Since the Erasmus student exchange scheme was founded in 1987, over three million European students have benefitted from the programme. Indeed, many would describe their year (or half-year) abroad as a defining moment in their college career, and it is rare to hear Erasmus-goers speak negatively of their experience. However, recent suggestions that the budget funding the Erasmus scheme until 2020 should be cut from €200 million to €100 million have understandably left many proponents of the scheme unhappy and potentially unsure of its future.
The suggestion came from the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU after the European Commission proposed a budget of €200 million for the Erasmus scheme over the next three years. The Presidency of the council is held by a member state’s government and rotates every six months. One of the main roles of the presidency is to set the political agenda of the council over the course of its term. However, with many regarding the Erasmus scheme as one of the EU’s most popular projects, the suggestion by the Slovaks to halve its budget is bound to be controversial.
With many regarding the Erasmus scheme as one of the EU’s most popular projects, the suggestion by the Slovaks to halve its budget is bound to be controversial
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Brian Hayes, MEP and former Fine Gael education spokesperson, echoed this view that any move to cut funds to the Erasmus scheme would be unpopular. Speaking to The University Times, he discussed how “it would be a crazy crazy reduction to a budget which means so much to the third-level sector, to higher education, to the need to make connections, right the way across the European Union”. He continued: “What we need is more funding of this area because it’s the one thing that helps mobility, and especially among students. From Ireland’s perspective, and Fine Gael’s perspective, we are rock solid behind the programme.” This support for the programme is seen across the Irish political divide with Labour and Fianna Fáil also being vocal proponents of the exchange scheme in the past.
Even in a year that has seen widespread discontent with the EU, in the form of Britain voting to leave the union and a rise in support for pro-nationalist parties which promote an anti-EU agenda, it would have been thought that the Erasmus programme would not have been negatively affected given its popularity. It also puts into question the extent to which EU leaders see young people as a priority. Apart from initiatives such as the freedom of movement, which gives young people the ability to travel and work anywhere in the EU visa free, the Erasmus scheme is arguably the most significant EU project that directly targets young people. If it’s budget was to be cut, it would send a stark message to the youth of Europe that they’re not a priority group when European leaders are allocating funds – potentially exacerbating the discontent that already exists among young people towards the EU, primarily a result of high youth unemployment in many EU countries.
“What we need is more funding of this area because it’s the one thing that helps mobility, and especially among students”
A recent report on student mobility by Trinity Global Relations highlighted that there has been a 28 per cent increase in Trinity students taking part in the Erasmus Programme since 2011-2012. As a third-year student – the year when the majority of Trinity students go on the Erasmus exchange – the reports from friends who have availed of the scheme this year are overwhelmingly positive, sometimes making me question my decision to stay in Ireland. The benefits of living in a foreign country, learning to live independently, being exposed to a different culture and (in many cases with the Erasmus scheme) improving efficiency in a foreign language are unparalleled with anything else a student experiences during their four years at university.
Despite the EU facing unprecedented difficulties with Britain planning to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by March, thus beginning official negotiations to leave the union within two years, anti-establishment and eurosceptic forces prevailing in Italy’s constitutional reform referendum last week and right-wing populist parties such as Marine Le Pen’s National Front (FN) receiving substantial support in the run-up to France’s presidential elections, the Erasmus scheme’s budget may seem of paltry importance. However, for many students, the Erasmus programme is something they aspire to take part in from a young age. Hayes outlined that “at this stage, it’s not clear if there’s going to be a reduction [to the Erasmus scheme’s budget]”. Hopefully, other European politicians will share Hayes’s view, and the view of many, that cuts to the Erasmus programme’s budget would be a regressive step to one of the EU’s most popular and successful initiatives and the suggestion to halve its budget will not become a reality.
