Following the Brexit referendum, a number of organisations were set up to support the rights of EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the EU. Catherine Craven, Michaela Benson and Nando Sigona reflect on the work of these organisations and ask what their legacy will be

Benson, Michaela

Craven, Catherine

Sigona, Nando

English

LSE Research Online

EU	citizenship	and	transnational	political	mobilisationafter	BrexitFollowing	the	Brexit	referendum,	a	number	of	organisations	were	set	up	to	support	the	rights	of	EU	citizens	in	theUK	and	British	citizens	in	the	EU.	Catherine	Craven,	Michaela	Benson	and	Nando	Sigona	reflect	on	the	work	ofthese	organisations	and	ask	what	their	legacy	will	be.Earlier	this	year,	British	in	Europe	–	the	largest	coalition	group	of	British	citizens	living	in	the	EU	–	closed	theirdoors.	This	group	was	founded	following	the	2016	Brexit	referendum.	Over	their	six-year	history,	they	campaignedto	protect	the	rights	of	the	estimated	1.2	million	British	citizens	living	in	the	EU	and	were	at	the	forefront	of	advocacyaround	citizens’	rights	during	the	Brexit	negotiations	and	transition	period.From	the	referendum	until	their	closure,	they	worked	hand	in	hand	with	the	main	advocacy	group	for	EU	citizens	inthe	UK,	the3million,	also	founded	at	the	time	of	the	referendum.	These	new	political	formations,	mobilised	inresponse	to	Brexit,	were	built	around	a	shared	EU	citizenship	and	identity.	But	as	their	work	winds	down,	it	is	worthexploring	what	their	legacy	will	be.Europeans	made	by	BrexitImmediately	after	the	referendum,	crowds	gathered	for	protests	in	the	streets	of	London,	Manchester	and	in	severalEuropean	cities.	Meanwhile,	the	number	of	Brexit-related	Facebook	groups	and	other	online	communities	grewrapidly.	Many	British	citizens	living	in	Europe	and	European	nationals	in	the	UK	joined	these	in	search	ofinformation	and	legal	support	specific	to	their	host	country,	but	also	to	seek	solace	and	a	safe	space	to	airgrievances.Spontaneous	actions	and	social	networks	soon	turned	into	more	organised	political	formations	on	both	sides	of	theChannel,	with	some	becoming	professionalised	(civil	society)	organisations.	As	the	negotiations	for	the	WithdrawalAgreement	got	underway,	some	of	these	groups	further	tightened	their	cooperation	and	scaled	up	their	focus	to	theEU	level,	advocating	around	Brexit’s	legal	implications	for	the	rights	and	status	of	already	settled	populations.What	started	out	as	spontaneous	resistance	to	the	referendum	campaign	and	outcome	quickly	transformed	into	atransnational	movement.	Where	leadership	or	guidance	by	the	British	government	and	the	EU	was	missing,	theseorganisations	led	many	people	through	the	Brexit	swamp,	and	have	played	a	huge	role	in	fostering	a	sense	ofshared	interest	and	community	among	their	followers	from	the	EU	and	Britain.By	advancing	a	narrative	of	shared	‘EU	citizenship’,	the3million	and	British	in	Europe	established	themselves	as	thevoices	of	otherwise	disenfranchised	communities	and	as	legitimate	interlocutors	in	the	eyes	of	EU	actors	andnational	governments,	while	creating	the	communities	they	wanted	to	represent.	The3million	is	arguably	the	firstmass	movement	of	citizens	of	EU	member	states	mobilised	under	a	pan-European	identity	rather	than	nationalidentities.	Similarly,	British	in	Europe	was	the	first	political	mobilisation	of	British	citizens	living	and	working	acrossthe	EU.From	grassroots	resistance	to	an	‘imagined	community’	of	EU	citizens?The	formation	of	‘new’	transnational	communities	is	neither	an	apolitical	nor	linear	process.	While	they	may	start	asgrassroots	resistance,	the	legitimacy	granted	to	nascent	formations	by	states	and	their	political	actors	enables	themto	grow	and	consolidate	their	positions	vis-a-via	different	audiences,	nationally	and	internationally.	How	and	why	anew	political	formation	is	caught	up	in	and	navigates	this	process	of	legitimation	offers	useful	insight	into	the	widerpolitical	projects	in	which	it	aims	to	intervene.The	advocacy	and	campaigning	strategies	of	British	in	Europe	and	the3million	transformed	over	time,	from	resistingto	influencing	the	Brexit	process.	These	groups	were	keen	to	uphold	their	common	identity	and	rights	as	Europeansand	rejected	the	idea	they	were	somehow	different	from	one	another	–	with	some	activists	embracing	the	‘5	million’hashtag	on	social	media.	Interviewed	in	Europe	Street	News	in	February	2022,	co-chair	of	British	in	Europe	JaneGolding	stressed	this	point:LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog: EU citizenship and transnational political mobilisation after Brexit Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2022-04-29Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2022/04/29/eu-citizenship-and-transnational-political-mobilisation-after-brexit/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/I	think	what	we	have	done	has	also	made	a	significant	contribution	to	the	debate	on	EU	citizenship	andthird	country	nationals’	rights	in	the	EU	generally.	What	really	would	be	needed	is	some	sort	oforganisation	to	represent	the	rights	of	all	‘mobile	citizens’	in	the	EU	because	that’s	the	only	way	to	havethe	high-level	overview	and	compare	and	contrast	national	situations	across	the	EU.	