About 30,000 Maltese residing in the UK would lose nothing despite Brexit, the UK’s Minister of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union has pledged.
All those Maltese residing in the UK would retain all their present rights, Lord Callanan told Times of Malta.
And in return, Malta would grant the same rights to all the British nationals living on the island.
He admitted, however, that the UK would have a new migration policy after its exit that would change the rules for all those EU citizens, including Maltese, wanting to make the UK their home.
Speaking to Times of Malta during a day-long visit to the island that included meetings with government officials on the future relations between the two countries and Brexit, Lord Callanan, an MEP for 15 years, insisted there was no going back on the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
A second referendum on Brexit was out of the question, he said.
The British government, he said, was determined to bring to a successful end the negotiations on a divorce from the EU.
“People have decided in the referendum and have confirmed their decision in the last general election. Brexit is Brexit, and there is no way we will change this decision,” Lord Callanan insisted.
Asked whether there should be a second referendum once the UK and the EU agreed on an exit package, the Eurosceptic politician replied flatly: “No.”
“This is no merry-go-round, and we will not have a second referendum. This is ridiculous,” he said. Many British MPs and pressure groups are insisting that the final negotiated package should be put to the electorate.
The UK will have a new migration policy for EU citizens, Maltese included, who want to move there
“We had a full debate and we made our decision. It will now have to be implemented in full,” he said. Admitting he was one of the campaigners for the “leave” camp despite his then leader, former prime minister David Cameron, being on the other side of the fence, Lord Callanan said the UK would be stronger not forming part of the European bloc.
Asked how the UK would gain more weight on the international stage when it would be alone and not part of something bigger, Lord Callanan said the nation would have many new advantages.
“We will gain the economic benefit of being able to trade freely across the world with many countries we currently don’t have any agreement with,” he remarked.
“We will be able to make decisions on rules and regulations on our own instead of others making them for us, and we will regain control of our money, because are now net contributors to the EU budget,” he added.
Lord Callanan disagreed with Times of Malta when it noted that, since the EU would remain the UK’s biggest trading partner, the UK would lose its influence at the negotiating table while still having to adhere to EU rules.
“While we are still trying to strike a deal on this aspect, and we hope that things will not change too much, we have the same situation when we export our goods to China or the US. We still have to adhere to their rules,” he said.