European higher education was underprepared to integrate refugees in the aftermath of the 2015 humanitarian crisis, according to a report from the European Students’ Union.

Student unions across the globe have signed a declaration to promote collaboration and shared values as the first step in creating a global student movement.

The European Students’ Union (ESU), which represents 47 national unions of students from 39 European countries, has demanded that education and research are protected from Switzerland's impending immigration restrictions. A narrow margin of victory meant voters approved a cap in EU migration this month.

Over 100 student representatives from 39 countries in Europe are calling on HEIs to stop treating international students as a source of revenue and better support their place in society. A draft declaration is being presented to the ESU that urges policy makers to understand the opinions, reflecting national unions of students.

The European Commission is considering a fifteen per cent cut to its budget for the Erasmus exchange programme from 2014 to 2020, in the face of demands for austerity cuts among member states—although in real terms it would still represent an increase. At the same time it is pushing for a student loan guarantee scheme to encourage more students to fund their own studies.

The European Commission proposes to make it easier for non-European Union students and researchers to enter and stay in the EU in the face of growing competition from host destinations such as the US, Australia and Japan. New legislation would from 2016 would ease the student visa process, improve access to the labour market, and extend academic mobility between states.