Blue UK passports not a sign of sovreignty, EU said

There is no law which states that EU passport must be of a certain colour said European parlimanet's chief Brexit coordinator, dismissing Theresa May's claim that switching back to blue is a sovereignty statement

23 December 2017, 5:36pm

1 min read

EU member states are not ordered to adopt the burgundy passports even though many choose to do so, as a result of a European council resolution from 1981 which recommends it.

This document, however, is not legally binding, meaning that the UK could have picked to keep its blue passports while it was still a member of the EU.

In a tweet on Saturday, chief Brexit coordinator from the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt dismissed comments by Theresa May who, while announcing the return of blue British passports, said that the move is a sign of "independence and sovereignty."

There is no EU legislation dictating passport colour. The UK could have had any passport colour it wanted and stay in the EU https://t.co/bkQX0T0F2Q
— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) December 23, 2017

The announcement of the new passports, which are expected to appear after the UK completes the exit process on 29 March 2019, was welcomed by Brexit supporters who were promised more freedom.

But EU officials say that blue passport holders might begin to experience travel delays and increased bureaucracy instead, unless further negotiating concessions are successfully reached.