OeAD-Calice: Despite Brexit Erasmus stays in the UK are guaranteed for the academic year 2020/21



The United Kingdom is one of the most popular destinations for Austrian Erasmus+ participants.
What does Brexit mean for the EU programme Erasmus+ Education?
The United Kingdom will remain an Erasmus+ programme country during the transitional period until December 31st, 2020, even though it no longer is an EU country, and will continue to participate in the current 2014-2020 programme period – without any restrictions. With the ratification of the withdrawal agreement EU law will continue to apply during the transitional period until December 31st, 2020.
Consequences for the EU programme "Erasmus+ Education"
The United Kingdom's departure from the EU at midnight on January 31st, 2020 will therefore hardly change anything for participants in the Erasmus+ education programme for the time being. "The transitional arrangement clearly states that all projects approved in 2020 will be fully funded – for their whole duration," clarifies Jakob Calice, the OeAD’s managing director. "People can start their stays with peace of mind. I would recommend that students contact their universities this spring and register for a stay abroad before the summer at the latest", says Jakob Calice.
Approved programme projects will be financially secure and can sometimes last beyond 2020. This also applies to the 2020 application round: All projects with institutions in the United Kingdom that start before December 31st, 2020 are fully eligible for funding for the entire duration of the project. Mobility projects, including the 2020 application round, can also send people to the UK or host people coming from the UK within the project duration. In this case, too, the period of stay abroad may also start after December 31st, 2020. "So nothing will change for Erasmus+ students within the application period 2020", says Jakob Calice.
The United Kingdom is one of the most attractive host countries for Austrian Erasmus+ participants. Whether the United Kingdom will continue to participate in the new Erasmus+ programme period 2021-2027 is still open. Jakob Calice: "We would very much like to see the UK continue to participate in Erasmus+ in the future. This would allow the good mutual exchange and scientific cooperation to continue smoothly". However, for this to happen, the UK's participation in the Erasmus+ programme will have to be renegotiated between the EU and the UK.
Erasmus+ Education in Austria
Responsible for the implementation of "Erasmus+ Education" in Austria is the OeAD as national agency on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) and the European Commission. Approximately 570 projects coordinated by Austria were approved in 2019, involving the mobility of 22,000 people. More than 48 million euros in funding were approved for project executing agencies in Austria in 2019.
For questions about the Erasmus+ programme in connection with the UK's withdrawal from the EU the OeAD has set up the telephone hotline +43 1 53408-555 and provides information on a dedicated web page: www.oead.at/brexit
Further Information
 https://www.bmbwf.gv.at/Themen/euint/aktuell/brexit.html
 https://www.bundeskanzleramt.gv.at/themen/brexit.html
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/about/brexit_de