Juncker’s big offer to Britons at EU ...you can be Belgians!
JEAN-CLAUDE Juncker yesterday called for British Eurocrats to be handed Belgian citizenship to ensure they do not lose their jobs after Brexit.
The European Commission president said Belgium should show ‘generosity’ to the EU’s UK employees.
The plea comes amid ongoing uncertainty about the future of the 917 British officials working for the European Commission – as well as those working for other EU institutions – who are set to lose their jobs when Britain leaves next year.
Speaking to the European Parliament, Mr Juncker said: ‘Brussels is a warm, welcoming environment and we’re very happy to be here.
‘I’d also like the Belgian authorities to apply the same generosity when it comes to extending Belgian citizenship to the British officials here in Brussels – they deserve it. I know that the [Belgian] prime minister is often overflowing with generosity and will hear our wishes.’
The plea for the British Eurocrats to be given Belgian citizenship is likely to prove controversial given that most of them are not obliged to pay Belgian taxes, instead paying lower rates offered to those working for the EU.
EU nationals are allowed to apply for Belgian citizenship if they have lived in the country for five years, can prove that they contributed to the social security system during that time, and are socially integrated.
However, British EU officials who have already applied have experienced difficulty due to their diplomatic tax status.
A mass movement of UK officials becoming Belgian after Brexit could also provoke controversy because it would mean that they would effectively take up a significant part of Belgium’s share of EU institutional positions.
The move emerged after former Ukip leader Nigel Farage yesterday dismissed Belgium as a ‘nonnation’ and claimed the EU could only rely on support from those who ‘are on the EU payroll’.
He said: ‘Nobody ever dares tell the truth about Belgium: Belgium is not a nation. There are two parts of Belgium, they speak different languages, they dislike each other intensely, there’s no national TV station, there’s no national newspaper.’ Responding to the offer of Belgian citizenship, he said: ‘Mr Juncker will do anything to corrupt our citizens.’
Belgian’s prime minister, Charles Michel, responded angrily to Mr Farage’s intervention, saying: ‘I should thank Nigel Farage for his good advice on the future of Belgium... He sorted out the future of the UK with Brexit and we see where that’s ended up in the UK.’
Mr Michel appeared to tentatively throw his weight behind Mr Juncker’s plan. ‘I’m happy that Belgian citizenship is so attractive, that British citizens are asking to stay to our country, ’ he said.
But he noted that Belgian courts are currently faced with contradictory rulings on how such citizenship applications should be handled. Both Mr Juncker and the EU’s human resources commissioner, Gunther Oettinger, have
‘Belgium is not a nation’
promised UK staff they will not be sacked after Brexit.
EU staff rules state that ‘an official may be required to resign’ if he or she loses their EU citizenship and so is no longer a national of an EU member state.
But an EU Commission document that emerged last month said the rules would not automatically lead to British staff losing their EU jobs, apart from in cases involving ‘conflicts of interest or international obligations’.
A significant number of British EU staff are understood to have applied for passports in Belgium or other EU countries.