Universities say they will face a cash crisis if lucrative foreign fee income is cut and not replaced, with one recently published analysis by the Russell Group suggesting the sector would be left £580 million out of pocket.
A U.K. official said the home fees demand wasn’t mentioned in the “common understanding” drawn up as a blueprint for talks last year — and that negotiations are about implementing that document.
The agreement does not explicitly mention tuition fees and only says the youth scheme should “facilitate the participation of young people from the European Union and the United Kingdom” in areas including study.
But the EU official quoted above said that, while it was debatable whether the change was alluded to in last year’s communique, it was nevertheless the EU’s position.
They stressed that other issues under discussion, like the planned agri-food agreement or linking emissions trading systems, were largely U.K. “asks” — and that the EU also had its own interest to pursue.
“It’s important to look at the position from the other side,” they added.