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The Government of the United Kingdom has been forced to clarify that it remains "committed" to maintaining the Erasmus + program for the next few years despite voting yesterday against being forced to do so. The decision raised such a stir in the country, where the issue became a trending topic on Twitter, that the Johnson Executive had to appear late at night to clarify that what they do not want is to go to the negotiations with their hands tied about.

A motion presented by the Liberal Democrats sought to obtain a legislative commitment to calm a sector that has always been opposed to the exit of the European Union, but the vote against the conservatives, who hold the majority of the chamber since the elections December, knocked down the initiative. This caused a great stir not only within the educational community, which nervously sees the possibility of losing part of the internationality that has given so much flight to its universities, but also among those former students who claim that the program has changed their lives .

" Erasmus made me what I am now . It allowed me, a working-class student with no chance of paying for a year studying abroad, to do so at the University of Edinburgh. This was what made me interested in the history of Scotland and Immigration. Without Erasmus I would not be doing what I do today, this is breaking my heart, "Tanja Bueltmann, professor of Immigration and History of the Diaspora, acknowledged on social networks.

That is why the Government, through a spokesman for the Department of Education, had to keep up: "The Government is committed to maintaining the academic relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union , including membership in the Erasmus + program. if those are our interests. Last night's vote does not change any of that. Now that we enter into negotiations with Brussels, we want to ensure that the United Kingdom and European students can continue to benefit from each other's leading educational systems worldwide. "

In 2017, for example, 16,561 British students participated in the program, while 31,727 students from the European Union chose the United Kingdom as their destination to continue their studies through Erasmus +. "For students, young people, those who want to do internships and the staff working in the education sector, the Erasmus system has been absolutely incredible," explained Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat deputy responsible for the amendment, which qualifies as a decision "mindless" the possibility of getting out of the plan.

Although the United Kingdom will consume Brexit on January 31, the relations between both parties will continue at least until now until the end of the year, at which time the transition period ends. This includes, therefore, a maintenance of normality also in educational programs, so Erasmus + will also be maintained during the next academic year. In some cases, it will even be up to two years, as some of the scholarships that will be approved now in February have that duration.

The United Kingdom is also trying to study the possibility of replicating the program through its Support Study Abroad, but is already realizing the difficulties involved in setting up a system as entrenched as the of the European Union. Even so, Universities UK continues to recommend its members to continue asking for this type of aid, since it will ultimately be another form of pressure to force the Government to commit to the initiative.

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