Andy Burnham is open to cutting university fees for EU students if the UK gets substantial concessions on trade in return, The i Paper has learned.
Brussels has long demanded that the UK agree to lower tuition fees for EU students as part of a youth mobility deal for under-30s visas that would also unlock key agreements on food and drink trade and energy markets.
But the UK has so far resisted this, as universities warn it would blow a hole in their already cash-strapped budgets, as it would mean EU students paying home fees – £9,790 in the next academic year – rather than much higher international fees of up to £38,000.
However, The i Paper understands that the Prime Minister and his new EU Relations Minister Hamish Falconer are open to cutting tuition fees for European students – but only as part of a grand bargain that would see the UK getting significantly improved trading terms with the bloc.
London has previously floated the idea that the UK could be included in a bespoke single market for goods with the EU but this was rejected by Brussels.
