German business welcomes pending return of UK to Erasmus Programme

German business has welcomed the United Kingdom's re-entry into the European Union's Erasmus youth education programme from 2027 and hopes that it will lead to an easing of visa requirements.

Ulrich Hoppe, head of the German-British Chamber of Commerce (AHK) described the decision as "a very significant step" in remarks made to dpa days after Brussels and London agreed on the step.

It will allow young people "to gather valuable academic and professional experience across the English Channel," Hoppe said.

The UK has agreed to put up some £570 million pounds ($760 million) for the first academic year. In exchange, EU students will be able to study or attend a course in the UK, and British students will be able to cross the channel to do likewise.

Hoppe said the agreement was not only seen in a positive light by business but also showed that cooperation between the UK and the EU could be deepened in the future in other areas as well.

The UK left the EU-wide programme with Brexit in January 2020. Before then, thousands of students from the EU had spent a semester in the UK.

York-Alexander von Massenbach of the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany (BCCG) said this rapprochement should not be underestimated. The UK's elite universities made the country popular with students and young workers, he said. Brexit had closed off these options, he said.

Attractive educational and work opportunities were being reopened for young people, Von Massenbach told dpa.

Since Brexit, the UK has made its entry requirements stricter, with the result that visas have become expensive and encumbered with red tape. If the entry requirements are eased, this would be a "major step," Von Massenbach said.

Since its introduction in 1987, the Erasmus Programme has been used by more than 18 million participants by supporting study and teaching abroad and supporting practical experience in companies.