After his university in Scotland shut down in the spring because of the coronavirus, forcing him to study online from home, Jack Boag kept up his spirits by dreaming of what awaited him in the coming academic year: a semester abroad at the University of Amsterdam. But his hopes of participating in the European Union-wide student exchange program known as Erasmus were dashed last week after Britain and Europe finally reached a Brexit deal. As part of the announcement, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Britain would withdraw from Erasmus, citing its high costs. “For me, Erasmus was the most direct benefit of European cooperation,” said Mr. Boag, a 20-year-old history and international relations student at the University of Aberdeen. “That’s gone.”

Source: New York Times December 29, 2020 19:07 UTC