That’s	theadvantage	that	we	had.Yet,	the	political	legitimacy	of	their	shared	European	citizenship	waxed	and	waned.	It	was	evident	throughout	thenegotiations,	and	especially	towards	the	end,	that	this	understanding	of	a	shared	European	citizencommunity/identity	did	not	fully	extend	to	how	political	actors	in	either	the	UK	or	EU	saw	them.Most	obviously,	this	resulted	in	differentiated	access	to	funding	opportunities	for	both	organisations.	The3millionmanaged	to	secure	core	funding	that	means	they	continue	to	have	paid	staff	and	they	have	been	accredited	to	offerlegal	advice	on	the	EU	Settlement	Scheme	through	their	charity,	Settled.	In	contrast,	the	funding	raised	by	British	inEurope	through	donations	from	members	was	insufficient	to	allow	them	to	continue	to	operate.	Nor	were	they	ableto	access	the	UK	Government’s	UK	Nationals	Support	Fund,	which	might	have	allowed	them	to	offer	legal	advice	toBritish	citizens	in	the	EU.But	to	make	sense	of	the	recent	break	up	of	British	in	Europe,	other	contextual	factors	must	also	be	considered.	Forexample,	claims	to	Europeanness	made	by	British	citizens	living	in	the	EU	during	the	Brexit	negotiations	wereincreasingly	more	tenuous	and	more	easily	dismissed	than	those	of	EU	citizens	living	in	the	UK.	Such	disparities	inlegitimacy	also	aligned	with	a	broader	pattern	of	opacity	around	which	political	actors,	if	any,	were	acting	in	theinterests	of	British	citizens	in	the	EU.	Evidently,	as	the	borders	of	the	European	Union	and	its	‘imagined	community’were	actively	being	reworked,	the	legal	status	and	political	capital	of	British	citizens	within	the	EU’s	borderschanged.	Reflecting	on	the	changes	that	Brexit	had	meant	for	British	citizens	wanting	to	live	and	work	in	the	EU,Jane	Golding	noted:[a]	British	person	who	wanted	to	work	in	another	European	country	probably	might	have	been	morevaluable	just	by	virtue	of	being	able	to	speak	English.	These	days,	everybody	can	speak	English…really,	really	talented	graduates	from	all	over	Europe	who	speak	English.	If	a	British	person	does	nothave	the	same	rights	and	it	is	not	so	easy	to	employ	them,	then	they	won’t	get	employed.	It’s	as	simpleas	that.But	it	is	not	only	what	this	mobilisation	around	European	identity	means	for	individuals	and	communities,	it	is	alsowhat	it	might	mean	for	the	EU	project.	Simply,	what	does	the	EU	stand	to	gain	from	a	political	mobilisationorganised	around	European	identity	and	citizenship?	Before	Brexit,	there	had	not	been	any	substantive	politicalmobilisation	that	took	as	its	frame	of	reference	the	European	Union.	The	broader	context	to	this	are	initiatives	withinthe	EU	(e.g.	the	European	Citizens’	Initiative	and	the	recently	launched	EU	Citizens’	Assemblies)	aimed	atdeveloping	a	more	clearly	defined	EU	citizenry	in	response	to	its	perceived	‘democratic	deficit’.What	next	for	EU	citizenship?The	closure	of	British	in	Europe	has	provided	an	opportunity	to	reflect	on	what	the	future	might	be	for	Brexit-drivenpan-European	political	mobilisations	and	the	communities	they	have	given	rise	to.	Has	the	EU	citizenship	labelfulfilled	its	promise	of	offering	community	(and	community-based	resistance	and	solidarity)	beyond	the	nation?	Orhave	we	reached	the	limit	of	political	resistance	based	on	a	foundation	of	EU	citizenship	claims?	In	other	words,were	the	Brexit-driven	mobilisations	around	European	identities	a	flash	in	the	pan	or	is	there	potential	for	them	tofeed	into	something	more	permanent?Further	research	is	needed	to	fully	understand	the	membership	of	these	political	movements	and	their	outreach.	Itis	an	open	question	as	to	how	‘post-national’	this	imagined	community	of	EU	citizens	really	is,	and	how	inclusiveand	available	this	identity	is	to	members	of	racialised	communities,	citizens	of	new	member	states,	or	people	withlower	levels	of	education	or	social	status.Similarly,	it	remains	to	be	seen	what	will	happen	now	that	the	Brexit	negotiation	processes	are	complete	and	theagenda	and	priorities	of	national	and	EU	actors	may	be	moving	elsewhere.	In	the	wake	of	Brexit,	might	we	see	there-nationalisation	of	the	voices	of	EU	citizens	in	the	UK	and	British	citizens	in	the	EU?LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog: EU citizenship and transnational political mobilisation after Brexit Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2022-04-29Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2022/04/29/eu-citizenship-and-transnational-political-mobilisation-after-brexit/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	authors,	not	the	position	of	EUROPP	–	European	Politics	and	Policy	or	theLondon	School	of	Economics.	Featured	image	credit:	CC-BY-4.0:	©	European	Union	2019	–	Source:	EPLSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog: EU citizenship and transnational political mobilisation after Brexit Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2022-04-29Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2022/04/29/eu-citizenship-and-transnational-political-mobilisation-after-brexit/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/

EU citizenship and transnational political mobilisation after Brexit

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EU citizenship and transnational political mobilisation after Brexit

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