{"id":166998,"date":"2024-04-24T13:14:59","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T11:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=166998"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:18","slug":"uk-rejects-eu-mobility-plan-for-young-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/04\/24\/uk-rejects-eu-mobility-plan-for-young-people\/","title":{"rendered":"UK rejects EU mobility plan for young people"},"content":{"rendered":"

Within days, the UK government has rejected a European Commission proposal to give people under 30 greater freedom to study and work across borders. The UK sees the proposal as going against the principles of Brexit.<\/p>\n

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Last week, the European Commission proposed<\/a> increasing opportunities for young people in the UK and Europe to work and study in each other\u2019s territory. This involved granting them a four-year visa, subject to certain conditions.<\/p>\n

It would also have reopened the door to a mutual reduction in tuition fees. Within the EU, citizens essentially pay the same tuition fees as home students, regardless of which member state they study in: a German studying in the Netherlands pays the same as a Dutch student and vice versa. Under the terms of the proposal, this could once again have applied to students from the UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cBreakthrough\u201d<\/h2>

The Guardian<\/em> was one of several newspapers to welcome<\/a> the proposal as \u201ca breakthrough\u201d and a major concession by the European Union. But now it has been rejected out of hand. Britain\u2019s Conservative government has dismissed<\/a> the proposal and even the opposition Labour Party sees no future in it.<\/p>\n

They believe the European proposal is not in keeping with the principles of Brexit. UK politicians view it as a partial return to free movement within the EU, one of the main themes rejected by pro-Brexit voters.<\/p>\n

The UK appears to favour striking deals with individual European countries rather than the EU as a whole. France and the Netherlands are thought to be among the countries under consideration. For now, EU member states are continuing to close ranks on this issue: the current proposal is an all or nothing offer.<\/p>\n

Erasmus+<\/h2>

The UK has also ended participation in Europe\u2019s Erasmus+ exchange programme, which enables students to study abroad for a limited period. However, they have set up<\/a> their own equivalent.<\/p>\n

The European Commission\u2019s proposal was one of a series of initiatives aimed at taking the edge off Brexit. For example, the UK is now due to resume participation<\/a> in the Horizon Europe research programme.<\/p>\n\n\t

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