Erasmus
Britain bids adieu to a beloved « Erasmus » education program
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to replace the E.U.-wide Erasmus student exchange program with a national version, but former participants and university officials say the decision is shortsighted.
Once able to study and work anywhere in the European Union without a visa, young Britons will now be treated like people from any other country outside the bloc when it comes to applying for educational programs — or jobs. The withdrawal is also a blow for Britain’s vaunted universities, a powerful symbol of its soft power in Europe and around the world, and an important source of income for the country.
In January, Mr. Johnson had said there was “no threat to the Erasmus scheme.” His announcement on Thursday sent shock waves through universities, angered diplomats and upset British students and professors who had benefited from the program.
Quote: “There will be a relative loss of income for British universities, but from a diplomatic and ambassadorial point of view, the loss is invaluable,” said Sean Hand, the vice president in charge of Europe at the University of Warwick, the second-largest source of Erasmus students from Britain.
(source: the New York Times)
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