The current UK Labour government has committed to reset relations with the EU. But student exchange programs remain affected. Now efforts are underway to establish a youth mobility scheme. CGTN reporter William Denselow reports from Brussels.
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00:00The full effect of Brexit will be studied for years, but for students the impact is
00:06clear-cut.
00:07The UK shelved its participation in the EU's Erasmus Plus student exchange programme.
00:13University of Ghent still has arrangements with 22 UK universities, but student participation
00:19is half of what it once was.
00:22Administrative steps have increased and have made it increasingly difficult for students
00:27to really make sure that this is in place before they leave for the UK, and specifically
00:37for internships these steps have turned out to be very complicated and in a lot of cases
00:43are unfeasible for students.
00:45More demand remains, rising costs and burdensome administrative processes are barriers for
00:51many students on both sides of the channel.
00:54Students at this university are already applying for exchanges, scheduled for September and
00:59even February 2026.
01:02Lawmakers here in Brussels are working on ways to boost mobility for young people.
01:09Polling suggests 51% of British voters are in favour of rejoining Erasmus Plus, with
01:1615% opposing the move.
01:21The Liberal Democrats back the plan, but the Labour government says the UK currently has
01:25no plans to rejoin the programme.
01:28The European Union has separately floated a plan to open pathways for young people to
01:32spend longer periods of time overseas, without necessarily being strictly tied to a job,
01:38educational programme or training programme.
01:42That has also been rejected by London.
01:44Some EU lawmakers blame the politics that still surround Brexit, especially the issue
01:50of migration.
01:51I think that since the UK left the European Union, immigration has increased.
01:58I think it is a subject that is politically manipulated, instrumentalised.
02:03Erasmus Plus, yes, it is about mobility.
02:06Young people can arrive in the country, but I think some companies would be very happy
02:10to have young Europeans back.
02:14The UK replaced Erasmus Plus with its own system called Turing in 2021.
02:20It is boasting exchanges around the world, not just in Europe.
02:23For the 2024-25 academic year, the programme is offering roughly $140 million for overseas
02:31educational placements, but some say the programme has led to increased bureaucracy for universities
02:36and a lack of opportunity for European students.
02:40What Turing does is whilst allowing that kind of outgoing study, it doesn't fund incoming
02:45study.
02:46That leads to, from our perspective, a tension between students and universities, obviously
02:51because there's less places, but also between university and university.
02:55More than 15 million people have participated in the Erasmus Plus programme since it launched
03:00in 1987.
03:01But for now at least, the UK's participation is consigned to the history books.
03:07William Denslow, CGTN, Brussels.