After his university in Scotland shut down in the spring because of the coronavirus, forcing him to study online from home, Jack Boag kept up his spirits by dreaming of what awaited him in the coming academic year: a semester abroad at the University of Amsterdam.
But his hopes of participating in the European Union-wide student exchange program known as Erasmus were dashed last week after Britain and Europe finally reached a Brexit deal. As part of the announcement, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Britain would withdraw from Erasmus, citing its high costs.
“For me, Erasmus was the most direct benefit of European cooperation,” said Mr. Boag, a 20-year-old history and international relations student at the University of Aberdeen. “That’s gone.”
the country voted in 2016 to leave the European Union. Once able to study and work anywhere in the European Union without a visa, young Britons will now be treated like people from any other country outside the bloc when it comes to applying for educational programs — or jobs.
