As Keir Starmer entered the room with Ursula von der Leyen for his first meeting with the European Commission as prime minister on Wednesday, we had a clear picture of what she wanted. This is because the commission is quite good at communicating its wishes and showing its reasoning – or as you could call it, “being normal”.
At the top of her agenda is a youth mobility scheme, a reciprocal arrangement between nations whereby citizens, usually aged 18-30, can work for a period in another country. One EU official said the commission “mainly wants to see if Starmer will engage”. Others have described the issue as “low-hanging fruit” – so uncontroversially mutually beneficial that, as consequential as it might be for individuals, at a societal level it’s almost gestural, like taking flowers when you go to someone’s house. You don’t have to, but why wouldn’t you?
