BRUSSELS, April 18 () –
The European Commission has proposed this Thursday to European governments to negotiate a common framework with the United Kingdom to make mobility conditions more flexible for citizens on both sides between 18 and 30 years old, with the aim of relaxing the obstacles that young Europeans have encountered since that Brexit was consummated to travel, study or reside in British territory, and vice versa.
The proposal is “a first step towards an ambitious but realistic agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom to address this problem”, said the vice-president of the European Commission in charge of relations with the British, Maros Sefcovic, for whom the key is ” rebuild the human bridges between young Europeans on both sides of the Channel”.
Brussels proposes that the framework being negotiated allows citizens between 18 and 30 years old to “stay up to four years in the country of destination”, although community services make it clear that it is not about “returning” fundamental rights to the British. of the EU that they lost with the divorce, such as freedom of movement within the bloc.
Specifically, community services call for “innovative” measures to overcome the main barriers to mobility that young people encounter so that they can move for training, work or to reside for a longer period without encountering major obstacles.
To do this, it asks to limit the criteria that must be met to benefit from the new framework (age, maximum duration of stay, eligibility conditions, standards to verify compliance) without being subject to a precise condition such as a job or a course, nor to entry fees.
In any case, the Commission clarifies, it will not replace other existing regimes that regulate visas or residence permits, but will be complementary adapted to young people.
