Dutch Judges Refer British Expats European Citizenship Case to Top Court. The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg must consider whether British expats automatically lose their EU citizenship after Brexit.
That is the result of summary proceedings that a group of British citizens living in the Netherlands has filed against the Dutch State and the municipality of Amsterdam.
The expats are afraid that after Brexit they are no longer free to travel, live and work within the EU. It is also unclear what the consequences are for the passports of their children.
It is questionable whether Brexit directly leads to the loss of EU citizenship for Britons in the European Union, according to the District Court of Amsterdam. According to the summary judge, there should be more clarity about the consequences of Brexit for all Britons who are still citizens of the EU.
According to the court, the expats have made it plausible that they are already suffering damage in their private lives. This is due to the threat that they will have to leave the Netherlands after Brexit as ‘third-country nationals.’ But because jurisprudence on EU citizenship amounts to an interpretation of the EU treaty, the judge refers the case to EU Court.
“We are of course delighted with the court’s decision,” says Stephen Huyton, one of the prosecutors, in a statement. “Yet this is only the first step towards clarity about what Brexit means for our EU citizenship, and this case has always been a matter of clarification, not only for the 46,000 Britons living in the Netherlands but also for the 1.2 million Britons who live in other EU countries. “