Keir Starmer 'crumbled to EU demands to give European students cut-price tuition fees' as he scrambled to rush through Brexit 'reset' deal

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 18:05, 30 June 2026 | Updated: 18:21, 30 June 2026 Keir Starmer crumbled to EU demands to slash tuition fees for European students in Britain as he tried to rush through his Brexit 'reset' deal, it has been claimed. The Prime Minister is reported to have made the major concession to Brussels as the price for securing a date for a UK-EU summit. His climbdown is said to have come during his talks with senior EU officials on the sidelines of the G7 gathering in France earlier this month. Since Brexit, EU students in the UK have been charged higher international fees of between £11,400 to £38,000 a year. This is compared to the lower domestic rate for British students of £9,535 a year. But, as part of Labour's proposed Brexit 'reset' deal, Brussels is determined to see EU students pay the same rate as British students while they study in the UK. There have been months of wrangling between EU and UK negotiators over the issue, which has held up progress on the wider 'reset' agreement. Yet Sir Keir is claimed to have backed down in the row during discussions with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the G7 meeting. Keir Starmer's climbdown is said to have come during his talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the G7 gathering in France on 16 June A source told The Telegraph that Ms von der Leyen insisted the PM relent to EU demands on tuition fees when they met on 16 June in Evian-les-Bains. A second source said Sir Keir also discussed the issue at a separate meeting with European Council President Antonio Costa on the same day. Following the PM's talks with the top EU officials, it was announced that a UK-EU summit would be held in Brussels on 22 July. At the time, a triumphant Sir Keir hailed the breakthrough as he looked to finalise his 'reset' deal and boost his struggling premiership. But the 'reset' agreement was subsequently put back on hold when Sir Keir bowed to pressure from Labour MPs to announce his resignation as PM less than a week later. In a final humiliation for Sir Keir, the UK-EU summit scheduled for 22 July was then postponed in the wake of his tearful statement. A Whitehall source denied the PM agreed to back down on tuition fees during his talks at the G7 gathering. Sir Keir is said to have been clear that the only way Britain could even begin a conversation on tuition fees was as part of broader talks on the UK-EU economic relationship. A UK Government spokesperson said: 'We do not recognise these claims. 'We are focused on building a closer relationship with Europe that works for the British people. We will not give a running commentary on ongoing talks.' Senior Tory MP Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, said: 'Keir Starmer has got his priorities all wrong. 'We should be cutting the cost of university for British students, not those from the EU. 'Young people are getting a terrible deal under Labour. They are being funnelled into degrees that are leaving them with mountains of debt and minimal job prospects. 'The Conservatives are the only party with a plan to fix this. 'Our New Deal for Young People will end dead end degrees, scrap real interest on student loans and double apprenticeships to ensure the best possible outcomes for young people.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.