LONDON — British PM Keir Starmer says he has no plans for a youth mobility scheme with the European Union. Brussels, meanwhile, thinks he should make some.
A leaked codex of EU positions seen by POLITICO says the bloc views the policy as “an indispensable element” of negotiations with London.
It’s the latest sign that the idea — which the internal paper also describes as “essential for our future relationship” — is still very much in the sights of Brussels despite pushback from Britain’s new leader.
A youth mobility scheme would give British and European youngsters the opportunity to live abroad for a few years, as long as they had the means to support themselves and obtained an inexpensive visa.
Proponents argue such a step is needed after Brexit slammed the door on more comprehensive freedom of movement.
But Starmer is facing a Labour split over the EU demand, with MPs and regional mayors like Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan backing it. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, with one eye on the U.K.’s politically sensitive immigration statistics, is strongly opposed.
The leaked document seen by POLITICO was drawn up by officials to get candidates for Ursula von der Leyen’s next European Commission on-message ahead of their grueling European Parliament confirmation hearings this autumn.
As well as the section on youth mobility, it includes perhaps the clearest statement yet of EU positions on talks with London across the range of issues — and confirmation that Brussels is in no mood to back down on its priorities.
‘Not free movement’
Supporters of a youth mobility scheme point out that the U.K. already has similar arrangements with countries like South Korea, Japan and Australia.
“If Iceland and Monaco can be approved countries under the reciprocal U.K. youth mobility scheme, our closest neighbors like Ireland and France should be as well,” said Ian Roome, Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon, during a grilling of Europe Minister Stephen Doughty in the House of Commons this month.
And it’s not just opposition MPs who are putting pressure on the government over the policy. Stella Creasy, who chairs the Labour Movement for Europe, was one of several representatives who raised the policy with ministers in signs of a growing appetite for the plan among the government’s own MPs.
“It’s important to be clear that a youth mobility scheme is not freedom of movement. When we already have schemes with Uruguay, with Japan, with Canada, New Zealand, Australia, we can absolutely see that there are strict conditions on when people can come here,” she told the same debate.
Doughty, who has a role overseeing relations with Europe alongside Cabinet Office Brexit minister Nick Thomas-Symonds, told MPs: “We’re not going to give a running commentary on our discussions with the EU, and the Minister for Cabinet Office [Nick Thomas-Symonds] and others have already given a clear statement on this issue.
“We’ll continue to look at EU proposals on a range of issues, but we will not return to freedom of movement, but we are committed to finding constructive ways to work together and deliver for the British people.”
But a Downing Street spokesperson gave a blunter answer earlier this month when quizzed on the policy at a regular briefing of journalists in Westminster, telling reporters: “Our position hasn’t changed. We’re not going to be joining an EU-wide youth mobility scheme. There will be no return to freedom of movement, and that remains our position.”
Prerequisite
If London wants Brussels to engage on British priorities, it may have to shift.
EU member countries are currently drawing up a negotiating mandate for the Commission to start talks on the matter with London. Diplomats have indicated that it could include provision for compromises — such as caps on numbers, tighter eligibility criteria, or shorter stays to make the idea more palatable.
But they want it to happen.
One EU diplomat, granted anonymity to speak freely on a sensitive subject, described the issue as the No. 1 demand raised by capitals at a meeting of member state ambassadors ahead of Starmer’s recent visit to Brussels.
As well as stressing the importance of youth mobility for the EU, the document, seen by POLITICO, also gives further clues as to how Brussels wants talks to be structured. Above all, it heads off suggestions that a planned review of the Brexit trade deal, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), could be used to make fundamental changes to the deal.
“Given that the U.K.’s red lines have not changed (the U.K. will not rejoin the Single Market and the Customs Union, and will not accept Free Movement of People), it is unlikely that reopening the TCA would bring benefits for either side,” it warns.
However, the EU is willing to “explore agreements alongside” the TCA — particularly in areas like defense and security, where London and Brussels are on a similar page.
Other British government priorities, such as a veterinary agreement, mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and linking emissions trading systems, are also potentially on the table — as long as the British play ball.
Apart from hinting that Starmer should think again on youth mobility, Brussels is adamant that the U.K. should first implement existing agreements drawn up by former PMs Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak as a “prerequisite” for further talks — particularly on Northern Ireland and on the rights of EU citizens living in Britain. “The implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement by the U.K. needs to be substantially improved,” the document adds.
The paper also warns that “any new agenda” must address access for EU fishing fleets in British waters, where tougher post-Brexit U.K. environmental rules on bottom trawling and sand-eel fishing have made life difficult for some member states. That, and the other policy areas, could be politically tricky for London as well.
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