Six member states reject delay

Brussels is pressing the British government for a binding commitment on EU students tuition fees UK universities charge, before leaders meet at a summit later in November 2026. At a meeting of senior EU diplomats on Wednesday, at least six member states opposed putting off a deal on tuition fees until after the gathering.

European Commission negotiators had proposed postponing an agreement by six months to give the summit the best chance of success. That suggestion ran into resistance from capitals, with at least six member states - including several in central and eastern Europe - insisting the university fees question be settled by the summit, according to four EU sources.

One diplomat struck a note of caution, saying there was cautious optimism but that a large majority wanted a more convincing British commitment on tuition fees.

What the dispute is about

The core of the disagreement is whether EU students should continue to pay costly international tuition fees at British universities - a dispute that has remained unresolved since Brexit. The figures involved are substantial:

• •International fees can be about four to six times higher than the domestic rate for an undergraduate degree.
• •The EU wants a return to the pre-Brexit arrangement under which European students paid the UK domestic rate of university tuition.

Summit deals held hostage

Member states have tied the fees question to the wider package the summit is meant to deliver. Three agreements are due to be signed - on food and drink, carbon markets and youth exchange - alongside a pledge of a "trusted partnership" on steel and defence.

The linkage is explicit in the positions capitals have taken. Many member states believe a failure to reach an agreement on tuition fees should delay the prized food and drink deal to cut Brexit red tape. EU officials say that deal - a Labour manifesto pledge estimated to be worth £5.1bn a year to the British economy - would come into force only if there was a satisfactory agreement on fees.

Other dossiers could be caught in the same squeeze:

• •The agreement to relink emissions trading systems sundered by Brexit, which would protect British exporters from European carbon taxes, could also be delayed pending a tuition-fee deal.
• •EU sources suggest the bloc could hold up talks on British reintegration into the European electricity market, expected to intensify next year, without a fees agreement.
• •Rejoining the electricity market would require the UK to pledge an "appropriate" contribution to European cohesion funds aimed at boosting economic development in poorer regions.

A leaked version of the summit statement points to the pressure behind the timetable, looking forward to the three agreements' "joint and timely entry into force".

Youth scheme and UK offers

Alongside the fee talks sits the youth experience scheme, known as Yes, which will enable people aged 18 to 30 to live, work and study on both sides of the Channel. But diplomats question its worth without a fee deal. One EU diplomat said having a youth experience scheme without an agreement on tuition fees has very little added value, pointing to lower university costs in many EU countries and the greater advantage to British students.

The erosion of people-to-people links is seen as one of the big losses of Brexit, and many European officials studied in the UK.

The UK has signalled money is available. It was reported this week to be prepared to spend up to £450m a year to give EU students discounted university tuition fees, on condition Brussels allowed British access to the Made in Europe industrial programme. The EU said there would be no Made in Europe deal at the November summit while it was still finalising its position on the Industrial Accelerator Act.

Under that act, public subsidies and contracts would go only to products made in Europe, targeting sectors such as electric cars and renewables. France, backed by many lawmakers in the European parliament, is pushing for a narrow definition of Made in Europe, while Germany leads a larger group opposing the exclusion of trade partners including the UK.

France and Germany have since struck a compromise on Made in Europe favourable to the UK - but it applies only to cars, not to renewables, nuclear technology or other proposals. EU lawmakers are not expected to finalise the act's text until next spring.

The next step falls to London and Brussels directly: Andy Burnham will meet the EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa on 20 November in Brussels. The British government has been contacted for comment.