UK-EU Youth Mobility Scheme May Be Delayed Before 20 November Summit
Diplomats say a six-month deferral could help Andy Burnham secure a successful reset summit, while visa quotas, tuition fees and NHS charges remain unresolved
By AXY Politics Desk ·
Key points
- EU diplomats say the youth mobility scheme deadline could be pushed back six months to help Andy Burnham’s 20 November reset summit succeed.
- The UK still wants a cap of about 50,000 a year on EU citizens under the YES visa, while some member states want 100,000 to 500,000 or no cap.
- The UK insists on a £1,035 NHS surcharge and international tuition fees for EU students, although a 25% discount has been suggested for the surcharge.
- Food and drink trade and emissions trading talks are almost complete, while energy market talks will continue after the summit.
A deadline for a youth mobility scheme between the EU and the UK could be pushed back by six months, diplomats have said, in an effort to give Andy Burnham a successful “reset” summit on 20 November. EU ambassadors in Brussels heard on Wednesday that the UK was still insisting on international tuition fees, visa quotas and an NHS surcharge for EU students. That position has fuelled fears the summit could fail, just as the prime minister is promising to unveil a new vision for Britain’s long-term relationship with the EU.
The Youth Scheme at the Centre of the Talks
The scheme is known as the youth experience scheme, or YES. It is a reciprocal arrangement designed to let under-30s from both sides work, travel or study in each other’s countries. For young people, it is the most concrete part of the reset.
The reason it matters now is simple. Britain left the EU single market and customs union at the end of 2020, after the 2016 referendum. Since then, almost every link between the two sides, from trade in goods to the movement of people, has had to be rebuilt through negotiation. The UK also left the Erasmus+ student exchange programme after Brexit, so the easy student mobility many young people once took for granted has largely disappeared. The YES scheme is an attempt to bring some of that back in a new form.
According to diplomats, the deadline for the scheme could be moved by six months. The aim, as described, is to protect the summit itself. A delay on this one file would take pressure off a meeting that both sides want to look like a success. The cost would fall on the young people who were expecting the scheme to start on the original timetable.
The Three Sticking Points: Quotas, Fees and the NHS Charge
Sources say the UK continues to push for a cap of about 50,000 a year on the number of EU citizens allowed into the country for work, travel or study under the proposed YES visas. Some EU member states want a much higher limit, between 100,000 and 500,000. Others want no cap at all. The gap is wide. A cap of 50,000 would be half of the lowest figure some member states have floated, and far below the top of that range.
The UK also wants anyone on a YES visa to pay the £1,035 NHS surcharge. The charge is meant to cover possible visits to a doctor or hospital during a stay. It is understood that a 25% discount has been suggested, which would reduce the charge by a quarter. Even with a discount, it is a real upfront cost for a young person who is planning a year abroad on a modest budget. It is also a point where the UK’s position and the EU’s expectations have not yet met.
The quota and charge issues are closely linked to the question of who the scheme is for. A low cap limits how many young people can take part. A full charge makes the scheme more expensive to join. Diplomats have not yet agreed on a package that balances the two, and that is one reason the file has stalled.
Why Tuition Fees Are the Hardest Issue
Tuition fees are, in the words of the reporting, the thorniest problem. UK universities are pressing the Labour government to keep full international fees for EU citizens. Those fees can run to £69,190 a year at Oxford. For a student from another European country, that figure is far above what most home students pay, and it shows why universities want to protect the income.
For the government, the question is harder. Lower fees for EU students would make the scheme more attractive and easier to sell to young people. But it would also cut into university budgets, and the government would have to explain why EU students should pay less than international students from elsewhere. That tension is one reason the tuition question has not moved, even as other parts of the talks have.
The result is that the summit is being asked to settle an issue that sits between education policy, immigration rules and the public finances of universities. None of those can be resolved quickly in a single meeting.
