The European Economic and Social Committee, a mission committed to European integration, has urged the EU to reach an agreement with the UK on reciprocal free movement for young people.
The Committee has already put forward a proposal on the matter, requiring the authorities to give back the opportunity to those under 30 to travel freely between the UK and EU post-Brexit.
More specifically, on the proposal, the Committee urged for the reintegration of the UK into the Erasmus programme which permits students from participating countries to study abroad under advantageous conditions, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
As the Independent explains, the Erasmus programme has permitted around 200,000 young Brits to study in different universities in the EU countries without additional costs.
However, following Brexit, the UK left the Erasmus programme too, making it more difficult and expensive for its youngsters to reach the EU countries for study purposes.
Taking into account the disadvantages that the young people of the UK have been facing so far, the Committee wants both the UK and the EU to look deeper into the possibility of negotiating a youth mobility partnership.
Speaking for the Independent, the UK Young Ambassador to the European Youth Forum, Maurizio Cuttin, said that the exit of the UK from the Erasmus programme has been a devastating loss.
He further stressed that the UK government has responsibilities towards its young people and should be focused on providing opportunities for them that help unlock their potential and a prosperous future.
Young Brits Have Been “Robbed” From the Opportunity to Have Irreplaceable Experiences, Chief Executive of Brest for Britain Said
Additionally, commenting on the initiative whose main aim is to provide relief to those under the age of 30 in the UK who were unable to study and work in the EU before Brexit, the Chief Executive of campaign group Best for Britain, Naomi Smith, said that “the planets are aligning.”
Smith further emphasised that this is the perfect chance for the government to make it up to its young citizens who were “robbed” of once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
In case the youth mobility agreement between the UK and the EU is signed, Brits will not be the only ones benefiting from it. Facilitated rules will also apply to young EU citizens wanting to enter the UK for study purposes.
Just recently, EU Commissioner Iliana Ivanona said that it would ask the UK to facilitate the visa procedures as well as lower the visa costs for EU scientists.
According to her, the UK risks losing some of its Horizon Europe research programme benefits in case it continues to keep strict rules in place.
