'It should be quite simple. But there are visible attempts to portray this as migration, or to portray it as freedom of movement.'
Miguel Berger, Germany’s ambassador to the UK, has warned that Keir Starmer will need to make concessions with the EU to secure economic benefits post-Brexit. One of these concessions, he says, is the establishment of a UK-EU youth mobility scheme.
Berger acknowledged that Starmer faces pressure from Eurosceptics and pro-Brexit newspapers but argued that a youth mobility scheme would be a straightforward initiative.
“The most important thing is [that] people who come here will go home after that. So the idea is really to have the experience, but then go home.
“It should be quite simple. But there are visible attempts to portray this as migration, or to portray it as freedom of movement,” he told the Guardian.
The scheme would allow young people aged 18 to 40 from both the UK and the EU to travel, study and work freely in each other’s countries for up to four years.
A poll conducted by YouGov for the European Council on Foreign Relations found almost seven in 10 Britons, including a 55 percent majority of former pro-Brexit voters, would support such a scheme.
Berger emphasised that the scheme’s purpose was not migration or freedom of movement, as some critics have portrayed it. “I think it is an important element. Another one is the Erasmus scheme. All of that, at least for us, is really, really important.”
He added that attempts to misrepresent the scheme were misleading, pointing to social media and some media outlets distorting the facts.
“We also see, looking at social media and some papers, that there is an attempt, obviously, to portray things in the wrong way.”
In an interview with the Sun before Christmas, Starmer reiterated that freedom of movement was a “red line” for Labour and that there were no plans for free movement at any level, though he noted that discussions were underway.
Berger, however, maintained that the youth mobility scheme did not conflict with the UK’s Brexit position.
“[It has] nothing to do with reversing Brexit. It respects all the red lines. And it’s simply trying to see where areas are, where it’s in our mutual interest to work more closely together. I’m confident we will find a solution.”
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