At the 24 January session of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT), Angus Robertson, the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, and Derek Vaughan, the Welsh Government’s representative for Europe, presented their initiatives on post-Brexit education and mobility.
Robertson stressed Scotland’s commitment to the European Union, despite Brexit, saying that “Scotland didn’t vote for it” but “continues to suffer the consequences”, especially for young people. He criticised the Turing programme, the UK’s substitute for Erasmus, for its lack of support for incoming mobility and its lower funding than Erasmus+. Scotland also aims to promote a ‘Welcoming Scotland’ and to support the mobility of educational staff.
Mr Vaughan presented Taith, the new exchange programme launched in 2023 by the Welsh Government. With a budget of £65 million, Taith facilitates the bilateral mobility of students and staff. He described Taith as a means of “maintaining educational and cultural cooperation between Wales and Europe”, while noting the UK government’s visa restrictions.
These interventions demonstrate a joint effort to overcome the challenges of Brexit in education and mobility. Scotland and Wales are seeking to maintain their links with Europe, highlighting the impact of Brexit on the education and cultural sectors.
As a reminder, at the end of 2023 the UK announced that it would ease restrictions on school trips only to France (see EUROPE 13320/21). French and European students in France can now enter the UK with an ID card, a move hailed by the British Educational Travel Association as a step towards revitalising educational exchanges post-Brexit. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)