British media reported over the weekend that Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has discussed with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer the possibility of a 'youth mobility scheme'.
Both The Guardian and The Telegraph have reported that Sánchez raised the idea during a meeting at the European Political Community summit hosted at in the UK recently.
Starmer reportedly told Sánchez he would think about the idea. When in opposition, Starmer said his Labour Party no plans for any such scheme when Rishi Sunak turned down a similar idea from the European Commission that would have given free movement to 18 to 30 year olds.
There have long been calls for expanded cooperation between the UK and EU when it comes to learning and cultural exchanges such as a youth mobility scheme.
Spain and the UK have both bucked rightward electoral trends across Europe in recent years, and the Sánchez and Starmer governments are two of the leading left-leaning governments in Europe. This could, some hope, indicate the beginning of a closer UK-Spain relationship.
University exchange programmes like Erasmus were also previously a big part of this relationship, as well as the tourism industry and the hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals living in each country.
But with Sánchez rekindling the idea of some sort of youth mobility scheme, in whatever form it takes, one has to wonder if it'd even be possible.
Can Spain and the UK legally create their own youth mobility scheme?
In theory, yes. Or rather, maybe - depending on the specifics. Whether or not it's realistic is another question. EU member states can make unilateral agreements and investment treaties with non-EU countries, so long as they satisfy various EU legal requirements.
Spain, for example, already has reciprocal arrangements with several non-EU countries. Spain’s working holiday visa, also known as a 'Youth Mobility visa', is a scheme that allows young people from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and South Korea to live and work in Spain for a one-year period.
So Spain has form and is certainly open to making mobility deals with non-EU countries.
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Equally, the UK already has similar arrangements with 13 non-EU countries, including Canada and New Zealand as well as Japan and Uruguay. However, none with EU member states for now.
But ultimately it may boil down to whether the UK and Spain will set up such a scheme without the go-ahead from the EU.
Member States do have some freedom when it comes to deciding its immigration rules. Portugal until recently was the only EU country that allowed non-EU nationals to move there without a job (the arrival of a new right-wing government has changed this), and Hungary's leader Viktor Orban has just relaxed entry rules for Russians and Byelorussians, something Brussels is certainly against.
So, it seems that a Spanish-British mobility scheme, in other words a bilateral immigration agreement, in theory could be possible, especially if it's not in direct conflict with EU law, principles and policies.
According to the EU's very own immigration page: "The EU and EU countries share competences in this area, but it’s up to each EU country to take the final decision on individual migrant applications. In areas where no EU rules have been adopted, EU countries can also set the conditions on obtaining residence and work permits in their country."
So, legally speaking, the idea is at least plausible. Where it might actually run into problems is the politics of it all. It's true that the Starmer government has made a point of 'resetting' relations with Europe, but still, years after the referendum and Brexit came into force, the EU may not want to be seen to allow the UK to pick and choose parts of EU membership to benefit from.
Furthermore, a follow-up to the possible Spain-UK youth mobility scheme in The Independent suggests Starmer has already ruled out Sánchez's suggestion of a tailor-made student exchange deal, quoting a government spokesperson who said "we are not considering a youth mobility scheme".
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It's also worth noting again that last April the EU offered the UK the possibility of a youth mobility scheme for people aged 18 to 30, so there is political will for it from Brussels and Madrid, whilst UK governments whether Conservative or Labour are more apprehensive.
Whatever the political will in London and Madrid, as Stefanie Schacherer from University of Geneva's law department writes in Investment Treaty News, the bottom line is that "to open negotiations or sign a BIT (bilateral investment treaty), member states must obtain authorisation from the European Commission."
For millions of young Brits missing out on the chance to work and study in Europe, and tens of thousands of Spaniards who have it harder to spend time in the UK improving their English, the hope will be the new Labour government can thaw UK-EU relations enough for the European Commission to allow Spain to enter into some sort of bilateral mobility scheme for students and young people.
Or who knows, perhaps Starmer's Labour will backtrack on their previous pledge (it wouldn't be the first time) and accept the European Commission's bloc-wide mobility offer. The offer is still reportedly on the table.
According to academic think tank UK in a changing Europe, the proposed EU-UK youth mobility scheme cannot be considered to be 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".
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