COMMENT: Britons losing free movement in the EU

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and members of his cabinet have recently welcomed the Immigration Act, the UK law that ends free movement of people with the European Union. From January 1^st 2021, EU citizens will no longer have the automatic right to live and work in the United Kingdom.

Ending free movement of people was one of the flagship policies promoted by the campaign for leaving the EU. The idea was supported by the slogan ‘take back control’ of national borders.

It was a simple and effective message, but reality is more complicated than that, not least because free movement is a two-way street and Britons will also lose the automatic right to live and work in EU countries.

This side of the argument has been ignored in the political debate and has met the silence of British media. It is not surprising that, according to a YouGov survey, only 21% among Brits feel ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ informed about the changes they face when travelling to the EU after the Brexit transition ends, on December 31^st 2020.

What will be the consequences for them?

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