Brussels tells exchange students, ‘stick to your plans’

ByAlan Osborn. It is not clear where the money will come from, or when, but the word from the European Commission to thousands of European students planning to study abroad in the near future is: don’t change your plans.
It is much-needed advice as the budget for the Erasmus student exchange programme is again under threat.
Talks between the European Union's (EU) two budget authorities – the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament – broke down on 13 November when MEPs refused to discuss the 2013 budget until and unless ministers approved a special supplementary budget of €9 billion (US$11.5 billion) for 2012 containing the Erasmus money, among other things.
“The situation is rather uncertain. It's also very unfair on Erasmus students, who have been promised places and grants,” said Dennis Abbott, the commission’s education spokesperson. More...