Hywel Ceri Jones says 'flexibility to be teased out' on Scotland and Erasmus

Hywel Ceri Jones, who is a former director general of employment for the European Commission and key in the development of Erasmus, said there “may be some flexibility to be teased out”, despite the EU saying the programme is only open to independent states.

Professor Anton Muscatelli, the principal of Glasgow University and one of the UK’s leading economists, also said that there seemed to be “room for manoeuvre and innovative thinking” and that his institution would support a return to Erasmus.

The two were speaking at an online event organised by the European Movement in Scotland.

READ MORE: Scots Erasmus hopes dashed for now as EU says it's only open to independent states

At the webinar, Jones hit out at the Tory Government, saying they have failed to understand “the breadth and scale” of the benefits students have been denied by their removal from the Erasmus scheme.

Jones further argued that the UK Government’s replacement Turing scheme contains “gaping holes”. One of these, he said, was that the replacement scheme would see vocational training “set aside”.

He took aim at the Tories for agreeing to join Horizon Europe, the EU research and innovation programme, but not Erasmus. Jones said the two are “twin programmes, they need to go together”.

“It makes absolutely no economic or policy sense to join one programme, but not both.

“This has demonstrated very starkly to me the failure of this London Government to grasp the breadth and scale of Erasmus and its strategic value to our four nations,” he said.

The UK’s education institutions have been taken out of the Erasmus scheme despite clear promises from the Prime Minister to the contrary.

In response to a question from the SNP's Douglas Chapman, Boris Johnson told parliament on January 16, 2020: “There is no threat to the Erasmus scheme. We will continue to participate.

"UK students will continue to be able to enjoy the benefits of exchanges with our European friends and partners just as they will be able to continue to come to this country.”

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said the Tories “decided not to participate” in Erasmus because the two sides could not agree on a cost.

When announced it was in December 2020, Westminster said the Turing scheme would “be backed by over £100 million”.

READ MORE: IN FULL: Erasmus statement from Scottish and Welsh governments

By comparison, the Erasmus scheme has almost doubled in size and will be funded to the tune of around €25 billion (£22bn) for the period 2021-2027.

Also speaking at the webinar, Rachel Sandison, the vice principal of external relations at Glasgow University, it was “enormously disappointing” that the UK will no longer be taking part in Erasmus.

She said the scheme had allowed Scotland to develop its universities into “multicultural and multinational learning environments … while also enhancing Scotland’s reputation and visibility overseas”.

Sandison said the “first iteration of Turing doesn’t replicate all of the opportunities contained within Erasmus, which of course has now almost doubled in size to €25 billion for 2021-27”.

Glasgow University would advocate for rejoining Erasmus, its principal has said

A key failure of the Turing scheme, according to Jones and Muscatelli, is its “unilateral” nature.

Under Erasmus students from other countries would come to study in the UK while British students studied abroad. However, the Turing scheme only provides funding for students from the UK to go on placements overseas, with no incoming talent.

Jones said the “one directional thrust” of Turing would be damaging “economically, socially, and culturally”.

Muscatelli, who was born in Italy, said that Erasmus had been the gateway to Scotland for many people, and that attracting further valuable immigration would be important going forward.

“This is where a lack of reciprocity in the Turing Scheme might be damaging,” he said.

Muscatelli added: “If the Covid pandemic has proven anything it is that cross-border cooperation and international academic networks are not optional extras. They are an absolute necessity. Now is not the time to narrow our horizons.”

READ MORE: Glasgow University joins European higher education alliance

The Glasgow University principal said that, should it be a legal possibility, his institution would “be advocates for participation” in Erasmus.

The principal’s comments came after the news that the European Commission had declared that Scotland could not join the scheme as “in general based on the Erasmus regulations, only [independent] countries can join the programme”.

However, Muscatelli said that with Ireland funding Northern Irish students’ participation in Erasmus, there seemed to be “room for manoeuvre and innovative thinking to find a solution that might work for all parties”.

Jones later echoed this sentiment, saying that the EU were “very sensitive” to the topic and that he believed “there may be some flexibility to be teased out”.

He advocated for a sustained campaign for Westminster to U-turn on its decision, saying: “I think we need to keep the arguments fully fleshed out to keep the pressure on for the Government to rethink.”

SNP MP Douglas Chapman (above) also attended the webinar, and told The National that he would be looking to take the proposals to Westminster.

He went on: “This is a case of you don’t know what you’ve lost until it’s gone and it’s obvious that the Turing scheme, however well intentioned, is a significantly weaker offer to the young people of Scotland.

“Those in the university sector were suggesting that they would like to see their MPs keep up the fight for Erasmus and I believe there is considerable cross party support for taking the argument back to the UK Government, lobbying the EU - particularly for Wales and Scotland - and encouraging political parties to include support for Erasmus in their manifestos for May’s devolved parliament elections.”