At least six European Union member states want the United Kingdom to make a firm commitment on discounted university tuition fees for EU students before the UK-EU summit in Brussels on 20 November.

The dispute has become one of the last obstacles to a wider reset in UK-EU relations. Since Brexit, students from EU countries have generally been classed as international applicants at British universities and can face fees several times higher than those paid by home students, with some courses costing more than £60,000 a year. Home fees in England are capped at £9,790 for 2026-27, rising to £10,050 in 2027-28.

European Commission negotiators had proposed delaying a decision on fees by six months to help the November summit succeed. According to reports, at least six member states oppose that delay and want the issue settled before the meeting, warning that it could affect several agreements due to be finalised there, including deals on food and drink trade, carbon markets and youth exchanges.

UK weighs £450m a year to bridge the gap

The UK government is reported to be willing to spend up to £450 million a year compensating universities so EU students can pay home fees, but only if the UK gains access to the EU's Made in Europe industrial programme. A government official has described the £450 million figure as speculative, and other estimates put the cost lower: higher education funding analyst Mark Corver has calculated it at £140 million in the first year and £400 million across a typical three-year course.

The stakes for universities are real. Applications from EU residents for undergraduate courses in Britain fell by about 58 per cent between 2020 and 2024, according to research from the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory. There were 63,600 EU students at UK universities in 2024-25, 16 per cent fewer than the year before.

What happens next

Nothing is agreed yet. A first draft of a joint UK-EU statement was due to be presented to EU ambassadors, with text able to be added or removed up to the summit on 20 November. The British government has not confirmed that it will restore lower fees for EU students.

The summit is also expected to cover the UK's return to the Erasmus+ exchange programme from 1 January 2027, with the government saying more than 100,000 people are expected to benefit in the first year, including apprentices and school groups.

For prospective EU students, the message for now is to check the official position before applying: fees depend on the outcome of negotiations that are still under way, and rules can change. The 20 November summit will show whether the two sides can close the gap, or whether the fees question is pushed back by another six months.