(Bloomberg) — The UK government rejected the European Union’s proposal to negotiate a post-Brexit deal for young adults to move across the Channel more easily.
“We are not introducing an EU-wide Youth Mobility Scheme – free movement within the EU was ended and there are no plans to introduce it,” a government spokesperson said late Friday. They added it was only open to agreeing such schemes with individual EU member states “where it’s in the UK’s interest and supports the skills and opportunities of our youth.”
While it was unlikely that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who supported Brexit and is under pressure from his own Conservative Party to reduce migration, would back such a proposal, it could help frame discussion for a potential Labour government after the upcoming UK election.
Under the proposed agreement, the bloc’s executive body said EU and UK citizens between 18 to 30 years would be allowed to stay in the destination country for as long as four years. The EU Commission’s proposal is still yet to be approved by its member states.
The number of students and temporary workers coming from the EU to the UK has fallen drastically after a majority of the British population voted “yes” in the referendum of 2016. The slump left restaurants and other hospitality businesses, particularly in London, short of the steady stream of workers that they relied on.
The UK currently has youth mobility arrangements with 13 countries including Australia, Canada and Japan.
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