There has been a lot of false information on social media recently, saying that the UK is out of Erasmus Plus and the European Solidarity Corps. This is not true, so we’d like to give everyone the facts as we know them.
There were several recent votes in Parliament relating to Brexit, but those votes were about the withdrawal process, not the final policy. What we know is that the government’s current policy is that the UK continues to participate in Erasmus+ during 2020. Chris Skidmore, Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation issued a statement saying:
“Under the proposed Withdrawal Agreement students, young people and learners will be able to participate fully in the remainder of the current programme and organisations continue to bid for Erasmus+ funding to the end of 2020. Organisations should continue to apply for funding as usual. As stated in the Political Declaration, the UK is open to participate in certain EU programmes, such as the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), if it is in our interest to do so.”
“Under the proposed Withdrawal Agreement students, young people and learners will be able to participate fully in the remainder of the current programme and organisations continue to bid for Erasmus+ funding to the end of 2020. Organisations should continue to apply for funding as usual. As stated in the Political Declaration, the UK is open to participate in certain EU programmes, such as the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), if it is in our interest to do so.”
We believe the same applies to the European Solidarity Corps.
Even though there will be uncertain times ahead, it is very important that we all stick to the facts and don’t lose hope. Let’s keep on spreading the word about the great opportunities which Erasmus Plus and the European Solidarity Corps offer to young people. The more people that know and appreciate these programmes, the more likely they are to continue.