Las universities of The United Kingdom is closely following the rapprochement between the British Government and the European Union after the victory of the Labor Party in the elections last July. The main representatives of the university sector have expressed hope at the possibility of recovering youth mobility agreements, among them the the Erasmus+ programwhich would allow recover the flow of European students prior to Brexit. The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmerhas insisted that his priority is to achieve pacts with Brussels on economic, immigration and security matters, but has not ruled out bringing closer positions in the field of mobility for those under 30 years of age.
The United Kingdom rejected being part of the Erasmus+ program as an associated country for the period 2021-2027. A decision that the European Commission said it “regretted” and that the British Government, then in the hands of the Conservative Party, took to avoid raising blisters among the most pro-Brexit members of the party. Starmer’s arrival at Downing Street, however, has opened a window of hope for defenders of the European exchange programdespite the fact that the new Executive has barely commented on the matter for now.
On the table is the possibility of granting temporary visas to Europeans under 30 years of age to study or work in the United Kingdom.
The British Prime Minister has opted for caution in his first months in office and has insisted that he has no intention of reversing the mobility agreements with the EU in general terms. But his desire to bring closer positions with Brussels in other areas could force him to do concessions on youth mobilityone of the issues in which the European Commission has shown the most interest. On the table is the possibility of granting temporary visas to Europeans under 30 years of age to study or work in the UK –and vice versa–, an option welcomed by some prominent figures in the Labor Party, including the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
Impact of Brexit
British universities have expressed their disappointment at the damage that Brexit has caused them, especially in their ability to attract foreign talent. “The visa requirements have become an obstacle for students traveling to the EU or the United Kingdom to study in a mobility experience. This is due not only to the economic costsbut also to the lack of familiarity of many EU and edl UK students with the visa application processes,” a spokeswoman for Universities UK, the body that represents 141 universities throughout the country.
“Visa requirements have become an obstacle for students traveling to the EU or the UK”
The United Kingdom has implemented the program Turing as an alternative to Erasmus+, in an attempt to maintain the international mobility of its university students. But some experts have warned about their deficiencies. “The Turing program has made great progress in expanding access for disadvantaged students, but it has failed to reproduce important components that are key to the success of Erasmus+such as support for incoming mobility or financing for staff training,” he said in a recent report David Willetsformer Conservative Minister for Universities and Science and current member of the House of Lords.
economic agreement
In the event that the British Government finally opens up to recover the Erasmus+ program, there is the possibility that it will try to incorporate new conditions. The number of European students who came to the country through this program in recent years almost doubled the number of Britons who went to European universities, something that made it difficult for the United Kingdom to remain as an associated country because it forced universities to make a financial outlay mayor.
This situation could lead the British Government to demand a mechanism that balance the disproportion between the number of students entering and those leaving and compensates it in economic terms. “We have urged the Government to consider the possibility of reintegrating into the Erasmus program in the next cycle, provided that a acceptable financial contribution and an adequate path is found for all parties,” they assure from Universities UK.
But for now there are more doubts than certainties about the future of the program in the United Kingdom. Although the issue of youth mobility with the EU has hovered over Starmer since she took office, the latest meetings with the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, They seem to have given priority to other issues for now, especially the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The commitment to hold regular summits and the review of the Brexit agreements in 2025, however, could grease negotiations that for now have only just begun.
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