Row over tuition fees cut for European students threatens Starmer’s EU reset
Britain is in a standoff with Brussels over a demand to cut university tuition fees for European students, in a row that threatens to scupper Keir Starmer’s planned EU reset.EU officials say European students should pay “home” fees of about £9,500 a year in England and Wales as part of the negotiations over a youth mobility scheme, rather than the higher international rate, which can rise above £60,000.European students would also pay the domestic rate in Scotland, which is set at £1,820 a year, although most Scottish students qualify for free tuition.Fees for Irish students In Northern Ireland are generally capped at £4,855.However, British negotiators say they have been blindsided by the demand, which they say was not mentioned in the framework agreement signed last year and would cost British universities an estimated £140m a year.
Sources say the disagreement has brought talks to a near standstill with just three months left before a summit in Brussels in late June or early July.The prime minister is planning to use that summit to announce a series of agreements on trade and travel designed to bolster his argument that closer ties with the EU are needed to boost the UK’s economic growth.One said: “It is true that talks have stalled and that this is now the main issue on which both sides cannot agree.”A British government spokesperson said: “Any final [youth mobility] scheme must be time-limited, capped and will be based on our existing youth mobility schemes, which do not include access to home tuition fee status.”One British source described the idea of a reduction in tuition fees as a “non-starter”.
The European Commission would not comment on negotiations, though a spokesperson said: “The United Kingdom and the EU have underlined and reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the outcomes of the May 2025 summit in a timely manner.We will work together on our continued discussions in areas of shared interest.”Starmer kicked off talks on a range of subjects last year as part of what ministers said was a “historic” agreement to improve the terms of the Brexit deal 10 years after the UK first voted to leave the EU.The prime minister has put closer EU relations at the heart of his economic plan, something the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will further emphasise in a lecture on Tuesday spelling out the government’s growth strategy.Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister, who is in charge of the negotiations, is due in Brussels on Monday to underline the government’s position in front of a joint meeting of members from the British and European parliaments.
But in the negotiating room, agreement is proving hard to come by, with officials toiling over three potential deals: one covering trade in food and agricultural products; one covering carbon emissions; and one expanding visa freedoms for young people.Sources briefed on the talks say the agricultural trade deal is close to completion after European officials accepted that Britain could keep its higher animal welfare standards as part of any agreement.Discussions on the carbon emissions deal, which would link the carbon emission trading schemes in the UK and EU and avoid Britain having to pay a cross-border carbon tax, are also thought to be well advanced.However, the youth mobility scheme, which ministers have rebadged as a youth experience scheme to dispel fears about higher levels of migration, is causing a major stumbling block.EU leaders have instructed Brussels officials to negotiate over reducing the fees for all European students in return for accepting British demands of a two-year time limit on the scheme and a limit on numbers of fewer than 100,000 a year.
The instruction was handed over as part of the formal negotiating mandate given earlier this year by the European Council to the European Commission, which carries out the talks.Sources in Brussels say that since Brexit, the proportion of European students in the UK has fallen from 27% to 5%, and they argue that the European middle-class is being priced out of a British university education.But UK officials say that while a cap and a time limit were explicitly referenced in last year’s agreement, a reduction in fees was not.They say that if the government accepted Brussels’ demand it would require a “really big” concession in return beyond the requirements the government had already set out.UK officials are keen to make the scheme more flexible than the EU is proposing, for example by allowing participants to change between work, study or simply travelling as they wish.
Mark Corver, an analyst of university funding and director at Campus Numerics, said setting fees for EU students at the same level as British students’ would cost the sector £140m in the first year, and £400m across the three-year period of a typical course.Jamie Arrowsmith, the director of Universities UK International, said: “We fully support the government’s position on home fee status.This would carry a very significant cost and risks undermining the financial sustainability of universities, which would not be in the best interests of the UK or the EU, or prospective students.”
Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for caramelised white chocolate and rhubarb cheesecake | The sweet spot
It’s often my own impatience that forces me to make no-bake cheesecakes over baked ones. They’re not at all as faffy, though it’s pretty hard to beat the lighter, silkier texture you get with a baked version plus the extra effort is worth it on a special occasion such as Mother’s Day. I’ve sweetened the filling for this one with caramelised white chocolate – it brings a beautiful, creamy, dulce de leche-type caramel flavour that even the biggest white chocolate haters should enjoy. If making your own caramelised white chocolate feels a step too far, however, just buy bars of blond chocolate instead. Top with gently poached rhubarb for a pop of colour and to cut through the richness
Noma chef resigns amid allegations of physical abuse of staff
René Redzepi, the head chef and co-founder of Noma, has announced his resignation from his internationally acclaimed Copenhagen restaurant following allegations he physically abused his staff.Redzepi had been facing protests in Los Angeles before a four-month pop-up that launched this week. His resignation on Wednesday comes after the New York Times detailed allegations of physical and psychological abuse, including claims that he “punched employees in the face, jabbed them with kitchen implements and slammed them against walls”.He wrote in an Instagram story: “I’ve decided to step away and allow our extraordinary leaders to now guide the restaurant into its next chapter.”Redzepi said the recent weeks had “brought attention and important conversations about our restaurant, industry and my past leadership”, writing: “I have worked to be a better leader and Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years
Light red wines for spring drinking
Can wine ever be good for you? The question has surely occurred to most of us after a night on the chȃteau de migraine, especially if we’ve read the increasingly dire warnings on alcohol consumption. Still, as with chocolate, a lot depends on what type of alcohol you drink. After all, a 90% cocoa solids situation is probably going to do less harm than, say, a family tub of Celebrations, and, while all alcohol is, I hate to break it to you, alcohol, there are definitely better choices you can make.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link
Rachel Roddy’s recipe for risotto in bianco | A kitchen in Rome
Parmigiano reggiano, grana padano, lodigiano, trentingrana and the other members of the grana-type cheese family (there are many, and all are worth seeking out) are far from cheap. Which is why it is important to use every last bit, including the rind with the last few millimetres of cheese still attached. That functions as a sort of highly flavoured and fatty stock cube that can be added to soups and stews. The best place to keep your precious rinds is in a plastic bag or airtight container in the freezer, which also preserves flavour and stops them drying out, until they’re pulled out and added directly to whatever needs a boost, or to make one of the nicest, most delicately flavoured and cheesy broths, which in turn makes a lovely risotto.I have written about risotto many times here, with each version a new favourite, and providing lessons in a dish that, regardless of how much I learn and practise, I am always chasing: the right proportions of rice to broth, as well as a pleasing consistency and texture
‘Highly problematic behavior’: Noma residency in LA starts with PR crisis
It was always going to be an indulgence for René Redzepi, the Danish-Albanian chef of Noma fame, to bring his exacting, innovative vision of haute cuisine to Los Angeles and spend several weeks tickling the palates of well-heeled diners at a hilltop estate once dubbed “the most beautiful home in Hollywood”.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The timing has certainly been unfortunate, since the US is now fighting a destabilizing war in the Middle East and food prices are climbing so steeply that many ordinary Americans can no longer afford to eat at McDonald’s, much less contemplate the counterintuitive delights of tacinga cactus, bougainvillea petals, mealworms and giant tuna eyes
Before sunrise: while Sydney sleeps, suhoor meals attract a lively social scene during Ramadan
Suhoor – the pre-dawn meal – is typically shared at home. But in Sydney customers also queue outside food trucks, restaurants and cafes with extended trading hoursIt’s just after midnight in an industrial courtyard in Auburn in Sydney’s west and a glow of string lights and the constant sizzle of a grill signal one of Ramadan’s newest late-night rituals. A food truck specialising in halal steak sandwiches has attracted a small crowd and a queue begins to form.The rest of the city is largely asleep but here the courtyard hums with life as young Muslims arrive in waves after evening taraweeh prayers, chatting and checking their phones as the clock edges closer to suhoor – the pre-dawn meal eaten during Ramadan before the day’s fast begins.Inside The Meat Up, a Lebanese husband-and-wife duo move quickly over the grill
Stout clobber? Guinness tie-up features £1,295 ‘pub carpet’ jumper
Relief for some of Britain’s poorest lands at right moment to cushion Iran aftershocks | Heather Stewart
One of Britain’s last major chemical plants at risk as energy prices surge
‘The chef is a metre away from you’: the cosy allure of micro-restaurants
Rate rises, helium shortages, EV sales spikes: how is the disruption in Iran’s strait of Hormuz affecting Australia?
‘Everything is going up’: Americans struggle with affordability despite Trump’s claims