British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is opening new negotiations this week in Brussels to reach agreements with the EU which will mitigate the damage of Brexit without too much irritating the minority most in favor of British isolation. On the table, study and work visas for those under 30.
The new Labor government and the European Commission are negotiating a new mechanism to allow young Europeans to live for a limited time in the UK to learn English or work, and for Britons to do the same in the EU country of their choice.
Starmer will visit Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday in what he called an “important meeting” following previous work by his foreign minister and EU secretary of state to “reboot” relationships.
The previous Conservative government in April rejected the Commission’s proposal to create a mobility mechanism which would involve granting visas to people aged 18 to 30 to stay in the UK for up to four years so that They can live, study or work as when the country was a member of the EU. Now, for a European to move to the UK, it is necessary for an employer to hire them and process a visa related to that business or for an educational institution to host them. The Labor Party, then in opposition and already campaigning for the legislative elections, also rejected the agreement under these conditions.
Starmer reiterated in New York last week that there would be no “youth mobility mechanism” with the EU that could mean a return to freedom of movement. But the British government and EU officials suggest a pact is possible with a name change and a less ambitious proposal. The UK has already concluded similar agreements with Australia, Canada, Japan, Andorra, Uruguay or Taiwan, but none with EU countries.
“A sabbatical year”
In an attempt to reassure the most extremists who mark the public debate and part of the media, the EU ambassador to the United Kingdom, Pedro Serrano, stressed last Thursday that the proposed mechanism did not imply the reopening of borders.
“Some people mix this with issues related to immigration and mobility. It has nothing to do with that. It’s about making sure our young people continue to come together to get to know each other… There’s a lot of interest in language learning in the UK… and if we have a mechanism which allows young British people to take a gap year in one of the 27 EU states to learn a little… why not? ” Serrano said in an interview with Times Radio. “You have to see things like that. If people want to stay and work afterwards, it’s a totally different process. It would be limited in time, it would be ad hominemperson to person… It’s a mechanism that helps societies continue to maintain close relationships as they should be.
The Times Radio reporter asked him about “some people’s” concerns about “opening the door to freedom of movement, which is something a lot of people don’t like about being a member of the EU”. “I think it’s a misunderstanding,” responded Serrano, who also said he was receiving more complaints from Britons who suffer from the queues, prices and other obstacles that now exist when ‘they travel to the continent. “In reality, people want to settle in Europe more easily, not more difficult. »
The majority of the population, including some Conservative voters and those who voted for Brexit, believe that their country’s exit from the EU has brought more harm than benefit, according to the latest data from the YouGov survey institute from August. If the referendum were repeated, only a minority would say they would vote against returning to the EU.
But the Starmer government refused to reopen this debate for fear of a political blockage, despite a record majority in the House of Commons. Even part of his party, more to the left, is more reluctant towards the EU, and the Conservative party is marked by competition from Nigel Farage’s far-right party and by the position against any approach to the EU. EU media like the Telegraph and the Daily Mail.
Yet even some Conservative Party leaders recognize the negative effects of leaving the EU. Party favorite Kemi Badenoch cited Brexit a few days ago as an example of a decision that the preservatives “without weighing the consequences.”
Difficult negotiations for the Europeans
At his first EU summit, held in July at the palace near Oxford where Winston Churchill was born, Starmer promised to “reset” relations with the EU. Since then, contacts have already taken place between London and Brussels on specific subjects, British sources tell the newspaper. The Independent that Europeans “are very good at negotiating, they are tough”, but there is a “positive atmosphere”.
Some countries, such as Germany, are particularly favorable to the youth mechanism, and the United Kingdom, although it claims to see no particular interest in it, can benefit from an agreement to reduce trade barriers, which have collapsed since Brexit and continue to fall. The UK is also interested in security and defense deals, albeit bilateral with countries like Germany, and migration deals with neighbors like France.
Starmer hopes to bring forward minor adjustments such as the mobility deal – or “gap year” – designed for a segment of the population for a limited period, but at the same time achieve his goal of reducing net migration, i.e. -say the difference between people who leave and those who arrive in the country.
The Labor Prime Minister assured a few days ago in an interview on BBC Radio 4 that he would not “tolerate” employers continuing to hire people from outside the United Kingdom “year after year” instead of training and hire more local people. His government says it does not want to put obstacles in the way of businessmen, but that it will “monitor” the sectors that depend most on foreign workers. In the UK, there is a labor shortage, particularly in the healthcare, transport, hospitality, agriculture and construction sectors. In the United Kingdom, unemployment is residual, around 4%, but millions more people are on sick leave or not looking for work.
Immigration continues to be one of the main topics of political debate, which is why the British government and the European Commission are trying to separate it from the possible deal they will discuss this week.
“Fear of immigration is a major problem not only in this country, but also in Europe. We will see how to manage this together, but it has nothing to do with the youth mechanism. It’s something very different and people need to understand that… Those who are parents who have kids of college age, or college age or want a little adventure, might understand it well,” said Ambassador Serrano. “I think the media needs to report more rigorously, that would help. »
