UK strikes deal to rejoin EU’s Erasmus student exchange program

Britain is set to rejoin the European Union’s popular Erasmus student exchange program, almost five years after leaving the program following Brexit, a joint UK-EU statement said on Wednesday, December 17. The program, which will have to be approved by all EU member countries, will be open to university students, but will also be broadened to include others in further education and on apprenticeships.

“The UK has successfully agreed terms to join the Erasmus+ program in 2027, widening opportunities for young people from all backgrounds, learners, educational, youth and sport staff to study and train abroad,” a UK government statement added. The UK government said more than 100,000 people in the country could benefit from the program in the first year alone.

Following negotiations, the UK’s contribution to the costs of the program in 2027 would be around £570 million, the statement said.

EU-UK relations ‘reset’

The announcement comes as part of Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s much-touted “reset” with the 27-country bloc. Britain exited the Erasmus program, in which it had participated since 1987, when it left the EU at the beginning of 2021.

After the UK left Erasmus, former prime minister Boris Johnson launched the Turing program as a domestic alternative, arguing that remaining in the EU program would have meant a net cost of £2 billion ($2.6 billion) over seven years. The move caused consternation among students and higher education bodies. Work toward rejoining was announced as part of Starmer’s post-Brexit reset deal agreed with Brussels at a London summit in May.

EU relations minister Nick Thomas-Symonds hailed the deal as a “huge win for our young people” that would offer opportunities to those from all backgrounds to “study and train abroad.” “This is about more than just travel: it’s about future skills, academic success, and giving the next generation access to the best possible opportunities,” he added.

The EU’s trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, said the deal was a “big step forward” for EU-UK ties.

Breakthrough

The breakthrough has been welcomed by UK universities and Britain’s third-largest political party, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, which called it “a crucial first step” toward a closer relationship with the EU. It urged the government to commit to a wider “youth mobility scheme for the benefit of the next generation.”

The EU is keen on creating a youth mobility program that would allow British and European 18- to 30-year-olds to study and work in the UK and vice versa.

Since 1987, nine million people have participated in the Erasmus program, which also contributed to creating a generation of pro-European Britons.