Hopes for an agreement on a EU-UK youth mobility scheme were re-ignited following recent remarks by the UK's Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds.
In a speech on Wednesday, covering the UK's future relationship with the bloc, Thomas-Symonds said he was "very excited" for the future scheme, claiming it will be "fantastic", as reported by The Guardian.
The official agreement to develop the scheme came as one of the key outcomes of the first post-Brexit UK-EU Summit back in May.
The initiative is set to make it easier for young people in the EU (reportedly between 18 and 30 years old) to travel, work, and live in the UK, and vice versa, for a limited period of time.
However, since its announcement, few details about the “youth experience scheme” or the state of negotiations have been communicated.
The European Commission elaborated in May that “the scheme should include a dedicated visa pathway, with the overall number of participants to be mutually agreed.”
Additionally, the UK made it “clear that any scheme should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes including participants having no access to benefits and no right to bring dependents,” according to an explainer published on the British government’s website following the UK-EU Summit.
The proposed scheme reportedly takes inspiration from the UK’s Youth Mobility Scheme Visa. This allows eligible participants to live and work in the country for up to 3 years, depending on their nationality. It is open to young people (between 18 and 30 or 35 years old) from 11 countries, including Australia and New Zealand.
According to The Financial Times, Thomas-Symonds explained last week that the initiative is up for negotiations and that the “numbers will be in the context” of existing schemes.
The Brussels Times contacted the European Commission for comment, but has yet to receive a response as of the time of publishing.
