EU nations commit to cutting PSE expenditures

Nearly every European Union country has committed to reducing their expenditures on universities, reports Times Higher Education. Spain is cutting €485 million from education overall, and assistance to local authorities -- key supporters of universities -- will be reduced by just over €1 billion. Ireland's budget in December included a 2% reduction in core funding for PSE to secure savings of €23.6 million. In Italy, high-profiled budget cuts offer little hope for PSE investment in the country in 2012. With a 20% fall in PSE funding predicted by 2013 even before December's "Save Italy" budget cuts of €30 billion, most expect more pain to follow. Since the European Universities Association's most recent report in June, only Norway, Finland, and Germany have maintained their commitments to increase funding for PSE. France remains committed to plans to invest up to €30 billion to improve universities and research through its national loan system, but borrowing billions could be tricky in light of its own lingering debt problems. Times Higher Education