A meeting between Education Secretary Michael Russell and key European officials on the issue of fees for European students has been described as ‘productive’ yesterday evening.

Currently, European law obliges the Scottish Government to pay the fees of students living in non-UK EU countries at a cost of more than £75 million a year.

Costs have surged from £20 million in 2000-01 when there were half as many EU students coming to Scotland. Mr Russell sought today’s meeting to discuss with the EU how we might start to resolve this issue.

Mr Russell said:

“Part of the attraction of Scottish universities is their cosmopolitan nature and students from Europe and beyond have made a significant contribution to university life around the country.

“However, with the cost of EU students to the Scottish taxpayer having risen almost fourfold since the start of the last decade, we cannot allow our universities to become a cheap option for students who have to pay to study in their home countries.

“I am very pleased to have been able to raise the issue with representatives of Commissioner Vassiliou. I felt it was a productive session.

“They now understand the difficulties Scotland faces in paying for EU students and will report back to the Commissioner. I don’t expect a swift solution to the problem to be found, but I hope that today’s meeting will be the first step on the road towards such an outcome.”