UK rejoins Erasmus – a breakthrough?
Brexit also meant Britain's withdrawal from the EU's successful Erasmus exchange programme. Now a deal has been reached under which European students will be able to spend a year at a British university or doing training in the UK again - and vice versa. Commentators discuss to what extent this hails a reset in relations between Britain and Europe.
Working together again
The agreement symbolises a gradual rapprochement between the EU and the UK, The Independent observes:
“Erasmus is only the first in a queue of self-contained deals that are working their way through an increasingly well-oiled negotiation machinery. Next up is an agreement for the UK to rejoin the EU electricity market. ... Also in the queue is a deal on food and drink trade, the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement that would reduce the border checks between the UK and the EU, a tangled mass of red tape that the Tory government tried to unravel but never came close to succeeding.”
Other issues will be trickier
The Irish Times says the Erasmus deal is likely to have been the easy part of the rapprochement:
“The decision may herald more important ones on the customs union, security and defence. A more explicit reconsideration of elements of Brexit by the Labour government is driven by growing evidence of its economic damage and geopolitical misjudgments. ... The obvious advantages for younger age groups and support from many educational and business lobbies help explain how relatively uncontentious the Erasmus decision has been across the British political spectrum. The same does not apply to the larger process of re‑evaluating Brexit of which it forms part.”
Wasting money on partying students
Commenting in The Spectator, Ross Clark sees the current Turing Scheme as the better option:
“The budget for the latter is £78 million rather than the £570 million that the government has allocated for Erasmus in 2027. Turing is helping 28,000 students a year, rather than the 100,000 expected to take up opportunities through Erasmus. But it is a fair guess that the 28,000 is likely to have a higher proportion of more serious students who want to use their time academically. I am sure it is the quality of Spanish scholarship and absolutely nothing to do with the sand, sea and bars that accounts for Spain being by far the most popular destination for Erasmus students.”
Key for understanding among Europeans
Erasmus brings Europe together in every respect, emphasises RFI România:
“Through this programme young people of different nationalities get to know each other, make contacts and thus contribute to building a European awareness. After several months of studying or doing an internship abroad, they often return with a greater sense of community and social responsibility. According to an EU report published in 2022, 27 percent of Erasmus students found their long-term partner during their exchange. Over the past 30 years, more than a million 'Erasmus babies' have been born, and many of them are now benefiting themselves from the programme that brought their parents together. Now the doors of British universities will be open again to European students – and vice versa.”