Austrian fee plan gets finishing touches

Austrian education minister Elisabeth Gehrer has presented the final proposals for the planned introduction of tuition fees for all students from autumn.

According to the plan, students from Austria and other European Union countries will pay €363 (£226) a semester.

Students from other countries will have to pay €7. No tuition fees will be expected from foreign students on an exchange semester, refugees, or students from countries that do not demand tuition fees from Austrians studying there.

Those from developing countries and Eastern European states will also be exempt from paying fees.

Along with the introduction of tuition fees, the ministry has also increased the fee paid to Austria's national students union.