could need a visa to visit the EU once Brexit is a formality.

These types of headlines help nobody, and while Juncker’s actions were probably taken with the aim of protecting EU citizens, they simultaneously served to undermine a very large, and growing section of British expats.

“People in Britain and across Europe have become accustomed to Mr Juncker’s antagonistic style and bombastic rhetoric,” said John Shaw, Spokesman for Fair Deal For Expats, whose HQ is based in France. “But his dictatorial-style bullying tactics will not be tolerated. Enough is enough. He is urging Britain to trigger Article 50 sooner rather than later, but he’s not entitled to issue edicts preventing the UK from having discussions with the EC. He’s forgetting that the UK is still a member state.”

The Fair Deal For Expats group has also set its sights on the UK government, and hopes in October to legally block a judicial review that would deny the Prime Minister from having sole responsibility for the triggering of Article 50. The group would prefer that the whole of Parliament is responsible for such a decision.

Despite ongoing uncertainty across the continent, in Spain it has been reported that the impact of Brexit has been nowhere near as bad as people had feared.