Researchers say UK faces a Brexit brain drain to the EU

The number of Britons moving to European Union countries soared after the Brexit vote in 2016, according to a U.K.-German study released Tuesday — an exodus comparable to those caused by major social or economic crises.

An analysis of official statistics by the Oxford in Berlin research partnership and the Berlin-based WZB Social Science Center found that migration from the United Kingdom to other EU countries rose by 30%, from about 57,000 a year in 2008-2015 to more than 73,000 a year in 2016-2018. Spain saw the largest number of U.K. arrivals, followed by France.

“These increases in numbers are of a magnitude that you would expect when a country is hit by a major economic or political crisis,” report co-author Daniel Auer said.

Migration among the 27 countries that now remain in the European Union remained relatively stable during the same period, the researchers found.

The number of Britons seeking passports from EU nations also soared by more than 500%. In Germany it was up 2,000%.

British voters opted narrowly in a 2016 referendum to leave the EU, ending the automatic right of the bloc’s citizens to move to the U.K., and of Britons to live and work across Europe. Britain left the EU in January, though it remains bound by the bloc’s rules — including the right to freedom of movement — during a transition period that lasts until the end of 2020.

Brexit has left about 3.6 million EU citizens in the U.K. and more than 1 million Britons in the 27 EU nations scrambling to preserve their residency and employment status. The British government says more than 3 million Europeans have completed a registration process confirming their right to remain in the U.K.

Auer and co-author Daniel Tetlow said the study “reveals the U.K. is facing a potential brain drain of highly-educated British citizens, who have decided to invest their futures in continental Europe.”

MADRID (AP) — British and Spanish foreign ministers said a new round of talks held Friday over the status of the disputed territory of Gibraltar following Britain’s exit from the European Union were productive and significant progress was made.

The meeting was between Spain's José Manuel Albares, Britain’s David Cameron and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic in Brussels. Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo also attended. It was the first time representatives from the four areas had come together for talks on the issue.

In a statement after the meeting, the parties said "discussions took place in a constructive atmosphere, with significant progress achieved.

“General political lines have been agreed (on), including on airport, goods and mobility. Negotiations will continue over the coming weeks to conclude the EU-UK Agreement,” it added.

All sides are eager to clinch a deal before European elections in June.

Britain left the European Union in 2020 with the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc unresolved. Talks on a deal to ensure people and goods can keep flowing over the Gibraltar-Spain border have made halting progress in the 19 rounds of negotiations so far, but both Spanish and U.K. officials have recently expressed optimism about a deal.

In Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, 96% of voters in Gibraltar supported remaining in the EU. The tiny territory on Spain's southern tip depends greatly on access to the EU market for its 34,000 inhabitants.

Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713, but Spain has maintained its sovereignty claim ever since. Relations concerning the Rock, as it is popularly referred to in English, have had their ups and downs over the centuries.

A major sticking point has been who controls Gibraltar’s airport, which under the proposed free-movement deal would be an external border of the EU. The U.K. and Gibraltar have resisted Spain’s insistence that Spanish border officials be based at the airport, which is also home to a Royal Air Force base.

The British Foreign Office said Thursday that while it did not expect a final agreement Friday, "getting senior political figures from the UK, European Commission, Spain and Gibraltar in one room is significant.”

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless reported from London.