Thousands of Turkish students could come to UK as Starmer hands EU £570M to rejoin Erasmus scheme for a YEAR… and Brussels warns the bill will rise in 2028

Keir Starmer faced fury today after being handed over. £570 million to rejoin the EU Erasmus student exchange program – and it opens the door to a wave of arrivals from Türkiye and North Africa.

Ministers expressed satisfaction with the ‘fair and balanced’ deal despite the eye-watering cost, which only covers 2027-29.

On an annual basis, this is double the amount that Boris Johnson dismissed as too expensive in 2021. This is equivalent to roughly a fifth of the entire EU funding package for Erasmus+, but the government insists some of the money will go towards travel for British teenagers.

Worryingly, Brussels is already signaling that a 30 per cent ‘cut’ will not be repeated, meaning the cost could reach £810 million a year in the future.

Since Türkiye is an ‘associate’ member of the programme, it will have the right to come to the UK in 2027. Brussels announced that it wants to expand the regulations to include countries such as Egypt, Algeria and Morocco.

When the UK was previously involved in this programme, many more students came here than went to Europe. Government aides have downplayed the risk of overstaying visas for people traveling to the UK for courses lasting between two and 12 months.

However, the Conservative Party accused the Prime Minister of ‘exposing the UK to all kinds of risks’ while trying to ‘lie’ to the EU.

The dramatic deal will raise alarm that Sir Keir is easing Brexit, as he blames cutting ties for the poor performance of the economy. This is considered the first step towards the so-called ‘free movement of young people’ agreement demanded by the EU.

Before the budget, Rachel Reeves had pushed for an ‘ambitious’ youth migration deal with the EU.

The chancellor said a change plan for young workers would be ‘good for the economy, good for growth and good for business’.

Today he visited Grangemouth in Falkirk, Scotland, to announce a £150 million support package to protect 500 jobs at the site.

Senior Labor figures have also pointed to customs union membership, but this has so far been ruled out by Downing Street.

Cabinet Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds holds talks with the European Commission’s Maros Sefcovic (pictured together in April)

Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander visited the Grangemouth factory today after announcing the £150 million support package

Intensive negotiations are continuing on ‘mutually agreed financial terms’ to participate in the program left to the UK’s Boris Johnson administration.

The UK is thought to be pushing for a 50 per cent reduction in membership fees, calculated based on the country’s GDP.

But Sir Keir caved after the EU offered only a 30 per cent reduction in wages in the first year.

The government boasts of achieving this ‘reduction’ in an extraordinary way.

The regulation will come back into effect in time for the 2027-28 academic year.

The government said today: ‘The UK’s 2027 contribution will be around £570 million.

‘This covers the 2027-28 academic year. ‘Any participation in Erasmus+ in the next Multiannual Financial Framework will need to be agreed in the future and be based on a fair and balanced contribution.’

During a visit to a university in London, Cabinet Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said some of the money would ‘come back’ as funding for UK students to go abroad.

‘I think it’s really important that there’s a fair balance. “I agree with the European Union,” he said.

‘We agreed on a 30 percent discount for Britain’s participation. And this of course is the money coming back as it was then.

‘This enables students and young people in the UK, actually people of different ages, to benefit from this.

‘I also said we would do a review in 10 months and look at the data properly based on the figure you asked me about.

‘We will be able to see exactly what that number is and we will be able to see what that fair balance is with the numbers and that is of course very important.

‘As chief negotiator I have always said that I would only sign up to programs that provide value for money and serve the national interest. I think this falls squarely into that category.

‘But I have to say, this is also about much more than money. It’s about some really exciting opportunities for people that I’m looking forward to promoting.’

Mr Thomas-Symonds said the UK could ‘expect’ to pay £810 million to join the programme. EU sources brief that there will be no reductions if the regulations continue in 2028-29.

Asked whether Britain had demanded a bigger discount, a Downing Street spokesman said: ‘As with every aspect of international engagement, we have demanded the best deal for the British people.’

The spokesman said details about the fate of the Turing plan would be shared ‘in due course’.

He said: ‘The Turing program focuses on international placements for students and schools, colleges and universities to study and work anywhere in the world.

