On Friday 24th January, Ellie and other pro-European MEPs wrote to President David Sassoli to request that the European Union preserve as much as possible the opportunities for UK citizens to visit the European Parliament.

Please see the letter below:

European Parliament 

Member of the European Parliament 

Mr David Maria Sassoli

President of the European Parliament

Bât. Paul-Henri Spaak, 09B011 60,

rue Wiertz I Wiertzstraat 60 B-104 7 Brussels 

Brussels, 24 January 2020 

Continuing to encourage and support UK visitors to the European Parliament 

Dear President Sassoli, dear Vice Presidents 

We write to you, as pro-European British MEPs, to ask you to consider how the European Parliament could continue to facilitate improved understanding between the British citizens and the European Parliament after Brexit – in particular by continuing to encourage and welcome British visitors to the EP. 

We have all very much valued the opportunity to bring our constituents on sponsored visits to the Parliament. We believe these visits play a crucial outreach role, helping to deepen citizens’ understanding of the EU, and helping them feel closer to the Parliament. 

Brexit means that the majority of British citizens will lose the opportunity to make such visits. This seems particularly unfortunate when the need to improve British understanding of the EU is as great as it has ever been. 

We know that the Parliament currently makes special provision for non-EU country nationals. Such schemes include: 

• EuroMed-Scola 

• Euronest-Scola 

• Opinion multiplier groups 

However, as far as we are aware there is currently no scheme for which UK citizens would be eligible. 

We therefore urge you to consider extending the visitor schemes to include UK citizens and/or establishing a new scheme, to encourage and support British citizens – most especially young people – to continue to visit and learn about the European Parliament. We believe this would be an investment well worth making – an opportunity to nourish pro-European sentiment, understanding and values in the next generation. 

We would like to suggest that the newly-established UK-EU Friendship Group in the European Parliament might be able to play a role in hosting such visits. 

We very much hope that this proposal appeals to you – we believe it fits very well with the Parliament’s ambitions to significantly increase its visitor engagement in the coming years. We would of course be delighted to discuss this idea further with you or your staff. 

We look forward to hearing from you. 

Yours sincerely, 

Ellie Chowns (Greens/EFA)

Gina Dowding (Greens/EFA)

Scott Ainslie (Greens/EFA)

Catherine Rowett (Greens/EFA)

Molly Scott Cato (Greens/EFA)

Alex Louise Phillips (Greens/EFA)

Magid Magid (Greens/EFA)

Christian Allard (Greens/EFA)

Jackie Jones (S&D)

Rory Palmer (S&D)

Neena Gill (S&D) 

Julie Ward (S&D)

Judith Bunting (Renew)

Sheila Ritchie (Renew)

Catherine Bearder (Renew)

Jane Brophy (Renew)

Caroline Voaden (Renew)

Bill Newton Dunn (Renew)

Shaffaq Mohammed (Renew)

Luisa Porritt (Renew)

Naomi Long (Renew)