Coimbra Group Statement on UK’s withdrawal from the Erasmus+ programme
14 January 2021
In light of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the new Erasmus+ programme, and given the significant engagement of Coimbra Group Universities in this flagship EU programme since its inception, the Coimbra Group places the utmost importance and urgency to secure, and further advocate for new alternative schemes that would facilitate student and staff exchange with our UK partners and minimize as much as possible the impact of the decision of the British government for our universities, academic and administrative staff and students.
We express our strongest support to all UK universities. We assure them that we are ready to build on our longstanding collective experience, with a view to mitigate, where possible, the impacts of Erasmus+ agreement terminations in mid-2023 and address any challenges that may arise until then.
The expertise and capacity of the Academic Exchange and Mobility (AEM) Working Group is crucial in this regard. It is the intention of the Coimbra Group to closely monitor the new situation and future developments and, whenever possible, build on the knowledge acquired through its own instrument, the Student Exchange Network (SEN).
We call for immediate action from the European Institutions and the national Ministries for Higher Education to help universities mitigating the impact of this unilateral decision from the British government. We believe that it is our duty to ensure that students, academic and administrative staff at higher education institutions do not suffer from the consequences of a purely political decision. We plead for a solidarity-based approach.
CG Statement on UK’s withdrawal from the Erasmus+ programme