One of the last major obstacles to the EU and UK signing a much-vaunted Brexit reset deal at next month’s delayed summit looks to have been removed after France and Germany signaled they are prepared to drop their demands on tuition fees – for now.
EU chiefs have been leaning on member nations to postpone their contentious demands for cheaper university tuition fees for European students in a goodwill gesture to Andy Burnham, as both sides seek to avoid a damaging breakdown at next month’s EU-UK summit.
Member nations, particularly those from eastern Europe, want access to British universities for the same fees paid by home students, rather than more expensive international fees.
But UK negotiators are resisting this, with strong pressure not to cave in coming from cash-strapped universities who rely on international fees to make ends meet.
With an agreement unlikely before the November 20 summit the European Commission has asked EU governments to consider shelving the issue until next year in order to get a wider deal that can be signed in Brussels over the line. This would reward the Prime Minister’s more conciliatory approach to the bloc and removing a major obstacle to his plans for closer ties.
‘We’re not dropping the issue’
The concession follows weeks of increasingly acrimonious negotiations, with several member states, led by France, insisting that EU students should pay the same university fees as their British counterparts.
But diplomats say attitudes have softened since Burnham took office and promised to pursue a more pragmatic relationship with the bloc.
“We’re seen goodwill from the UK, and the EU is ready to show goodwill in return. We want to keep up the momentum,” one EU official said, adding that Burnham’s approach had helped change the atmosphere.
“We’re not dropping the issue, but we’re not going to blow up the summit about it either.”
The proposed compromise would allow negotiators to conclude the main elements of a three-part Brexit reset package ahead of the summit, while giving Britain another six months to reach an agreement on tuition fees.
However, the concession is not yet settled. EU governments have not reached a consensus, and diplomats expect implementation of the wider agreements to remain conditional on resolving the dispute.
Cost for UK universities
The stakes are particularly high for Britain’s financially stretched universities.
Since Brexit, EU students have generally been charged international tuition fees, sometimes three or four times the £9,790 paid by domestic students.
Brussels originally demanded a return to domestic rates, but British universities warned that this could deepen their financial difficulties.
The Russell Group estimated that granting EU students home-fee status would cost universities around £580 million.
Even a compromise under which European students paid approximately £13,000 annually – enough to cover teaching costs but less than full international fees – could leave universities facing a £280 million shortfall, according to modelling previously reported by The i Paper.
The dispute has threatened to derail a wider set of agreements that would ease checks on food and drink exports, reconnect British and European carbon markets and establish a reciprocal youth mobility scheme. All three deals are set to be formally confirmed at the EU-UK summit.
For Burnham, the summit represents an early test of his ambition to rebuild relations with Europe without provoking a domestic backlash over immigration.
The decision to postpone the tuition fees confrontation would therefore offer Burnham a valuable political victory, allowing him to present the summit as evidence that his approach is delivering results.
Germany in favour
But the underlying disputes would remain unresolved, leaving both sides facing another difficult round of negotiations after November 20.
The Germans are understood to be in favour of delaying the bid to allow a successful summit. France did not comment at the meeting, but around nine member states expressed doubts, sources said.
However, it is is likely that if France and Germany agree, the other smaller nations would fall into line.
The UK would be asked to commit to finalising an agreement on tuition fees with the EU within six months as part of implementing a wider deal after the summit.
Those include removing border checks on food and drink exports, re-linking EU and UK carbon markets, and allowing 18-30-year-olds to live, work and study in each other’s countries for up to three years.
But this next phase of the negotiation would come against a backdrop of Burnham throwing open the prospect of rejoining the EU, customs union or single market to the British people.
Since his conference speech last month in which he opened the door to rejoining the bloc, European capitals are looking more favourably on the UK and are determined to make the summit a success.
Negotiators are also still understood to be thrashing out the number of work visas for young people for a youth experience scheme. The UK has suggested 50,000 a year, Brussels has suggested 150,000 but no compromise has yet been reached.