Scotland has launched a new scholarship program to once again welcome EU students to its universities.

“Unfortunately, over the past year we have seen a dramatic drop in applications from EU students who wish to study here,” Scottish Higher Education Secretary of State Jamie Hepburn said in a statement. “We want to do everything we can to reduce the damage caused by Brexit and promote Scotland’s educational offerings around the world.”

The programme, which is funded with £2.25 million (about €2.62 million), aims to financially support hundreds of EU students to study at Scottish universities from this autumn.

This year, 41 percent fewer EU candidates applied to Scottish universities than last year. According to data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), the decline was even greater in the UK as a whole.

Erasmus left program with Brexita

With Brexit, Great Britain also withdrew from the European Union’s exchange program Erasmus, with which simpler semesters abroad were possible. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government wants to enable British students to live abroad far beyond Europe with the Turing Program. However, foreign students are no longer funded in British universities.

Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants to hold another independence referendum and, in the event of a victory, take her country back to the European Union as an independent state from London. Scots voted against Brexit in 2016 with a clear majority.