Decisions have consequences. Like many others, I’m deeply unhappy with the vote to leave the EU, and have had to think about the implications for myself and my family. The first and most obvious solution is to seek to be part of a country that does want to be in the European Union. I did not vote for Scottish independence last time; I will next time.
I have also been looking at the implications of the withdrawal of European citizenship. Citizenship rights are part of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. (The UK did not opt out of the Charter. The protocols on the UK say that judicial and legislative powers relating to those rights rest with the UK.)
It seems that there is no legal basis to continue to hold European citizenship when the UK leaves – which rather undermines the description of citizenship as a ‘fundamental right’ in the Charter. (See for example comments by Steve Peers in the seventh question he addresses.) That does not mean that there is no moral or political argument, or that the process is impossible. In some other realignments citizens have been given options to retain citizenship on application – many people are currently taking advantage of the arrangements in Northern Ireland. The European Parliament has consistently pressed for European citizenship to be treated distinctly from nationality in the member states, and I am considering a petition to the Parliament on that basis.