UK says no to EU proposal to ensure youth mobility

Brussels – The United Kingdom let the European Commission know that it does not intend to sign any treaty with the Union concerning freedom of movement for young people, rejecting the offer even before it was presented. So, the situation remains as it is now with visa requirements for young people who want to go to Britain to study, work, and volunteer.

The European Commission, in recent days, proposed to the EU Council to open negotiations with the United Kingdom aiming to ensure mobility for young people. In this regard, however, His Majesty’s government made it known, even before the proposal was submitted, that it was not interested in a deal with the Union. Brexit (voted in 2016) brought with it the end of freedom of movement between the two sides of the Channel in 2021. One of the reasons the UK left the EU was to control immigration, which is why, according to the UK government, a youth mobility deal would jeopardize this prerequisite.

London said that rather than sign a treaty regulating the movement of young people with the entire Union, it would be willing to sign agreements with individual States on a case-by-case basis. This type of solution, however, may not sit well with Brussels as there is a risk of creating differences among young people based on nationality. Through a spokesperson, the government of Rishi Sunak was keen to point out that: “We are not introducing a Europe-wide youth mobility program:  the free movement has been discontinued, and there are no plans to introduce it.”

The UK already has agreements with 10 countries (including Australia, New Zealand, and Canada) to guarantee youth exchanges and would be interested in expanding the list but under certain conditions. The first is the need to have fixed quotas: so not all young people who want to enter the UK can do so, but only a certain number. The second is economic: London requires those who enter to contribute to the cost of national healthcare and, in the case of students, also to university, regardless of whether they have already paid taxes in their home country.

The Labor Party, in the opposition but with a clear lead at the polls, agrees with the decision taken by Number 10 in Downing Street. According to reports from the BBC, a spokesman for ‘Labour’ reportedly confirmed that even in the event of victory in the next election (scheduled by January 2025), the party would not support any return to the single market, customs union, or free movement.