The EU is continuing to resist UK demands for a hard cap on the number of visas for under-30s to live and work overseas in the Brexit reset talks.
Brussels is demanding an uncapped ‘youth experience’ deal but with a form of ’emergency brake’ that would allow either side to stop issuing visas if the number of people accessing the scheme is too high.
But the UK is demanding a hard limit as it tries to deal with voter concerns following record net migration to the UK under the last Conservative government.
The scheme is intended to be reciprocal, allowing young Britons to live, study and work in Europe and vice-versa.
The Home Office and Foreign Office are likely to reject making any concessions over a hard cap due to fears voters would view it as opening the door to more immigration, The i Paper understands.
This comes despite exclusive polling suggesting that British voters would be willing to accept more Europeans coming to the UK in return for improved trade with the EU.
Nearly half of voters (45 per cent) said they would support closer economic ties with the EU if it involved allowing more Europeans to live and work in the UK, and Britain paying into Brussels budgets, according to a BMG Research survey for The i Paper. Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) are opposed.
Labour’s 2024 voters are overwhelmingly supportive of making it easier for EU citizens to come to the UK (63 per cent) in return for closer economic ties, with just 14 per cent opposed to the idea.
However, the impasse over the cap and EU demands for the UK to cut student fees for Europeans accessing the youth mobility deal is threatening progress in Brexit reset negotiations, which also includes talks on economy-boosting deals on food and drink trade and aligning carbon taxes.
Negotiators are aiming to conclude talks on all three deals in time for the next UK-EU summit, scheduled for around June or July, but the two sides appear to remain some way apart on youth mobility. The UK is said to favour a cap of 45,000 visas – similar to the limit for Australians on working holiday visas.
An EU source said Brussels negotiators are pushing for the youth experience scheme to have no hard cap on numbers but instead “a monitoring system to ensure both sides are equally satisfied with the way the scheme is operating.”
This would allow either side to stop issuing visas if there was a belief the number of under-30s accessing the scheme and travelling to either the UK or EU was getting too high.
“It’s about the management of flows rather than an upfront number,” the source said.
“This is not a migration scheme.”
Stella Creasy, chair of the Labour Movement for Europe, suggested the UK Government should be prepared to make concessions on the numbers of young people who will be allowed to get a visa.
“This is a deal that will bring back freedoms young Brits from all backgrounds lost with Brexit, as well as boosting growth.
“It’s a win-win, and the government should see its purpose of travel, not the number of young people, that matters – that should guide their approach to get the deal over the line.”
A UK Government spokeswoman said: “We will not give a running commentary on ongoing talks.
“We are working together with the EU to create a balanced youth experience scheme which will create new opportunities for young people to live, work, study and travel.
“Any final scheme must be time-limited, capped and will be based on our existing youth mobility schemes, which do not include access to home tuition fee status.”
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