On 19 May in London, the two blocs agreed to forge closer ties in a number of areas, including defence, youth mobility, fisheries and trade (see EUROPE 13643/1).
Although London was unable to join the SAFE programme due to a lack of agreement on the amounts involved, on Wednesday 17 December the UK and the EU announced a new agreement on Erasmus+.
The European Commission and the UK have finalised their negotiations on the UK’s association with Erasmus+ in 2027, the relevant European Commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, and the UK Treasury Minister, Nick Thomas-Symonds, said in a joint statement.
“The United Kingdom association to Erasmus+ in 2027 would offer significant opportunities across the education, training, sport and youth sectors for individuals in the United Kingdom and the European Union, particularly for those in the younger generation”.
The terms of this association, including the mutually agreed financial conditions, also represent “a fair balance between the UK’s contributions and the benefits the programme offers and pave the way for United Kingdom participation in the programme in 2027”.
According to the British media, the UK will pay £570 million to join the programme. Before Brexit, around 18,300 British students went to study in Europe each year and around 30,000 European students came to the UK.
The chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education, Nela Riehl (Greens/EFA, German), and Parliament’s chief negotiator for the Erasmus+ 2028-2034 programme, Bogdan Zdrojewski (EPP, Polish), “welcome the news that from 2027 young people from the EU and the UK will once again be able to benefit from Erasmus+”. “This includes learners, students, apprentices, teachers and staff in the fields of education, youth and sport”, says a press release.
The programme will offer study, internship and work-study opportunities, including apprenticeships with leading European companies and world-renowned UK universities, “reinforcing Erasmus+ as a cornerstone of European educational cooperation”.
Universities UK International and the European University Association also “commended the UK Government and the European Commission for the speed with which they conducted these complex negotiations and reached a mutually beneficial agreement”.
By re-establishing “the links between our universities, we will promote student and staff mobility, inter-university cooperation (notably through European Universities Alliances) and the development of common policies. The benefits of Erasmus+ go far beyond mere financial support; it promotes mutual understanding, respect and freedom - shared values that are more essential than ever in today’s world.”
“The return of the United Kingdom to the Erasmus+ programme is a positive and concrete step in the redefinition of EU-UK relations, offering tangible benefits to workers, young people and apprentices on both sides of the Channel”, the European Trade Union Confederation commented.
The United Kingdom and the European Commission have also concluded exploratory discussions on the United Kingdom’s participation in the European Union’s internal electricity market, the two parties said. Details of these discussions are due to be published in the next few days. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)