Where the Food, Farming and Carbon Talks Stand
Not every part of the reset is stuck. Negotiations on a food and drink trade deal and on the emissions trading system are almost complete. The emissions trading system is the carbon market in which polluters must hold permits for the greenhouse gases they release. Bringing the UK and EU systems closer together would reduce friction for businesses that operate across the border.
The food and drink deal includes a request from the National Farmers’ Union, the main lobby for farmers in England and Wales. Sources say there is near-agreement that crops grown using fungicides not yet approved in the EU could be sold in the bloc under a transition arrangement within the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement. That agreement covers food safety and plant health rules, and fungicides are chemicals used to protect crops from disease. A transition arrangement would give farmers time to adjust rather than face an abrupt change.
These agreements are close, which is why diplomats are looking at whether the youth scheme should be separated from them. If the scheme is held back, the food and carbon deals could still move forward on their own timetable.
Why the Three Issues May Be Split Apart
Diplomats described a split in the bloc over how to handle the talks. One said: “A lot of member states were in favour of keeping the trio of issues together and not breaking the agenda up, but there are others that think it is acceptable to decouple them and there is no agreement yet on which approach to take.” The trio appears to refer to the youth scheme alongside the food and drink deal and the emissions trading system, although the source does not spell that out.
Keeping the issues together gives the EU more leverage, because the UK would have to make concessions on several fronts at once. Splitting them off lets the finished deals be signed sooner, but it removes some of that leverage. The choice is therefore about how much weight to put on the youth scheme in the final package.
Energy Market Talks Will Run Past 20 November
A fourth issue is the reintegration of the UK into the EU’s energy market. Talks on that will continue after 20 November, as expected. More time is needed to resolve significant barriers that have emerged. Two of them are named in the reporting: state aid, which is the government subsidy support that EU rules tightly control, and oversight frameworks, including a role for the European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court.
The court question is politically sensitive. Any role for it in UK affairs has been a dividing line since Brexit, and it is likely to be one of the harder questions in the energy talks. This is AXY’s reading of the issue rather than a position stated in the source. For now, the summit is expected to leave energy unresolved.
What a Six-Month Delay Would Mean for Young People
For a young person hoping to work, study or travel between the UK and EU, a six-month delay would mean waiting longer for a scheme that is not yet in place. It would not change the terms of the scheme on its own, but it would push back the date on which those terms could start to apply. Anyone planning a move around the original timetable would have to wait.
The delay would also give negotiators more time on the open questions: the visa cap, the NHS charge and university fees. Those are the issues where a gap of 50,000 against 500,000 leaves little room for a quick deal. Whether six months is enough remains an open question.
The next test is the summit on 20 November. Before then, diplomats say the bloc has not decided whether to keep the issues together or split them. The prime minister’s plan for a new long-term relationship will also be judged on whether the youth scheme moves forward. If the deadline does shift, it will be the clearest sign yet that both sides see the scheme as the hardest part of the reset.
Questions and answers
Why could the UK-EU youth mobility scheme be delayed?
Diplomats have said the deadline could be deferred by six months to help ensure the 20 November reset summit is a success. The UK is still insisting on international tuition fees, visa quotas and an NHS surcharge for EU students, which has raised fears the summit could fail.
What is the youth experience scheme (YES)?
The youth experience scheme is a proposed reciprocal arrangement that would let under-30s from the UK and the EU work, travel or study in each other’s countries. Talks on it remain deadlocked.
How much is the NHS surcharge for EU students under the proposal?
The UK is insisting that YES visa holders pay the £1,035 NHS surcharge. It is understood that a 25% discount has been suggested.
When is the UK-EU reset summit?
The reset summit is scheduled for 20 November. Energy market talks are expected to continue after that date.
Topics: UK-EU relations, Youth mobility scheme, Andy Burnham, Brexit reset, YES visa, Tuition fees, NHS surcharge
Sources: The Guardian Politics