In the photo of this file, taken on December 30, 2020, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a gesture after signing a trade agreement between the UK and the EU.
Photo provider: AFP
The Supreme Court of the European Union has sent a harsh message to British expatriates who want to stick to the UK’s post-EU citizenship trap: you have lost your rights.
Withdrawal from the UK block after the 2016 referendum means that citizens residing in one of the remaining 27 member states “no longer enjoy the status of EU citizens”. The EU Court of Justice has ruled. That means they have lost the right to vote, run for local elections, and so on.
“This is the result of Britain’s only sovereign decision to leave the European Union,” said a Luxembourg-based court.
Thursday’s ruling stems from the case of a former British civil servant who has lived in France since 1984. A woman who swore allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II of England claimed to have been deprived of her rights in both her homeland and hindered people. Those who have lived abroad for over 15 years and those who have lived in France since participating in the election.
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