Is the EU youth mobility scheme going to happen?

Well-sourced reports suggest that the government is willing to introduce a one in, one out” youth mobility scheme in partnership with the European Union. The idea would be that people aged 18 to 30 could travel to the UK on a work or educational visa, on a time-limited basis, and with reciprocity for their British counterparts.

- SEAN O'GRADY

It’s an idea that’s been discussed and periodically dismissed for some time, but with an EU-UK “Brexit reset” summit approaching next month, it could be that its time has come...

Why now?

As recently as February, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, insisted in the House of Commons that such a scheme “is not our plan, and we are clear that net migration needs to come down”. What’s different now, perhaps, is that the EU has agreed to impose a quota on the scheme – a rumoured figure of 70,000 people – and a time limit of one year for the visas; and that, therefore, Cooper was prepared to consider the idea more seriously.

It also seems No 10 is exerting pressure to agree the youth mobility scheme in an effort to secure much more important concessions from the EU Commission on trade barriers, and from other European national leaders on defence, security and the “Coalition of the Willing” in Ukraine.

Why only a one-year visa?

Because it means that the flow (in both directions) wouldn’t inflate or otherwise distort the highly sensitive net migration figures. A relatively short visit also means that the scheme is less likely to be abused – or to be perceived, by its opponents, as being abused.

What are the objections?