The number of available places may be a key sticking point in ‘reset’ negotiations between London & Brussels.
The scheme is to enable 18–30-year-olds to reside and seek employment in each other’s countries. This is a pivotal part of London’s ‘reset’ negotiations with Brussels.
The UK’s proposal to cap the quantum placed on a youth mobility scheme to 50,000 annually may be a ‘non-starter’ as EU diplomats have warned that it may give smaller member states just a handful of visas.
The scheme to permit 18- to 30-year-olds to live and work in each other’s countries may be a pivotal part of the UK’s ‘reset’ negotiations with the EU. However, EU member states have complained about the UK’s desire to cap the number of places it may be offering EU citizens at 50,000 annually.
The precise volumes have not yet been finalized. The UK proposal may leave smaller EU countries that include UK security allies such as Estonia, besides Cyprus, with fewer than 200 visas. That’s if they were given in proportion to their share of the EU population.
A senior member state diplomat said that the UK’s share may fit into a London double-decker bus, adding that the proposal may be a non-starter, while many other countries felt likewise.
They added that their share may be less than the tiny states of San Marino beside Monaco. These two states already have separate deals with the UK, permitting 1,000 young citizens to move to the UK annually.
EU diplomats opined that the size of any scheme remained a key sticking point in negotiations between London & Brussels. This autumn, negotiators expected major gaps to bridge ahead of a summit to reset post-Brexit relations.
A second EU diplomat stated that quotas remain one of the unresolved issues.
They added that smaller member states were also seeking a larger share of any total from the European Commission (EC). One idea may be a minimum number for each member state regardless of size.
