Verify
The right of young people to move freely between the UK and EU has emerged as a key negotiating point – along with fishing rights – ahead of a summit in London which the prime minister hopes will “reset” relations between the two sides.
Before Brexit, people were allowed to come and go under “freedom of movement” rules. The EU would like a new “youth mobility scheme” but there are concerns about what impact this might have on UK immigration numbers.
Fishing rights are another potential sticking point with the EU calling for an extension of the current post-Brexit deal, but UK fishing groups calling for changes to it.
Verify has been examining both issues and why they are important.
What are the rules on youth movement?
Since Brexit, UK and EU citizens no longer have an automatic right to live, work, or study in each other’s countries.
To come to the UK for an extended period, EU nationals usually need specific visas – many of which require a sponsor.
Following these new rules, there has been a significant drop in the number of EU students coming to the UK.
The UK does have an existing Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) which allows young adults to live, work and study in the UK for up to two years.
People from specific countries can apply but not from EU ones.
They have to pay an application fee, the health surcharge, and have at least £2,530 in savings. Unlike most other visa schemes, the YMS does not require sponsorship.
Last year, just over 24,000 YMS visas were issued – Australians were the largest single group, followed by New Zealanders and Canadians.
What impact could a UK/EU scheme have?
Just over a year ago, the EU proposed a “youth mobility scheme” for EU and UK citizens (aged 18 to 30), allowing stays of up to four years. The idea was rejected by the-then Conservative government.
It it is politically sensitive, given Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to “significantly” reduce immigration levels in the coming years.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has warned against “backsliding on freedom of movement”.
Documents circulated between EU states suggested any deal could be rebranded as a “youth experience” scheme, in an apparent bid to downplay any link to migration.
Madeleine Sumption from Oxford University’s Migration Observatory told Verify that a UK/EU youth mobility scheme would likely increase net migration in the short term, as new participants arrive.
However, she adds that if everyone left the UK when their visa expired, the long-term impact on migration levels would be minimal.
“If the UK is worried about the impact, it could phase in the scheme, where it gradually increases the quota. So as people leave, the quota could be raised rather than a big bang, all come at once,” she said.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is reportedly arguing for visas to be limited to one year so that EU citizens taking part do not show up in official immigration figures, with applications also subject to an overall cap.
Another consideration, Ms Sumption points out, is how many people would go home when their temporary visa comes to an end.
“Even on temporary visas, people do stay. They get a job offer and end up getting a skilled visa through their employer”, she says.
The Oxford Migration Observatory says about 10% of people who arrived on temporary worker visas in 2014 from Australia, Canada and New Zealand remained in the UK at the end of 2023.
What about fishing?
Fishing is another sensitive subject.
The post-Brexit deal on fishing rights – who gets to fish where – expires at the end of June 2026.
Several EU countries, including France, are asking the UK for concessions, in return for the things the UK wants from the summit.
They are pushing for a long-term extension of the current arrangements, agreed in 2020.
Fishing only accounts for an estimated 0.4% of UK GDP but it was a big issue in the Brexit campaign and promises were made that the UK would become an “independent coastal state”.
Under the Brexit deal in 2020 however, EU boats were given continued access to UK waters.
In 2023, UK vessels landed 719,000 tonnes of fish – an increase of 14% compared to 2019.
However, this growth has been driven by Scottish catches, while English fishing boats have seen a fall in their landings.
This is linked to the way in which fish quotas were divided up after Brexit, benefitting some areas.
At the same time, it has become harder for the UK to export fish to the EU due to post-Brexit paperwork and checks.
In 2023, the UK exported 235,606 tonnes of fish to the EU. That’s down 29% compared to the 2019 figure of 333,403 tonnes.
What do UK fishing groups want?
Chris Ranford, Chief Executive of the Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation (CFPO), represents 175 member vessels and says nothing much has changed, since Verify last spoke to him in 2022.
He says French vessels are still fishing off the Cornish coast: “Very modern, very high-powered French fishing vessels that have much greater catching capacity than the UK or Cornish boats come up to the six-mile line. We don’t have space to fish.”
For him, the number one priority for any future fishing deal is to stop EU vessels entering the stretch of coastal water that lies between six and 12 nautical miles offshore.
France has reportedly called for continued access to UK waters for its fishing boats, in exchange for a defence deal the UK is pushing for.
We asked the Maritime Fisheries Committee for Northern France for comment.
Another area of improvement Mr Ranford is calling for is easier access to EU markets.
“Our small to medium-sized businesses can’t afford to do the extra paperwork to get the fish to the EU market,” he said.
Elspeth Macdonald, who represents 450 fishing boats as Chief Executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, says: “The market access to the EU has become more bureaucratic.”
She says she is disappointed with the five-year fishing deal the UK signed up to.
“Our position approaching the EU reset… is that the access to each other’s waters would be on the basis of annual discussions”.
“By having that lever around access, the UK could secure a much fairer share of the resources in our own waters.”
There are strong opinions on both sides on fishing and youth mobility.
If the UK is to get what it wants from the summit, including easing the trade in agricultural goods between the UK and the EU, there will have to be some give and take in the coming days.
