Now Keir Starmer desires handy the EU £8bn for Student Scheme | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Sir Keir Starmer has lumped the UK with an £8.75 billion invoice after he agreed to rejoin the European Union’s Erasmus scheme.

Whitehall introduced Wednesday [17 December 2025] that Britain would head again into the EU’s costly pupil change program, which permits college students to spend a 12 months learning at a European University, in what marks a significant step towards EU re-integration.

The transfer comes simply weeks after Sir Keir, who supported, campaigned for, and voted for stay, introduced he was ready to make “trade offs” as a part of his push for nearer ties with Brussels.

Labour have achieved different offers with the EU, equivalent to handing them entry to British fishing waters, and promising to comply with Brussels-set requirements on meals exports.

Rejoining Erasmus will value £570 million in 2027 for a single 12 months of membership. The UK taxpayer beforehand footed a invoice of round £300 million to be within the final 5 years of its earlier membership to the scheme.

And now it has been estimated by Labour that 100,000 Europeans may enter the nation by 2027 utilizing Erasmus.

This week, Sarah Jone, a Labours minister, couldn’t promise that Labour would cap the variety of college students coming in. She instructed Times Radio she couldn’t “get ahead of any negotiations before they’ve been completed or announced, I’m afraid.”

It was reported within the Telegraph the continuing membership of the scheme may value the UK extra, with the EU intending to extend funding for the scheme to €41 billion in 2028, up from €21 billion.

This may reportedly see Britain paying £1.25 a 12 months between 2028 and 2034.

A European Commission official mentioned: “The terms of UK association to any successor programme to Erasmus will be subject to a separate negotiation.”

Lord Frost, the UK’s former Brexit negotiator, instructed The Telegraph: “The Government has done what it always does – make a concession up front and sort out the consequences later.

“They pay an inflated quantity to get again into Erasmus for one 12 months, they received’t then need to go away once more, so they may find yourself paying regardless of the EU desires for the subsequent seven years. The fact is, in fact, they simply need to be appreciated by the EU and don’t care what worth they must pay.”

The news follows long-standing accusations that the Prime Minister, an ardent remainer, is trying to drag the country back into the EU in secret.

Just this month, the Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy, refused on seven occasions to rule out rejoining the customs union.

Sir Keir himself has also described using Brexit to inform foreign policy as “totally reckless” and promised a “nearer relationship” with the buying and selling bloc the UK voted to go away by the top of his first time period.