British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has rejected an EU proposal for a post-Brexit deal allowing young Britons to live, study or work in the bloc for four years, according to a government spokesman.
The European Commission this week called on the 27 EU countries to start negotiations on the youth mobility scheme for UK citizens aged 18-30, but the UK, which has individual youth mobility schemes with 13 countries, said it preferred bilateral agreements with individual countries to an EU-wide deal.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen suggested that a scheme that would also allow young people from the EU to stay in the UK to work or study for the same period of time would be an area where closer co-operation could be achieved:
The topic of youth mobility is in both our interests, because the more we have youth mobility being on both sides of the Channel, the more we increase the probability we will be on good terms because the next generation knows each other very well.
The UK government, for its part, said on Friday that Brexit had ended free movement and it had no desire to reopen that conversation, even with strict conditions on length of stay. a government spokesperson emphasised:
We are not introducing an EU-wide youth mobility scheme – free movement within the EU has been ended and there are no plans to introduce it.
Despite, they remarked that the government would be happy to strike deals with individual member states. The UK is known to be keen to strike a deal with France. In addition, one source said the UK wanted to “cherry-pick” which countries it would like to run such programmes with.
The Youth Mobility Scheme would not be a return to freedom of movement, but it would require a YMS visa proving sufficient funds to support life and health insurance, if agreed. Therefore, the Conservatives have been urged to rethink their rejection of the proposal as it could help stimulate the economy. According to Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, extending existing youth mobility visas to European countries on a reciprocal basis would be a win-win for the UK:
It would be a much needed boost to our economy, especially hospitality and tourism; it would offer great new opportunities to young British people to work abroad; and it would be a crucial step towards fixing our broken relationship with Europe.
Some Labour MPs believe the scheme could help Labour implement its plan to decarbonise UK power by 2030. For example, a Labour MP compared the scheme to a “sugar-rush, fast-fix” solution that would be helpful to a new Labour government but difficult to abandon. Although, the Labour spokesperson added that Labour has no plans to create a youth mobility programme.
Anand Menon, a professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King’s College London and director of UK in a Changing Europe, emphasised:
Clearly there is a debate to be had about the costs and the benefits of a youth mobility scheme, but I find it utterly depressing that both of the major political parties, one of which will form a government after the next election, do not know the difference between free movement and a limited youth mobility scheme which involves visas.
Under a proposal by the European Commission, tuition fees at UK and bloc universities would be set at the same level for EU and UK students as they were before Brexit. The plan would allow young EU and UK citizens to stay in the country for up to four years if they wish, and visa fees would not be “excessive”. Currently, an EU young person wanting to study in the UK must pay £490, while a skilled worker visa costs between £719 and £1,639, the commission said.
