My husband has written to his MP and MEPs and lodged a complaint with the European Commission for infringement by the UK of EU law. The following summarises why.
Like 15,000 other British citizens, he paid £30 in good faith for a national identity card to use as a travel document throughout the EEA and Switzerland, because passports are too large to fit in a wallet or purse. Many British citizens, while staying in other EU countries, break national laws by failing to carry a national identity card or passport at all times, for the simple reasons that they do not have an ID card and that a passport is too bulky to carry at all times. The ID card addresses this problem, and those who have paid £30 for one should be allowed to enjoy the benefit for which they have paid until its expiry date.
Immigration officers in all EEA countries and Switzerland are already trained to recognise British ID cards along with at least 25 unique types of ID cards issued by other EEA member states. The fact that only 15,000 cards have been issued by the UK should not be an impediment to their continued international recognition, given that Gibraltar for example issues around 25,000 ID cards to British citizens, which have been recognised for many years throughout the EEA despite their rarity. Furthermore, it is absurd that while the UK Border Agency continues to allow travellers to enter the UK on ID cards issued by France, Lithuania or Bulgaria, it will soon stop allowing entry using ID cards issued by the United Kingdom. British citizens should not be disadvantaged compared to citizens of other EU countries, especially when entering their own country.
The planned cancellation of current travel documents has not been properly planned. There are many scenarios where British citizens will be stranded abroad as a result of the impending cancellation of their valid travel documents. Take the very common example of a British citizen who leaves the UK to work on a six-month contract in a Schengen country. Leaving his passport safely locked away at home in the UK, he travels out using his ID card, but when he returns six months later, he finds that, on instruction of the British government, his unexpired travel document is suddenly not recognised at Schengen exit controls, not accepted by the airline for boarding the aircraft and not accepted by the UK Border Agency. This is an appalling way for the British government to treat its citizens. This scenario, which is very likely and just one of hundreds of possible circumstances, demonstrates that the planned cancellation of travel documents is contrary to the EU treaty provision of the free movement of persons. Travel documents should always remain valid until their stated expiry date, and should never be cancelled prematurely for political reasons.
For the reasons above, the United Kingdom's forthcoming Identity Documents Bill, Section 2, Paragraph 2, which proposes to cancel existing ID cards as travel documents before their expiry dates, is:
- contrary to the European Union treaty provision of the free movement of persons;
- in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, Protocol 4, Article 2; and
- in breach of European Directive 2004/38/EC, Chapter II, Article 4, Paragraph 3.
Instructions for lodging a complaint about infringement of EU law are at ec.europa.eu/community_law/your_rights/your_rights_forms_en.htm but they will not entertain complaints about the lack of a £30 refund, only about the forthcoming impediment to European travel. There is also a Facebook page on this subject at www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=123582937674980