{"id":53713,"date":"2025-04-27T03:11:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T03:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/53713\/"},"modified":"2025-04-27T03:11:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T03:11:15","slug":"mps-call-for-youth-visa-scheme-to-create-closer-relationship-with-eu-post-brexit-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/53713\/","title":{"rendered":"MPs call for youth visa scheme to create closer relationship with EU post-Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 60 Labour<\/a> MPs and peers are pushing for a post-Brexit<\/a> youth mobility scheme with the EU, adding to growing pressure on the government to rethink its approach to cross-Channel relations.<\/p>\n

In a letter to Labour\u2019s shadow foreign secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds<\/a>, 62 MPs and 11 peers called for a “new and bespoke youth visa scheme” for UK and EU citizens under 30. This move aligns with EU proposals and Keir Starmer<\/a>\u2019s broader strategy of resetting the often-fraught relationship with the bloc.<\/p>\n

The proposal suggests a potential shift in Labour’s Brexit policy, pushing the importance of facilitating cultural exchange and opportunities for young people in the wake of the UK’s departure.<\/p>\n

The letter\u2019s signatories argue that such a scheme would benefit both British and European youth, fostering closer ties and addressing some of the challenges posed by Brexit.<\/p>\n

The government’s response to this internal pressure, and the EU’s willingness to engage, will be key to determining the future of youth mobility between the UK and Europe.<\/p>\n

Ministers have so far resisted calls for a youth mobility scheme, with opposition to a return to freedom of movement one of the Government\u2019s \u201cred lines\u201d.<\/p>\n

Asked on Wednesday whether such a scheme was off the table, Chancellor Rachel Reeves<\/a> told LBC: \u201cThose discussions with our colleagues and allies in the European Union are ongoing at the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made a clear manifesto commitment to bring down net migration and for no return to free movement within the European Union.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important that we determine who comes into our country and those things are not up for negotiation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sir<\/p>\n

Sir Keir Starmer shakes hands with Ursula von der Leyen in front of UK and EU flags (PA)<\/p>\n

In their letter, the MPs and peers said any youth mobility scheme should be in line with the UK\u2019s existing arrangements with countries such as Australia and Canada, with a time limit on visas and a cap on numbers.<\/p>\n

They said: \u201cA bespoke scheme would extend new cultural, educational and economic opportunities to young people in the UK without returning to free movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group also called for deeper collaboration with the EU on defence, a deal on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures to reduce border checks on food products, both of which are in line with Government policy, among other suggestions.<\/p>\n

Andrew Lewin, Labour MP for Welwyn Hatfield and one of the signatories of the letter, said: \u201cThe Government committed to a stronger partnership with the EU in our manifesto. We have a mandate for change and a chance to strike a deal to reduce the burdens on business and be a catalyst for economic growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany assumptions about global trade have been thrown into doubt in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is certain is that the UK will be in a stronger position if we can negotiate a closer deal with the EU, which remains our single largest trading partner.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter comes as Sir Keir prepares to meet European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday ahead of a UK-EU summit planned for May 19.<\/p>\n

The MPs said next month\u2019s summit \u201ccreates a significant opportunity to build a stronger, safer country and for our European partners to strengthen their own prosperity and security\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 60 Labour MPs and peers are pushing for a post-Brexit youth mobility scheme with the EU,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5226],"tags":[802,748,2000,299,5187,1699,4884,807,28651,28650,16,15,1220,25849],"class_list":{"0":"post-53713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brexit","8":"tag-brexit","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-european","13":"tag-european-union","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-keir-starmer","16":"tag-shadow-foreign-secretary","17":"tag-the-eu","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom","20":"tag-ursula-von-der-leyen","21":"tag-youth-mobility-scheme"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114407740866168220","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}