‘Erasmus’ field of activity is much wider. It involves staff, covers youth and sport, and supports a wide range of institutional partnerships and policy reform. Thus, you will have a wider range of opportunities thanks to our Erasmus partnership.’

But shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: ‘Labour continues to betray Brexit. They have consistently undermined the 2016 Referendum result and are obsessed with bringing Britain back under the control of Brussels.

‘Now they are throwing away billions of pounds of British taxpayers’ money rejoining Erasmus, rather than taking advantage of our Brexit freedoms to support trade, investment and economic growth with the rest of the world.’

The deal ‘vastly’ expands opportunities for young people, Mr Thomas-Symonds told the House of Commons this afternoon

The government will invest £125 million and owners Ineos will contribute £25 million to support 500 jobs at the site. Pictured: Rachel Reeves today

He added: ‘Labour is exposing Britain to all sorts of risks in its feeble attempts to get closer to the EU.’

Shadow Cabinet minister Alex Burghart said: ‘It was a big Brussels demand for the UK to rejoin Erasmus and Keir Starmer appears to have bowed to the EU for £500 million without getting anything, just as he did on our fishing rights.

‘The Erasmus program is much more expensive than the Turing Scheme, which was introduced after Brexit and benefits more British people. Turing was a global program rather than a carte blanche program for Brussels.

‘Rejoining Erasmus, reopening costly energy integration and returning to EU regulatory frameworks sound more like pro-EU ideology than pragmatism.

‘The British people voted to take back control in 2016 and Labour’s approach shows a worrying disregard for this democratic decision.’

Previously many more students were coming to the UK than going to the EU, meaning the net cost was higher than the contribution. But supporters insist there is a wider benefit to the economy.

Under Mr Johnson, the UK withdrew from Erasmus and launched the Turing program as a domestic alternative. This funded UK students alone to go abroad, costing £105 million for 43,200 placements in 2024-25.

Mr Johnson said staying in the EU program in 2021 would mean a net cost of £2bn over seven years.

This meant a cost of roughly £285 million per year; This was half the amount the government has now agreed to, but government sources insisted the scope was much wider.

In 2020, the last year the UK participated in Erasmus, the program received £126 million in EU funding for 55,700 people to take part in projects overall.

While Britain sent 9,900 students and trainees to other countries that academic year, 16,100 came here.

The EU has set a funding framework for the program of around £3.09 billion annually between 2021 and 2027. England’s contribution in 2027-28 will be almost a fifth of this figure.

The EU commission has announced that it wants to expand Erasmus+ to a number of Middle Eastern and North African countries as part of a wider partnership effort.

The plans are not yet finalized and it is not yet clear whether they will be included in regulations later this decade.

Türkiye is a long-time partner of the program, which was used by approximately 52,000 students last year.

Mr Thomas-Symonds held talks with the European Commission’s Maros Sefcovic in Brussels last week as the deadline for Britain to join on time in 2027 approaches.

More than 100,000 Britons will be able to benefit from the scheme in the first year alone, according to the government.

In addition to university-based educational exchanges, Erasmus+ will provide further education students and apprentices with job placement opportunities in European companies.

There will be exchange opportunities for adult students, school groups and sports coaches, and on-the-job training and study abroad opportunities will be available for education staff.

Ministers aim to maximize participation, especially among disadvantaged groups, by working with institutions and young people.

A national agency will be established in the UK to run the programme.

The deal was welcomed by universities in the UK.

Tim Bradshaw, CEO of Russell Group, said: ‘We are delighted with the UK’s partnership with Erasmus+.

Reeves told Grangemouth workers the package ‘protects our national resilience and secures the livelihoods of hundreds of people working in the area in the future’.

Students from Türkiye will have the right to come to the UK in 2027 as Turkey is an ‘associate’ member of the scheme

‘With a broader scope than previous programmes, Erasmus+ offers great opportunities for students, adult learners and young people to benefit from new experiences and learning.

‘This will also renew the huge contribution EU students and staff make to life on our university campuses.’

Liberal Democrat universities spokesman Ian Sollom said: ‘Whilst this is a welcome breakthrough, it must be seen as a crucial first step towards a clear roadmap towards a closer relationship with Europe.

‘Starting with negotiations for a dedicated UK-EU customs union and committing to a youth mobility scheme for the benefit of the next generation.’