Youth mobility and Erasmus back on the table for EU-UK talks

Politicians from the EU and the UK are paving the way towards making it easier for young people to live, study and work in the UK and the European bloc as part of wide-ranging talks on everything from fishing rights to defence at the UK-EU summit.

A so-called “balanced youth experience” is in the works, according to the news agency Reuters – which said it had seen a document outlining the plans. This would allow people aged 18-30 to move freely around Europe for a limited period of time, although the numbers allowed to do so will have to be “acceptable to both sides”.

UK and EU leaders have said the idea would be similar to existing deals the UK already has in place for countries like New Zealand and Australia.

It remains unclear what this would mean for the fees that European students would pay to study in the UK. Currently, the majority have to pay international student fees, which are significantly higher than those paid by domestic students.

However, British officials have signalled that one of the “main issues” at the negotiating table will be capping the number of students from the EU who are able to study in the UK, according to Reuters.

It has also been agreed that the UK will be able to rejoin the Erasmus scheme, which allows students, staff and trainees to study or complete an internship abroad. The UK has not been part of the program since the end of 2020, following the narrow vote to leave the EU in 2016.

The details, including timelines, for both schemes are yet to be determined – with last minute talks ahead of today’s UK-EU summit reportedly dragging on until late last night.

Education stakeholders from both Europe and the UK have expressed mixed feelings about the proposals – with the lack of certainty around how EU students’ fees in the UK could change drawing concern from some quarters.

Speaking to The PIE News, Polish minister of Science and Higher Education, Andrzej Szeptycki, hailed a return to easier movement for young people and welcomed the possibility of lower fees for European students.

While fewer Polish students have been coming to study in the UK since Brexit – favouring cheaper options in Europe such as the Netherlands and Denmark – a “reopening” of the UK market would be gratefully received, he said. “Certainly, some of them would reconsider coming to the UK if the costs were lower,” he remarked.

Universities UK International (UUKi) said the proposals “promise exciting opportunities for young people from all parts of the UK and represent a further positive step forward in the bilateral relationship”.

“Measures that enable greater academic and student exchange between the UK and our European partners will be warmly welcomed by universities both here and in the EU. We look forward to working with all parties on the next phase of negotiations,” it said.

However, this weekend HEPI director Nick Hillman set out concerns as he responded to media reports that EU students would only have to pay domestic tuition fees under the agreement.

Universities lose money on their home students and if EU students are to be treated like home students again, then institutions could likely lose even more money
^{_{Nick Hillman, HEPI}}

Although he welcomed the return of Erasmus for UK students “on paper”, he warned that cash-starved higher education institutions in the country could end up losing out financially – even if the move attracted more European students to the UK.

“Universities lose money on their home students and if EU students are to be treated like home students again, then institutions could likely lose even more money,” he said. “They may need to respond by imposing a tight cap on the total number of subsidised places, which could have the effect of EU students displacing British students. Moreover, non-EU nations may seek their own favourable treatment in their own trade deals with the UK.”

And he said the “devil will be in the detail” for Erasmus negotiations, pointing out that the UK could have chosen to stay a part of the scheme post-Brexit but had decided against it due to the expense and the fact that “far more people” came to the UK under the program than the other way around.

“There was a stream flowing in one direction and only a trickle in the other, meaning the UK lost out financially,” he said.

The number of of EU students studying at UK universities has fallen sharply since Brexit. In the 2023/24 academic year, there were around 75,490 EU students compared to 127,000 in 2015/16.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer heralded the agreement as moving beyond “the stale old debates and political fights to find common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people”.

“That’s what this deal is all about – facing out into the world once again, in the great tradition of this nation. Building the relationships we choose, with the partners we choose, and closing deals in the national interest,” he said.

The UK-EU summit comes hot on the heels of the UK’s immigration white paper – the long-awaited policy document unveiled last week, in which Starer set out a strategy to reduce net migration.

The white paper outlined plans to reduce the Graduate Route to 18 months, strengthen English language requirements for UK visa holders and controversial plans – roundly criticised by international education leaders – to tax higher education institutions on their income from international student fees.

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