EU citizens to form new panel to inform work of independent rights organisation.
EU citizens living in the UK and Gibraltar are being asked to apply to join a new panel to help advise the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements (IMA).
The IMA, an independent body with powers to scrutinise and hold to account UK public bodies who are not upholding the rights of EU and EEA EFTA citizens, is setting up a panel to ensure it hears directly from people from each of the 27 EU countries and the EEA EFTA countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Individuals on the panel will meet virtually twice a year with IMA Chief Executive, Dr Kathryn Chamberlain, and others from the organisation. As well as sharing their insights of life in the UK and Gibraltar, the panel members will also provide feedback on the IMA’s work.
Dr Kathryn Chamberlain, IMA Chief Executive said: “Our new citizens’ panel is an important way for us to hear directly from EU citizens and is something we have been keen to establish as quickly as possible.
“EU citizens know best about what life in the UK is like after Brexit, what potential difficulties and everyday obstacles they face, and we are keen to hear from them. I’d encourage applications from anyone who has an interest in their rights.”
The IMA was set up to ensure the rights of EU citizens are upheld by public bodies in the UK and Gibraltar after Brexit. Individuals can report potential issues through the IMA’s complaints portal. Although the IMA doesn’t manage individual complaints, they help build a bigger picture of where things might be going wrong.
Being a member of the citizens panel is a voluntary role and individuals need to be:
- living in the UK or Gibraltar;
- aged 16 or over; and
- from one of the 27 EU countries or EEA EFTA countries of Iceland, Lichtenstein or Norway.
The aim is to have between 60 and 90 members who join on a two-year basis, with the deadline to register interest of 11 June, 2021.
Citizens can find out more about the panel and register their interest via the IMA website.
