A group of UK nationals living in the Netherlands is challenging the right of the British government and the European Commission to negotiate away their rights as EU citizens in Brexit talks. They argue the rights of UK citizens are independent of the country's EU membership. CGTN's Mariam Zaidi has more.

Steven and Kathryn Huyton are British nationals but like many others, they chose years ago to live in another EU country.

STEVEN HUYTON UK NATIONAL "I came to the Netherlands originally in 1993. Like a lot of people when you move for your job, from Liverpool to London or Maastricht to Amsterdam, it was a question of taking the opportunity. I never expected to stay this long. We've now been here 24 years."

But in March 2019, when Britain officially leaves the European Union, Steven and his family and all British citizens will lose their right to free movement.

STEVEN HUYTON UK NATIONAL "It been one of the peak points of the EU project that no matter what national you've been. You've been entitled to work around Europe with freedom of movement etc. Now with what's going on at the moment that may well change. Then I might well need a Dutch passport."

Steven has joined a class action challenge with other UK nationals living in the Netherlands. They claim that EU treaties confer the rights of citizenship when a country joins the bloc, but don't automatically revoke them when a country decides to leave.

The group is asking a Dutch judge to refer the question to the European Court of Justice.

CHRISTIAAN ALBERDINGK THIJM LAWYER FOR BRITISH CLASS ACTION "The court can also say EU citizenship only applies to those Brits that have actually exercised their EU citizen rights. However, if the court would determine it applies to all British nationals disregarding the fact if they have exercised their rights or not, it would simply be an interpretation of EU law, and there's only one court that can interpret EU law – it's our highest court in Luxembourg." 

MARIAM ZAIDI BRUSSELS "On Wednesday, if a Dutch judge refers this question on citizen rights to the European Court of Justice and it rules that EU citizenship cannot be automatically revoked, this would be a big win for the UK nationals living in the EU. But what then for the EU citizens living in the UK? As Brexit negotiations stand, the UK has only offered a legal 'settled status' for those having lived in the UK for more than five years. Mariam Zaidi, CGTN Brussels."