In April, the EU put forward proposals for a UK-EU youth mobility scheme but these were rejected by the previous UK Government and the UK Labour Party while in opposition. Now, the new Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, David Lammy MP, is looking to reset the relationship with Europe, but the UK in a Changing Europe suggests “any ‘reset’ is likely to include negotiations on youth mobility, a priority for the EU side”.
This article outlines the EU’s proposals and the reaction of the former and current UK governments. It also provides an overview of the Welsh and UK governments’ post-Brexit international exchange programmes.
European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
The EESC is the EU’s civil society advisory body.
In April, the EU adopted the EESC’s report on youth engagement, which recommended that the European Commission (“the Commission”) approach the UK to negotiate a reciprocal youth mobility partnership. Throughout 2023, the former UK Government approached individual EU Member States to negotiate bilateral arrangements but the Commission said this would result in “differential treatment of Union nationals” and “would not address the main barriers to mobility experienced by young people since the end of the [Brexit] transition period”.
The EESC also called for the Commission “to strengthen negotiations with the UK for the full reintegration of the UK into Erasmus+”. In a Q&A on the proposal to open negotiations with the UK, the Commission revealed that the former UK Government had “not expressed an interest in rejoining Erasmus+ or Creative Europe”.
EU proposal
In April, the Commission published details of its youth mobility proposals for those aged between 18-30 to stay in their destination country for up to four years. Before the Commission could open negotiations, the former UK Government and the UK Labour Party (when in opposition) rejected the proposal on the grounds that freedom of movement had ended. In its general election manifesto, UK Labour pledged that “there will be no return to the single market, the customs union, or freedom of movement”.
However, in an article for UK in a Changing Europe, Professor Catherine Barnard said the EU’s proposal:
…falls far short of free movement because it only allows individuals to come for a limited period and does not allow them to settle in the UK or EU member state.
International exchange programmes
The drop down sections below outline two international exchange programmes, the UK Government’s Turing Scheme and the Welsh Government’s Taith, which were intended as successors to Erasmus+.
In 2021, the former UK Government introduced the Turing Scheme, which funds universities, colleges and schools in the UK and British Overseas Territories to provide international placements for students. Funding results for academic year 2023-24 showed the scheme received 619 applications from organisations, with 11 of those applications coming from Wales. There was a total of 1,355 participants in Wales, with 45% of those coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, compared to the UK average of 60%.
The Welsh Government launched Taith in 2022 , which offers exchange opportunities across adult education, further and higher education, schools and youth work. Then Education Minister, Kirsty Williams MS, said that Taith was to
fill the gaps Turing leaves, including, crucially, the commitment to long-term funding, the retention of the principle of two-way exchanges and the inclusion of youth work
In October 2023, the Welsh Government reported that Taith had enabled over 11,000 people to take part in learning exchange trips. However, the Welsh Government has reduced Taith’s funding from £8.1m to £6.5m for 2024-25.
The EESC’s report says Taith was “relatively successful in providing mobility opportunities for Welsh and EU students”. However, evidence provided to the Senedd’s Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport and International Relations Committee (the Culture Committee) by the British Council said there is still demand in Wales for money to be put into Erasmus+ “in terms of scale of networks and funding”, if the option were available.
Creative workers
The EESC’s report also encouraged the Commission to engage with the UK to address mobility barriers for creative professionals.
The issue of creative workers working cross-border is central to the Culture Committee’s inquiry on culture and the new relationship with the EU, and there is widespread support to ease mobility for creative workers among respondents. Many, including Welsh National Opera and Wales Arts International, believe that current restrictions have disproportionately affected younger and emerging artists.
The First Minister, Vaughan Gething MS, also told the Committee that post-Brexit arrangements for touring artists are “a real issue and a real barrier”.
Baroness Deborah Bull, a UK delegate on the joint UK-European parliament, the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly (PPA), said youth mobility could alleviate barriers faced by emerging creative workers.
Referring to the UK-EU PPA recommendation on touring artists, she said:
I think a youth mobility visa that allowed […] younger artists freedom to move and work in the EU would be great […] We noted that the UK has some youth mobility arrangements, so there is precedent for it, and that indeed the EU has these arrangements with other countries.
Looking ahead
The EESC report described the UK’s decision to leave Erasmus+ as “the definitive issue impacting the EU-UK relationship in the field of youth”. It said initiatives, such as Taith and the Turing Scheme could be used to “complement rather than replace Erasmus+”.
The new UK Government, in its initial rejection of the EU’s youth mobility proposals and its manifesto commitment to maintain the end of freedom of movement, signalled there could be no immediate return to such a scheme.
However, the EESC did point to the upcoming Trade and Cooperation Agreement implementation review, due by May 2026, as “an opportunity to address these issues”. Two of Welsh Government’s priorities for the review are to:
- address issues relating to mobility of workers and provision of services, such as the new barriers faced by touring artists; and
- explore “options to re-join EU programmes such as Erasmus and Creative Europe”.
The extent to which these priorities can address the issues discussed here will be a key feature of UK-EU relations in the months ahead.
Article by Madelaine Phillips, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
