UK to rejoin EU's Erasmus student exchange scheme - reports

The UK is to rejoin the European Union's Erasmus pupil speech scheme, according to reports.

The fashionable programme, which allowed Britons to walk a twelvemonth studying astatine European universities arsenic portion of their grade without paying other fees and vice versa for their European counterparts, ended for British students aft Brexit connected 1 January 2021.

But ministers could denote the UK volition rejoin Erasmus from January 2027 arsenic soon arsenic Wednesday, The Times and The Guardian person reported.

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Sir Keir Starmer promised a post-Brexit reset woody with Brussels and announced the authorities was moving connected rejoining the programme successful May.

Negotiations person included enactment connected "mutually agreed fiscal terms" for the UK and the EU.

The UK had pushed for a discount connected rank fees, which are calculated connected the ground of a country's gross home merchandise (GDP), The Times reported.

It said the EU is understood to person offered the authorities a 30% simplification of fees successful the archetypal twelvemonth of membership.

Labour MP Darren Frith told Sky News' Politics Hub helium would "welcome" specified a move.

The Guardian reported that arsenic good arsenic university-based survey exchanges, British students volition beryllium capable to enactment successful vocational grooming placements nether the scheme.

Cabinet Office curate Nick Thomas-Symonds held talks with Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission's commercialized lead, successful Brussels past week.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: "We are not commenting connected ongoing talks."

But the UK's universities welcomed the evident breakthrough.

Tim Bradshaw, main enforcement of the Russell Group of starring universities, said: "We're delighted astatine the UK's relation to Erasmus+.

"With an adjacent greater scope than erstwhile programmes, Erasmus+ opens up fantastic opportunities for students, big learners and young radical to each payment from caller experiences and learning.

"It volition besides renew the immense contributions that EU students and unit marque to beingness connected our assemblage campuses."

The Lib Dems, who person been campaigning to rejoin Erasmus, welcomed the news.

Leader Sir Ed Davey said: "This is simply a infinitesimal of existent accidental and a wide measurement towards repairing the disastrous Conservative Brexit deal."