Britain’s top foreign minister, Yvette Cooper, on Wednesday supported a strict limit on the number of entrants under a youth mobility scheme. She stated in an interview that the scheme needs to be “balanced.”
“The UK-EU relationship is crucial and is undergoing a reset, with cooperation on various issues,” she said. “We must ensure migration is properly managed and controlled.” A U.K. official clarified that Cooper wants an overall cap on numbers.
As negotiations advance to the political level this week, Thomas-Symonds outlined plans for a prospective Britain-EU summit in Brussels when appropriate. “Regarding the date, I want us to have made enough progress to demonstrate that at a summit,” Nick Thomas-Symonds said.
He added, “The original [post-Brexit] Trade and Cooperation Agreement did not adequately cover services. We aim to advance areas like mutual recognition of professional qualifications.”
Thomas-Symonds, a strong pro-European in the government, told POLITICO he had established a good relationship with “Maroš” (Šefčovič) and even gifted him a Christmas bottle of House of Commons whisky. “There’s undoubtedly a trajectory towards closer UK-EU cooperation,” he quipped.
Dan Bloom and Esther Webber contributed reporting.
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