The Labour government is reported to be open to a fresh look at proposals to open negotiations on youth mobility between the UK and EU.
The EU made the offer in the spring, but at the time both the Conservative government and Labour said they were not interested in such a deal with the whole EU, which they considered looked too much like a return to free movement.
However, UK government sources told The Times, "No one will say it publicly at this stage, but there is an acknowledgement that this is an area where we will need to move."
The source also stated: "If we are serious about resetting relations with the EU then we need to be prepared to give them some of the things that they want."
Another source said that Keir Starmer's government was ready to "listen to what the EU had to say on the issue" - though a return to full free movement remained a "red line".
Other related issues are thought to include the possibility of the UK rejoining the EU's Erasmus study exchange scheme, or the question of whether EU students could be allowed to pay lower 'home' fees in UK universities again.
In a dedicated page on its website, the Commission laid out its proposed objectives for a mobility deal which would “facilitate youth exchanges, making it easier for young EU citizens to travel, work and live in the UK, with reciprocity for young UK nationals in a Member State”.
Mobility between the UK and the EU has dropped after the UK withdrew from the EU, the Commission said, adding that this has “particularly affected opportunities for young people”.
What are the current rules?
The Withdrawal Agreement protects the rights of EU citizens and UK citizens who had residency in the UK or in an EU member state on December 31, 2020 (if they had exercised their right to free movement under EU free movement law when it still applied).
The freedom of movement and residency of people after December 31, 2020, is not covered by this.
Read also: Does a French residency card allow you free movement in the EU?
As a result, permitted travel is governed on the one hand by UK immigration and borders rules, and on the other the EU's Schengen area rules or national immigration laws in countries such as France.
Britons can therefore come to France visa-free for only 90 days in any 180-day period, and EU citizens can go to the UK for stays of up to six months. Short study courses are possible in these periods, but work is not usually permitted.
For longer study, or for work, it is necessary to undertake costly and time-consuming visa and residency card procedures.
Those wishing to take up employed work must also be supported by an employer, who must obtain a work permit for them and face additional taxes for employing a foreign worker.
What would the new reciprocal agreement include?
The agreement, which has yet to be confirmed and is only at proposal stage, would:
Apply to both EU and UK citizens aged between 18 to 30 years
Allow eligible people to stay for up to four years in one destination country
Not be “purpose-bound”, e.g. eligible people would be able to undertake different activities during that period, such as studying, training, working or travelling (however, the conditions enabling their travel must continue to be met throughout their stay, see below)
The agreement would not be subject to a quota system.
The EU Commission has also said that an agreement would need to be reached at EU level, rather than a series of “parallel bilateral deals” between individual states, which would not “guarantee that each Member State would be treated equally”.
Students and trainees championed
The agreement would seek to remove as many barriers for students and trainees as possible in addition, the Commission said.
“For instance, it would aim at ensuring that EU citizens can undertake traineeships in the UK, even when those traineeships are connected to studies in the EU,” the website states.
“It would also provide for equal treatment (i.e., non-discrimination) between EU and UK citizens in respect of higher education tuition fees.”
However, the reciprocal agreement would not replace “existing paths for entry and stay” between the UK and EU, the Commission said, such as existing visa or permit options. It would “coexist” with other arrangements, it said.
Similarly, the new agreement would not replace the current rules on the Erasmus+ or Creative Europe schemes, to which the UK is no longer part.
However, “should the UK express [an interest] to associate to Erasmus+, the Commission remains open to look into this process together with our UK counterparts”, it said.
Read also: EU proposes talks with UK for easy work and study for under-30s
Travel conditions agreement
People would need to fulfil all conditions for the mobility to take place, and these conditions must continue to be met throughout the four years of the person’s travel, the Commission states.
Conditions would require eligible people to have:
Even with these conditions, travel under the agreement would not be guaranteed.
The agreement would also “set the relevant grounds for rejection of applications such as threats to public policy, public security or public health”, the Commission states.
Nor would the agreement be “about conferring to young UK nationals the benefits of the fundamental freedom of movement enjoyed by EU citizens”, the Commission states. “At the time when the UK was a Member State, UK nationals had the right to move and reside freely within the EU. This is not reinstated,” it said.
The agreement would also not affect the person’s ability to travel within the Schengen area and EU Member States under the existing 90 in 180 days rule. These rules would remain the same.
Read also: UK rejects EU’s youth mobility offer citing ‘free movement’ concerns
