Now Brussels wants UK expats to lose free movement rights

BRITISH expats living in countries such as Spain and France would lose the right to move to another EU state after Brexit, under tough Brussels plans.

The EU was last night accused of treating UK citizens with disrespect after it emerged the bloc wants to strip them of their free movement rights.

Brussels officials said the one million British expats in the EU should have to stay in the country they were currently living in.

The demand has astonished UK officials, who accused EU chiefs of hypocrisy. British negotiators pointed out that the EU had repeatedly said it would negotiate as a bloc that valued freedom of movement. Britain is willing to give EU nationals who remain in the UK voting rights, but is refusing to bow to EU demands for the European Court of Justice to oversee the deal.

While a number of agreements have been reached on the highly contentious citizens’ rights package, British negotiators yesterday said the EU’s offer was not ‘up to [our] level’. One UK official said: ‘What we’re offering EU citizens living in the UK is fair. We expect UK nationals living in the EU to be treated with the same respect. The UK has put a serious offer on the table, but there are significant gaps in the EU’s offer.’