THIS week’s column is unusual because Alyn Smith is writing it jointly with three Scottish students at the College of Europe – Paul Anderson, Liam McLaughlin and Annie Wenn.

All three are benefitting from the Scottish Government’s long-sighted investment in maintaining grants to fund students at the College of Europe, as indeed did Alyn when he studied at the College in 1995 (albeit before the re-establishment of a Scottish Government, grand old man that he is!).

We’re all concerned that this vital investment is under threat for future generations of Scottish Europeans.

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This year marks 75 years since the establishment of the College. It was established as one of the results of the 1948 Congress of Europe in The Hague to promote “a spirit of solidarity and mutual understanding between all the nations of Western Europe and to provide elite training to individuals who will uphold these values” and “to train an elite of young executives for Europe”.

It provides Masters degree-level courses focused exclusively on European and EU studies in law, politics, history or economics, and trains nearly 500 students studying from across the EU, its neighbours and beyond.

The College established a second campus in Warsaw in the 1990s as the newly independent former Eastern bloc countries sought EU membership and the then Polish government gifted a campus to the College, at Natolin to the south of the city.

The idea behind this being that there would be a ready-made cohort of young diplomats, politicians and academics with an understanding of the EU in the new member states, but with places open to Western European students also, which was how Alyn was part of the first year in residence.

The College is repeating the exercise in the western Balkans by opening its new campus in Tirana, Albania. Just last week, Albania opened the first cluster of its accession negotiations, with the country’s prime minister, Edi Rama, having set the country’s ambition to be an EU member state by 2030.

Neighbouring Montenegro is even more ambitious with its slogan “28 by 28” (becoming the 28th member of the EU by 2028).

With around half this year’s College cohort in Tirana having ties to Western Balkan countries and receiving scholarships, the early signs are that the same strategy deployed in the 1990s will work in the 2020s and beyond. Paul is full-time in Tirana (and for full disclosure worked with Alyn in Westminster and served on the SNP’s Policy Development Committee).

The College is an organisation Scotland – and indeed the UK – should be an enthusiastic part of. Sadly, back in 2010, the Tory UK Government took the decision to slash the funding of 28 places to two as a sop to the Brexiteers.

Now, only civil servants get UK Government funding to study at the College.

The Scottish Government, to its immense credit, maintained funding for three places a year. This was entirely the right thing to do – it is all the more important to have people around who understand the EU and have active relationships with people across the institutions.

Given that the College’s tuition fees and boarding are between €27,000 to €29,000 depending on the campus, it is outwith the reach of most students, as applications from England since 2010 prove. The provision of scholarships is vital for study at this prestigious institution.

Scottish students, regardless of their politics which are as wide-ranging as the rest of the population, have always been distinctive in the life of the College.

It is a unique opportunity for Scots to make a positive impression on other students, many of whom will go on to play key roles in European states and EU institutions.

The various national weeks held by students across the College also enable Scots students to demonstrate some of our unique traditions – after all, who doesn’t enjoy a Burns Supper in kilts and a cèilidh!

We can only therefore praise past Scottish governments for their long-sighted vision in providing scholarships that maintain vital links with our European friends.

We already have an excellent mission in Brussels in the shape of Scotland House which often draws upon College graduates for its recruitment. With independence, there will be a pressing need for diplomats, civil servants and politicians with a thorough grounding not only in theoretical aspects of the EU but in its day-to-day processes and implementing the acquis communautaire – the body of EU legislation which each aspiring Member State needs to implement.

Even now, there is a pressing need to keep track of any changes with the Scottish Parliament’s Continuity Act, which requires transcribing EU regulations into Scots law where the Parliament has the power to do so.

Considering all the above, it is deeply sad to hear that these scholarships might be scrapped by the Scottish Government.

The prohibitive costs of studying at the College will deter many students from attending, and our national talent pool will get quietly shallower.

It is Scotland that will suffer in the long run as fewer Scots get the opportunity to study in Europe and undertake a degree which gives real EU expertise.

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Given the stated aim of the SNP to regain independence in Europe, the short-term monetary savings are more than outweighed by the long-term loss of expertise, influence and soft power that would be of benefit to Scotland. For Scotland’s interests, it surely makes sense to think again because once they’re gone, any political will to re-establish them just won’t be there.

The EU is set to only become more important in our day-to-day lives as Brexit Britain continues its slow decline. Meanwhile, in the EU, enlargement is on the agenda and will see it go from strength to strength and the Scottish Government has the right policy and right ambition: independence in Europe.

We need to put our money where our mouth is. Let’s make sure we maintain those ties both now and in the future.