Purpose
This notice provides information for UK organisations and individuals on continued funding for their participation in the current Erasmus+ programme (2014-2020) in the unlikely event that the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 with no agreement in place. This notice will also be of interest to EU organisations that collaborate with UK participants on Erasmus+ projects.
Before March 2019
Erasmus+ is the EU funding programme for education, youth, training and sport, which provides €14.7 billion in grants for exchanges and collaboration over 7 years (2014-2020). The UK is a net contributor to the overall EU budget and is one of the most popular destinations for EU participants. For example, in 2015/16, the UK was the third most popular destination for higher education students. The government values international exchanges and collaboration in education and training and is therefore pleased to confirm that the joint report on progress during phase 1 of negotiations states that ‘following withdrawal from the Union, the UK will continue to participate in the Union programmes financed by the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020 until their closure’.
Erasmus+ is one such EU programme and under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement UK organisations’ eligibility to apply for Erasmus+ projects during this period will remain unchanged for the duration of the programme, and EU funding for UK participants and projects will be unaffected for the entire lifetime of projects, including those that extend beyond 2020. On this basis, the UK government encourages UK organisations to continue to bid for Erasmus+ funding.
Full information and future updates can be found on the UK Erasmus+ National Agency’s website.
After 29 March 2019 (may also apply to new exit date on 31 December 2020) if there’s no deal
In the unlikely event that the UK leaves the EU with no agreement in place, the government’s underwrite guarantee will cover the payment of awards to UK applicants for all successful Erasmus+ bids submitted before the UK exits the EU. This includes projects and participants that are only informed of their success, or who sign a grant agreement, after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and commits to underwrite funding for the entire lifetime of the projects.
The government will need to reach agreement with the EU for UK organisations to continue participating in Erasmus+ projects and is seeking to hold these discussions with the EU. If discussions with the Commission to secure UK organisations’ continued ability to participate in the programme are unsuccessful, the government will engage with member states and key institutions to seek to ensure UK participants can continue with their planned activity.
The government has also announced an extension of the underwrite guarantee for certain EU programmes, including Erasmus+. This means that where UK organisations are eligible to participate in the Erasmus+ grant programme from 29 March 2019 (may also apply to new exit date on 31 December 2020) until the end of 2020, they will also receive funding from successful bids in a ‘no deal’ scenario. The government is seeking to discuss and agree with the EU the terms under which UK organisations could be eligible for this extension of the underwrite guarantee to apply.
What you would need to do
So that projects can continue without financial disruption, and subject to the UK reaching agreement with the EU about continuing UK participation as explained above, the original and extended government underwrite guarantees apply to funding allocated to UK organisations whether in applications submitted to Brussels (centralised) or to the UK National Agency (decentralised), and whether or not the UK is the lead partner. Successful bids from UK participants will be covered by the underwrite guarantee in full and for the duration of the project’s lifetime.
The October 2018 call for bids will take place as usual. Applications for Erasmus+ funding are made by organisations, for example universities, vocational education and training organisations, schools and youth and sport groups. Individual students and young people who wish to participate in Erasmus+ funded activities should therefore contact their respective organisatio
This Article draws on information published by the UK Department foe Exiting the EU “UK Government’s Preparations for a no deal scenario” August 2018. UK public sector information is reproduced pursuant to the Open Government Licence The Legal Materials contain UK public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The Licence is available at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ (the UK Licence).
