‘Better off without us’: Britons in Spain bid sad adios to EU with poems, parties and pints

Spain hosts the largest contingent of Britons on the continent, and their rights are protected by royal decree, but many fear what comes if the UK doesn’t uphold its side of the deal, finds Graham Keeley

Customers enjoy the afternoon sun as they relax outside the EuroBar pub (Getty)

Nights of “cavorting”, cheap beer and Cornish pasties are the delights on offer at the Euro Bar.

However, despite appearances, the name of this pub in Benalmadena on Spain’s Costa del Sol, is not a homage to the spirit of the European Union.

Mark Sampson, the manager of the Euro Bar, chose the name because its boast is that no drink costs more than one euro.

Nonetheless, he will be happy when Britain finally leaves the EU on 31 January.

“The EU sounds like a great dream, but I don’t think it has worked. It has become too bogged down in bureaucracy, which causes too many problems for business,” he says.

Up in the Andalusian mountains near Ronda, Paul Darwent will not be celebrating Brexit but he has decided to stage a tongue-in-cheek salute to Britain’s farewell to Europe.

At the Bar Allioli in Jimera de Libar, an exhibition of blue passports, a tombola to win a fake visa to Europe, a Brexit poetry competition and a sample of the best of British cuisine, including beans on toast and curry, will be on offer.

Paul Darwent outside his bar near Ronda in southern Spain (Graham Keeley)

Vera Lynn’s “We’ll meet again” and The Communards’ “Don’t leave me this way” will provide the musical backdrop.

“I have a British passport but, ironically, I think Europe is better off without the Brits,” says Darwent, 64, who has lived in Spain for 22 years and voted Remain in 2016.

When Brexit finally becomes a reality, it will leave the more than 300,000 Britons who live in Spain wondering what the future holds for them.

These emigres are the largest group of Britons in any European country and many insist they do not conform to the cliche of gin-swigging expats on the costas.

The EU sounds like a great dream, but I don’t think it has worked. It has become too bogged down in bureaucracy 

Mark Sampson, manager of Euro Bar 

Most voted against leaving the EU, but others also chose to support the Leave campaign, despite the risk that their lives might never be quite the same again.

In March last year, Spain issued a royal decree guaranteeing the rights of 365,967 Britons who are registered as residents. Effectively, this means they can still enjoy the same rights to healthcare, to work and freedom of movement as before Brexit.

Others who do not currently have residency permission have until the end of 2020 to apply.

However, the Spanish deal is dependent on Britain bringing in a reciprocal agreement for about 150,000 Spaniards living in the UK. So far, the UK has brought in its settled status scheme for current EU residents but no bilateral deal exists. A trade deal can only be settled between Brussels and London to settle.

Union flag bunting hangs in the Bar None pub in Benalmadena (Getty)

After 31 January, a transition period begins when a deal must be thrashed out between London and Brussels.

This period ends on 1 January 2021, when Britons who live abroad may notice a real change, but nothing is certain yet.

Analysts believe Spain will not seek to make life difficult for Britons or UK firms as Madrid has too much to lose.

People protest in Madrid in defence of Europeans’ and Britons’ rights (AFP/Getty) (AFP via Getty)

British companies bring 200,000 jobs to Spain and €6bn (£5bn) annual tax revenue, not counting tourism. Ever since the package holiday revolutionised tourism, Britons have been the largest group by nationality coming on holiday to the costas. In 2018, 18.5 million made the journey.

“Spain has no incentive to make life difficult for Britons. We would prefer them to take an active lead in ensuring this doesn’t happen,” says Chris Dottie, the president of the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain.

Philip Smalley, 73, a retired retail manager who moved from Preston to La Vinuela, near Malaga, 14 years ago, is confident life will continue much the same.

“Where I live you can count the Brexiteers on two hands. My friends who are Brexit supporters love to tease the people who wanted to remain,” he says.

We will have to see what happens, won’t we. If all else fails, I will just become Spanish and forget Britain 

Paul Derwent, Remain-voting bar owner 

“But we keep the bars open here and provide work. They won’t do anything to upset that.”

After the 2016 referendum, others were so worried their future might be threatened that they opted to apply for Spanish nationality.

The latest figures showed the number who attained citizenship rose from 63 in 2016 to 209 in 2018, but lawyers believe the real figure is much larger as the Spanish justice system is notoriously slow.

John Bentley, 50, an English teacher in Barcelona, spent two years battling his way through the red-tape and sitting two examinations before he swore allegiance to King Felipe VI.

To get Spanish citizenship, one must pass a language test and a “constitutional” examination, which includes questions about how government works and cultural questions about such things as the name of FC Barcelona’s ground. It also includes trick questions asking the name of the river between Madrid and Barcelona; answer: there is not one. Applicants must have lived in Spain for 10 years.

“When the referendum result came through, it was very unclear what would happen, so I thought I would apply to get Spanish nationality so I could carry on living here,” says Bentley, who moved from Halifax in Yorkshire to Spain 24 years ago.

However, Cheryl Carroll, 41, a company director who moved from Glasgow to Madrid 16 years ago, became disillusioned with the process when Spanish authorities insisted she must take her father and mother’s surnames rather than her married name, as is the custom in Spain.

“I didn’t see why I had to surrender my identity and it would have been a practical problem with regard to the company I work for,” she says.

Back at the Allioli Bar in Jimera, Darwent is putting the finishing touches to his Brexit party.

“We will have to see what happens, won’t we. If all else fails, I will just become Spanish and forget Britain,” he says.