«Freedom of movement among young people ended with Brexit»: London rejects the EU proposal

LONDON – There will be no agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union on the freedom of movement of young people aged between 18 and 30. Rishi Sunak’s government nipped it in the bud the initiative proposed by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenalthough with the Windsor agreement signed in February 2023, relations between the EU and Great Britain have become “more constructive”.

If the Commission intended to contact the leaders of the member countries to discuss the project and bring forward a collective agreement, the London executive took a step back, although it underlined that it remained open to bilateral programs with individual countries. «Freedom of movement ended with Brexit», specified a spokesperson. “We will not introduce a youth mobility scheme that applies to all countries of the Union.”

The UK already has an agreement with ten countriesincluding Australia, New Zealand and Canada, a 24-month concessional visa for those young people between 18 and 30 (or 35, depending on nationality) who have at least £2,530 in savings (approximately 2,900 euros).

The Sunak government would have paved the way for negotiations to reach a similar agreement with some European countries, in particular France. It is to avoid the differential treatment of European citizens that the Commission has proposed a single agreement with the Union: an option which, however, is not of interest to London. For now, even the Labor Party, which is ahead, according to the polls, and could soon come into government, has pulled back. “There are no plans for a youth mobility programme,” a spokesperson said.

With Brexit, immigration to Great Britain has changed radically: the numbers remain high – 1.2 million arrivals in the 12 months up to June 2023 – but only 129,000 European citizens have moved to Great Britain, while the majority, 968,000 people, came from other countries.

April 20, 2024

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