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The UK is set to rejoin the EU’s Erasmus+ student exchange scheme, in the latest move by Sir Keir Starmer’s government as it tries to forge closer ties with the bloc.
A deal is expected to be announced on Wednesday under which Britain will return to Erasmus in 2027, according to UK and EU officials briefed on the matter.
Erasmus enables students to spend a year at a university in a partner country while paying the same fees as their domestic counterparts.
Talks between the UK and the EU have focused on Britain’s financial contribution to the scheme and negotiations over the details of the agreement were still ongoing on Tuesday night.
UK ministers are expected to argue that they only signed the Erasmus deal as a result of EU concessions on costs, and highlight how they recently rejected Britain’s case to join the bloc’s new rearmament program on the grounds that the terms were too expensive.
However, UK ministers are also expected to tout the opportunity for British students to study abroad under Erasmus as a concrete example of improved relations with the EU.
Starmer has promised young people who voted in large numbers for his Labor government that he will increase opportunities for them to live and work in the EU.
Agreement to return Erasmus to the UK will be welcomed by British and EU universities urged both sides Reaching an agreement given the popularity of the plan among both students and administrators.
Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group of UK universities, said: “We are delighted by the UK’s engagement with Erasmus+…Erasmus+ opens up fantastic opportunities for students, adult learners and young people to benefit from new experiences and learning. It will also renew the huge contribution that EU students and staff make to life on our university campuses.”
The UK opted out of Erasmus after leaving the EU in 2020. Then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson argued that Erasmus represented poor value for UK taxpayers because the country contributed “significantly more” than the amount it received, as a result of low take-up of the scheme by UK students.
The UK contributed £1.17 billion to Erasmus between 2015 and 2019. Minister in Johnson’s government told the parliament The scheme will require a UK contribution of £2 billion over a five-year period after Brexit in 2021.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, Starmer’s minister responsible for Britain’s relations with the EU, told the Financial Times in May that he was open to Britain rejoining Erasmus if it was based on “sensible proposals” from Brussels.
The expected deal is part of Starmer’s broader effort to reset Britain’s ties with the EU, although it comes just weeks after Britain rejected the opportunity to join the bloc’s new €140bn EU defense fund, called Security Action for Europe.
Separate from Erasmus, the UK and EU are aiming to create a youth mobility scheme that would allow 18 to 30-year-olds to work and travel more freely in each other’s countries.
The UK and EU also hope to conclude a so-called veterinary agreement that would streamline food export rules, and renegotiate their carbon emissions trading schemes, with the goal of implementing the arrangements by mid-2027, according to British ministers.
The plans were unveiled in May by Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
