BY BENJAMIN FOX

BRUSSELS - A European union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) deal making it easier for 18-30 year olds to study and work in each other's countries is still off the agenda, according to London on Thursday, following reports that the new British Labour government was preparing to discuss a youth mobility scheme.

For a while now, Labour has insisted it has "no plans" to agree a youth mobility scheme that would give young EU citizens the right to live and work in Britain, and vice-versa. Instead, the party was merely seeking to "improve the UK's working relationship with the EU, within our red lines".

Yet multiple news organisations – most recently, The Times today – have reported that Labour has indeed discussed this with the EU and would be prepared to "give ground" in order to achieve a broader reset of relations. The government later denied The Times' story, with a Downing Street spokesperson adding: “We are not considering this at all.”

But Labour's election manifesto does state: "We will reset the relationship and seek to deepen ties with our European friends, neighbours and allies." And in any negotiation, in order to get things it wants, the UK will have to give way to the EU on its priorities. One of which is a youth mobility scheme. What makes this stranger is that such a scheme appears to be something of a political freebie for the UK government.