Sunak rejects EU offer of new mobility scheme for young people

Rishi Sunak yesterday rejected an EU offer to strike a post-Brexit deal to allow young Britons to live, study or work in the bloc for up to four years.

The prime minister declined the European Commission’s surprise proposal of a youth mobility scheme for those aged between 18 and 30 after Labour had knocked back the suggestion on Thursday while noting it would “seek to improve the UK’s working relationship with the EU within our red lines”.

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the scheme, which also would have allowed EU young people to stay in the UK to work or study for the same period of time, would have been an area in which the two nations could have closer collaboration.

“The topic of youth mobility is in both our interests because the more we have youth mobility the more we increase the probability we will be on good terms because the next generation knows each other very well,” von der Leyen said.

But the government said Brexit had ended free movement and it had no desire to reopen the conversation, even with strict conditions on length of stay.

“We are not introducing an EUwide youth mobility scheme. Free movement within the EU was ended and there are no plans to introduce it,” a government spokesperson said.

However, they did note the government would be happy to make deals with individual member states. It is known that the UK is keen to strike such an arrangement with France, for instance. One source said the government wanted to “cherrypick” the countries with which it established youth mobility programmes.

The scheme would not be a return to freedom of movement and would, if agreed, require a visa, evidence of sufficient funds to sustain a living, and health insurance.

The Conservatives have been urged to rethink their snub of the EU’s offer because it could help boost the economy, while some Labour MPs believe the scheme could help the party reach its plan to decarbonise power by 2030 because it would allow the UK access to an army of engineers.

A Labour spokesperson said: “Labour has no plans for a youth mobility scheme. We have already suggested some tangible ways to improve the relationship, including seeking a veterinary agreement to tackle trade barriers, mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and improved touring opportunities for artists.”