‘No financial compensation for German students’
The German Parliamentary State Secretary for Education understands the Dutch point of view about the increasing numbers of German students in the Netherlands, but has no intention to financially compensate the Netherlands.
The number of German students in the Netherlands is growing by 14 percent each year. And because more students come to the Netherlands than Dutch students go abroad, the Dutch tax payer has to pay the difference. The Netherlands therefore asked Germany for a financial compensation. In an interview with EU news portal EurActiv, Helge Braun (CDU) says that Germany, just like the Netherlands, welcomes more students from other countries than it exports. However, he argues, to ask for compensation is “in conflict with the German view, and the European idea which is focusing on the promotion of student mobility.”
Braun also says in the interview that the German government is very skeptical about the ‘Erasmus for All’ programme. He refers to an EU proposal for a new exchange programme that would have a total budget of 19 billion euro (an increase of approximately 70% compared to the current seven-year budget) and is due to start in 2014.
Erasmus for All would replace all the current EU and international schemes with one, making it easier to apply for grants. European leaders will decide about the future of the exchange programme this year.
