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MPs have voted against an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill on the issue of Erasmus.
The EU programme helps students study in other countries, with thousands from the UK learning abroad through the scheme each year.
Parliament voted against an amendment which would have required the Government to seek to negotiate continuing full membership in the programme after the UK leaves the EU.
Here, we look at how Brexit may affect Erasmus and what we know so far.
How will Brexit affect Erasmus?
At least 53 per cent of UK university students who learn abroad do so through the Erasmus scheme.
In 2016-17, more than 16,500 UK students participated in overseas programmes, while more than 31,700 EU nationals came to the UK.
So when the Brexit date was 29 March 2019, fears grew that there may not be funding for programmes in the 2019-20 academic year.
But the delay to 31 October 2019 has meant this year’s funding was assured for those at UK institutions going to EU countries.
The terms of the UK’s departure from the EU have still yet to be determined so its future place in the Erasmus programme is still uncertain.
And a decision is needed about what to do in the next Erasmus financing round from 2021 to 2027.
In a statement, the scheme said: “The Erasmus+ UK National Agency is working closely with the Department for Education on how a no-deal scenario would affect Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps (ESC).
“We remain conscious of the uncertainty felt by programme applicants, beneficiaries, and participants, as well as by partners in other participating countries.”
What was the Erasmus vote on January 8?
New Clause 10 to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill was put forward by a group of Lib Dem, SNP and Green MPs in a bid to tighten the Government’s obligation to negotiate continued Erasmus membership.
MPs like Layla Moran, Christine Jadine, Sir Edward Davey and Caroline Lewis put forward the clause because the WAB did not require the Government to seek an agreement with the EU over keeping the UK as a full member of the scheme.
After MPs voted against a second reading of New Clause 10 by 344 votes to 255, the Government will definitely not be bound by law to negotiate a full membership of Erasmus post-Brexit.
However, this does not mean that the Government definitely won’t negotiate a full membership – they are just not obligated to do so.
They are also now free to seek a different sort of membership or participation in the programme – and only time will tell what that might be.
Twitter users were still angry that the Government and now Parliament have not completely committed to keeping the UK in the programme by approving the clause.
Will I be able to study in Europe after Brexit?
After leaving the EU, the UK might pay to continue to participate in Erasmus.
Not all the countries that participate in the programme are EU members like, Turkey, Iceland, Norway and Serbia.
These countries are called “programme members”, which means they participate fully.
But these non-EU countries are also either candidates to join the EU or members of the European Economic Area.
There are also partner countries that participate in parts of the programme, such as Kosovo, Armenia and Lebanon.
The government has previously said that if it fails to negotiate the UK’s continuing participation in Erasmus, it will speak to individual countries about creating exchange programmes.
It added that institutions such as universities should try to set up their own relationships with counterparts overseas.
