By Mark Briggs | Euractiv Est. 3min 19-02-2015 Groningen University [Jan Smith/Flickr] Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram UK students will for the first time be able to apply for European universities through the UK’s centralised application channel, UCAS. There are currently 30,000 British students studying in European universities. Yesterday’s announcement is expected to see this number steadily rise over the coming years, not least because of a disparity in tuition fee charges. UK tuition fees are up to £9,000 a year. Dutch universities such as Maastricht and Groningen – already popular with UK students – charge £1,500 a year. Previously British students wishing to attend universities in the rest of the EU had to apply to them individually and directly. Now they will be able to apply alongside applications to UK based universities. The Amsterdam Fashion Academy is the first EU university to use the UCAS admissions service. Universities wishing to use the UCAS service must pay £25,000 and prove their courses meet equivalent UK standards. >>Read: New European university ranking system launched A UCAS statement said: “The higher education environment has changed significantly in the last few years with the intention of giving students more choice. With more choice in the market, there is a need to ensure that student interests are protected. “We want students who apply for courses through UCAS to be confident that they are applying for a verified qualification at an institution which meets the relevant quality standards. As a consequence, we have reviewed the criteria for access to UCAS services to ensure that they are fit for purpose in this changing environment.” “We will therefore consider requests from European higher education providers to use UCAS services if they can demonstrate that they meet equivalent standards to those in the UK. “The inclusion of a wider range of higher education providers in the UCAS system offers students more choice about where and what to study.” >>Read: Erasmus+ wants to reach beyond university students British students have historically been hesitant to participate in the EU’s Erasmus exchange programme. In 2012-13, the UK saw a 7% rise in students using Erasmus, with 14,607 students studying abroad, the highest number in 25 years. The total number of Erasmus students was 268,143. Read more with Euractiv EU law could boost 'safe' securitisationThe European Commission will consider reducing how much capital banks must hold against risk for a new class of asset-backed securities, a process of packaging and selling loans blamed for the financial crisis. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters Further ReadingErasmus programme website