Following the success of New Europeans UK’s application for charity status, staff and trustees met at the Coram Centre in London to begin work on a new strategic plan
The development day was facilitated by independent consultant Jonathan Ellis, with support from actor, playwright and campaigner Kate Willoughby and Bella Kosmala, who recently completed a secondment with the office of the Mayor or London
This was the first face-to-face meeting held by New Europeans UK following the outbreak of the COVID pandemic. All participants took a lateral flow test before the event.
Dr Ruvi Ziegler, Chair of New Europeans UK said:
“Today was a great opportunity to understand how best to advocate for change in the new political environment post Brexit.”
“Too many EU citizens in the UK still face too many challenges to fully secure their status.
“As well as supporting EU citizens in accessing their rights, we will also continue to campaign for changes in government policy.”
Over the course of the day, trustees and staff examined key questions relating to the future of New Europeans’ mission in the post-Brexit environment in the UK.
A recurrent theme was the perception that for EU citizens in the UK, Brexit is far from “done”. On the contrary, New Europeans UK’s case workers were constantly identifying new concerns especially about the needs of more at risk groups such as older adults.
Tamara Flanagan OBE, Head of Projects at New Europeans UK said:
“The development day felt like a significant moment in the life of New Europeans. It demonstrated the commitment of the staff and board, coming together in person for the first time, in most cases.
Many undertook long journeys and all, together with the brilliant facilitators, endeavoured to plot a new course for the organisation.”
New Europeans UK was the first organisation in the UK to specifically champion the rights of EU citizens exercising their free movement rights. Established in 2013 the organisation obtained charitable status earlier this year.
In the course of the last eight years, New Europeans has helped thousands of EU citizens in the UK access their rights including under the EU Settled Status scheme.
Additionally, New Europeans UK provides support to community groups and organisations looking to grow their capacity to support EU citizens in securing their rights
As well as its service delivery work funded by the Home Office and independent charity funders, New Europeans UK also campaigns for the rights of EU citizens and Britons abroad.
Well-known campaigns include the Green Card for Europe campaign which would provide EU citizens in the UK and Britons in the EU with a physical proof of status and the campaign to secure a public inquiry following the denial of a vote to over 1.5m EU citizens in the UK at the 2019 European parliamentary election.