![\"Prime](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Prime-Minister-Keir-Starmer-addressing-rumours-about-his-future.jpg\")
\t\tStarmer weighs cut to EU student fees in bid for Brexit reset\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tSaturday 06 June 2026 11:18 am\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tStarmer weighs cut to EU student fees in bid for Brexit reset\t<\/p>\n
Keir Starmer is considering cutting university fees for European students as part of a broader package<\/a> designed to deepen Britain\u2019s economic ties with the EU, in what could become one of the most politically sensitive concessions of his post-Brexit reset.<\/p>\n Ministers are weighing whether to lower tuition costs for EU students attending British universities as negotiations with Brussels enter a critical phase ahead of a planned UK-EU summit next month.<\/p>\n The proposal forms part of a wider push by Starmer\u2019s government to secure access for British companies to future European industrial and procurement programmes, including initiatives designed to protect \u2018Made in Europe\u2019 supply chains from growing competition from China and the US.<\/p>\n Business Secretary Peter Kyle said: \u201cWe do understand the importance of it to the EU and that\u2019s why we are engaging with it in such an enthusiastic way\u201d.<\/p>\n The move would represent a significant shift from the UK\u2019s position since Brexit, when EU students lost access to domestic tuition fee rates and began paying international fees that can exceed \u00a330,000 a year for some courses.<\/p>\n European officials argue the change has contributed to a sharp fall in student numbers, with the proportion of EU students at British universities dropping from around 27 per cent before Brexit to just five per cent.<\/p>\n Universities warn of funding hit<\/p>\n The idea is likely to alarm university leaders already grappling with severe financial pressures.<\/p>\n British universities rely heavily on international student fees to offset losses incurred from domestic students, whose tuition fees have been capped for years despite rising costs.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n