In recent days, both the UK’s ruling Conservative party and the opposition Labour party have rebuffed an EU offer to open talks on an bloc-wide “youth mobility scheme”.
The rejection comes despite successive Tory governments trying to negotiate bilateral agreements with several big EU countries, while Labour has promised to deepen relations with Europe if it wins the general election expected this year.
A YMS deal to make it easier for young people to work and travel abroad has frequently been touted as an easy step towards closer relations with the EU after Brexit. Here the Financial Times examines why such an offer is likely to be more complicated than it first appears.
What is a youth mobility scheme?
Schemes vary from country to country but typically provide people aged 18-35 with easily obtainable visas to live and work in a country for two or three years.
The UK has a youth mobility deal with more than 10 countries. Conditions differ between states but applicants can apply for a £298 visa lasting up to two years — providing they have savings of £2,530. They must also pay a £776 “surcharge” fee to be eligible to use the NHS.
Successful applicants can study, work and even set up a micro-business. But the scheme offers no right to residency or to bring over family members. Some countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, get unlimited places. Others, like Japan or Taiwan, face a cap, with applicants entering a ballot to win a chance to apply for a visa.
EU countries have similar schemes with other non-EU countries, which they negotiate bilaterally.
Why did the EU offer one to the UK?
Most EU countries want to widen access to the UK for their young people, which was curtailed by Brexit.
In recent years several EU member states, including Spain and Germany, have been tempted by the UK offer of a bilateral deal, but now have decided that youth mobility must be available to all member states equally.
Last week, the European Commission, which is in charge of UK talks, proposed an EU-wide deal, including ambitious demands that led some to speculate that it wanted to shut down the debate.
Particularly difficult for London will be giving EU young people free access to the NHS, and the idea that EU students should pay the same university fees as domestic counterparts — £9,250 annually, instead of two or three times that amount.
Despite the UK’s rejection of the outline offer, EU officials have insisted they are still open to negotiation. Commission officials said they were flexible but that the terms cannot be as good as those for UK citizens granted residency in an EU country.
Why did Rishi Sunak reject it?
The UK government ruled out an EU-wide youth mobility deal last Friday. “Free movement within the EU was ended [by Brexit] and there are no plans to introduce it,” a government spokesperson said.
Strikingly, the Tory government hardened its position after Labour rebuffed the proposal. The response suggested both parties view the idea as a vote-loser in a general election year.
However, Tory MPs are not opposed to the scheme in principle. Marcus Fysh, one of the original hardline Eurosceptic “Spartans”, said he was “not averse to making it easier for our young people to visit or work abroad”, as long as any deal avoided “onerous obligations and governance” measures.
Even the most ardent Brexiters have long held that the UK and EU should revisit the issue. In 2022, Lord David Frost, the former Brexit negotiator, said ministers should take another look at exchange programmes and youth mobility in general.
Why did Labour reject it?
After the EU’s announcement, the Labour leadership quickly issued a statement saying it had “no plans” to strike a youth mobility deal with the EU. An official explained the party saw such a deal as “synonymous with free movement”.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has drawn “red lines” on any reengagement with Europe, including staying outside the EU single market, which requires members to accept “free movement of people”, which gives unlimited rights to work, study and travel.
A senior Labour insider said the party had reacted so strongly to avoid a debate on freedom of movement ahead of the general election. The party is trying to win back traditional Labour seats that are pro-Brexit and voted Tory in 2019. “We can’t go back to old arguments,” they added.
However, the decision to so firmly rebuff the EU offer surprised and angered pro-EU elements in the party.
Stella Creasy, chair of the pro-EU Labour Movement for Europe group, wrote that the EU youth mobility offer was “clearly not freedom of movement” because it set conditions on the ability of participants to remain in the country.
Might an EU-wide YMS deal still happen?
The prospect is very unlikely under a Tory government but still possible if Labour changes tack after the general election when it is less worried about alienating voters who were pro-Brexit or concerned about levels of immigration.
Some senior Labour figures privately said the party is more open to a deal than its recent comment suggests, noting that “having no plans” is not the same as completely “ruling out”. Creasy added what matters is “a willingness to negotiate” and strike a compromise with Brussels.
An EU diplomat agreed: “It’s a negotiation, so to just say ‘no’ without entering the discussion would be a mistake and a missed opportunity.”
David Henig, a trade analyst and commentator, said that by outlining its offer the EU Commission had clearly implied there was a quid pro quo deal to be done.
“It shows the EU has now made this a priority in any future EU-UK deal. The UK will also have things it wants to achieve. So one can imagine a negotiation will happen — and that that doesn’t mean the UK accepting the full package.”