Letter: EU rights for all

Alex Orr's defence of the fees regime in Scottish universities (Letters, 5 July) tells us more by what he chooses not to mention than by what he says.

Mr Orr tells us that Scottish universities have to charge English students fees to prevent them swamping the universities in search of a cheap education.

What he fails to tells us is that while English, Welsh and Northern Irish students are charged fees, students from other European Union countries are not. Indeed, under European Union anti-discrimination law the Scottish Government cannot treat them less favourably than Scottish students, although it can do so with British students.

Now the parents of these students from other parts of Britain are British taxpayers whose taxes ultimately contribute to the funding of Scottish universities, while neither the foreign students nor their families have contributed anything. Furthermore, there is a net subsidy from England and English taxpayers to Scotland and Scottish taxpayers.

In the circumstances, any fair-minded person would consider the current Scottish fees policy to be entirely unjust.

What is needed is for Westminster to fill the lacuna in EU law by enacting an equal rights provision which prevents all public bodies (including the Scottish Parliament and the assemblies) discriminating against British citizens or treating people from one part of the UK less favourably than those from another.

Otto Inglis

Inveralmond Grove

Edinburgh