EU HAVING A LAUGH?
Keir Starmer leaves door open for MILLIONS of migrants to move to Britain while cosying up to EU in Berlin
But the PM hit back at critics of his Europe policy
SIR Keir Starmer today left the door open for millions of EU nationals to move to Britain.
In Berlin on a Euro love bombing mission, the PM insisted he has “no plans” to launch a fresh “youth mobility scheme” with Brussels.
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But he refused to rule out shaking hands on a new movement scheme for young adults in the future.
A youth mobility deal would see Europeans aged 35 and under given free rein to live and work in the UK for two years.
Brits would also be permitted to move to the continent, with both groups required to return home as their mobility visa expires.
Brussels bureaucrats have repeatedly used the idea of a scheme as a key demand and bargaining chip in Brexit negotiations.
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Standing side-by-side with his political soulmate Olaf Scholz in the German Bundeskanzleramt, Sir Keir said: “In relation to youth mobility we've been really clear - no single market, no customs Union, no free movement, no going back into the EU.”
In Berlin Sir Keir and Mr Scholz launched negotiations on a new bilateral treaty to boost trade and security ties between Britain and Germany.
The PM said: "This treaty is part of a wider reset, grounded in a new spirit of cooperation with our shared understanding that this will be developed at pace, and that we hope to have agreed it by the end of the year.
“The treaty is a bilateral treaty, so that's got nothing to do with youth mobility or anything like that.”
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Sir Keir hit back at criticism that his fresh Euro love bombing campaign is part of a sinister plot to reverse Brexit.
He said: "I'm absolutely clear that we do want a reset.
"I have been able to repeat that here today, a reset with Europe, a reset with the EU.
"That does not mean reversing Brexit or re-entering the single market or the customs union, but it does mean a closer relationship on a number of fronts, including the economy, including defence, including exchanges, but we do not have plans for a youth mobility scheme."
Mr Scholz said: "We want to create good relations between the UK and the European Union, it can become better day by day, and we all share an interest."
In Berlin the two leaders also discussed the illegal migration crisis plaguing their countries.
The pair agreed on a “joint action” plan, which could see European cops intercepting boats in transit across Europe.
However, a joint returns agreement wasn’t discussed.
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Sir Keir said: "I'm really glad that we had substantive discussions today about how we tackle the smuggling gangs and agree to develop a joint action plan to tackle illegal migration.
“It is important to me because, as I'm sure you'll appreciate, quite a number of the boats that end up on the north coast of France carrying people across are coming through Germany.”
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