Read the paper here.

Many of the changes stemming from the UK's post-Brexit relationship with the EU have disproportionately affected young people, impacting their educational and employment opportunities. At the same time, many small businesses have found it more difficult to recruit staff, especially in the hospitality industry and those sectors reliant on seasonal labour. Currently UK citizens may only spend up to 90 days in any 180 day period in an EU country without requiring a visa (and the same restrictions apply to EU citizens in the UK).

Outside the EU, the UK has youth mobility schemes in place with 13 countries, from Australia to Uruguay. These schemes usually allow 18 to 30 years old individuals to reside and work in each country on a strictly time-limited, commonly for up to two years. The schemes broaden the experiences of young people and provide a flexible resource for employers. 

There is strong interest from the EU in putting in place a similar reciprocal programme between the UK and the EU. The recent EU-UK Summit in May resulted in a declaration of a Common Understanding which said that the UK and the EU will conclude “a balanced youth experience scheme on terms to be mutually agreed,” which would “facilitate the participation if young people from the European Union and the United Kingdom in various activities such as work, studies, au-pairing, volunteering or simply travelling for a limited period of time”.

Such a scheme would bring advantages to British people and businesses, while in itself directly benefiting the UK. However, the UK Government continues to hesitate and prevaricate on the youth mobility issue. Its opposition appears to arise from a fear of being seen to restore free movement, which would not be the case given that the programme would be restricted to one age group, subject to fixed-term visas and potentially capped at a maximum of 50,000 EU citizens a year.

The Conservative European Forum calls on the Government to seek an agreement on youth mobility with the EU as part of a clear strategy for the future of the UK-EU relationship.