Erasmus+

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 16 May 2018.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Oliver Mundell Oliver Mundell Conservative

The minister has effectively made my point for me by pointing out that Turkey does not fall into that category. We also have to recognise that a huge number of other global academic partnerships and relationships exist outside the EU’s freedom of movement principle. It would be sad if we find out somewhere down the line that the EU has prevented Scotland or the United Kingdom from continuing to engage in something as important as this because of a lack of flexibility around accepting the democratic will of the people of the United Kingdom.

We need to avoid division and a sense that there is a problem. We need to encourage organisations and individuals to continue to apply and make bids while the UK is still a member state, because those applications and bids will be honoured. That is the priority while we wait for the right moment in the negotiations to ensure that this important policy continues post-Brexit.