Erasmus+ to widen remit with less funding than HE demands

The Council of the European Union (EU) has agreed a position on the next Erasmus+ programme for the period 2028 to 2034 that would see a broadening of its remit and of future opportunities for non-EU countries to participate in some activities.

The council has agreed to propose extending the scope of the programme and extending access to more non-EU countries via a new option of “partial association”.

But it did not respond to calls from the sector to raise the budget from €40.8 billion to €60 billion (US$47 billion to US$70 billion) – or the call from the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education, or CULT Committee, to raise it to €58 billion to support the ambitious additional actions proposed.

The council has strengthened member states’ powers of scrutiny by reinstating the programme committee that exists under the current Erasmus+ programme, giving member states greater control over governance.

The council has agreed to rename the “Erasmus+ scholarships” as “talent and excellence development opportunities”, broadening the scope of the new initiative to include other programmes with a transnational dimension beyond joint study programmes. The new programme would cover action on education and training, youth, sport and volunteerism.

It also merges Erasmus+ with the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) to bring ESC-related volunteering activities to address societal and humanitarian challenges, including volunteering under the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps, within the programme.

The future programme is structured around two main pillars: learning opportunities for all; capacity building through cooperation between organisations and institutions and support for policy development.

Under the proposal Erasmus+ will continue to support youth exchanges and DiscoverEU, through which young people travel and explore the diversity of Europe and learn about European cultural heritage and history.

Erasmus+ will also help accelerate new practices that improve the quality and relevance of education, training and youth systems across Europe at national, regional and local levels.

Dr Athena Michaelidou, minister for education, sport and youth for the Republic of Cyprus, which currently holds the presidency of the council, said: “Erasmus+ has transformed millions of lives, and today we are taking the first step to ensure it continues to do so.

“The Council’s mandate strengthens the role of member states and ensures that all sectors – education and training, youth and sport – receive the visibility and support they deserve.”

James Lawless TD, minister for further and higher education, research, innovation and science in Ireland, which takes over the presidency of the council on 1 July, put out a statement saying the agreement on 11 May marks an important milestone in negotiations on the future of one of the European Union’s most successful and impactful programmes.

Lawless said: “I warmly welcome the agreement reached by Member States today. This is a very positive step forward and provides a strong basis for engagement with the European Parliament.

“This progress is particularly timely as Ireland prepares to assume the presidency. We will build on this momentum and work constructively to advance this important file in the next phase of negotiations.”

Under the EU’s legislative system, the European Commission proposes legislation, and the council and European Parliament then reach agreement on the text before it can be adopted.

Budget lower than stakeholders demand

The proposal provides for a budget for Erasmus+ of €40.8 billion – which reflects a 30% increase compared to the combined budget of €27.7 billion for Erasmus+ and the ESC in 2025 prices under the current multiannual financial framework (MFF) – but the actual budget will be agreed upon during the negotiations on the next MFF covering the period 2028 to 2034.

Michael Gaebel, director of the Higher Education Policy Unit at the European University Association, told University World News that it was regrettable that the council followed the European Commission’s lead on the budget instead of the European Parliament’s CULT Committee which proposed raising the budget to €58 billion.

“It is also unfortunate that the council position has not reintroduced budgetary allocations per sector. Clear sectoral allocations enable planning security at the level of beneficiaries and the national agencies implementing the programme,” Gaebel said.

He said of the new scholarships – now named “talent and excellence development opportunities”, which will extend the inclusiveness of the programme – that the council position is in line with views expressed by stakeholders who say such new actions should not divert resources from core aspects of the programme.

“We are pleased that the council explicitly calls for the support for such opportunities [to] be pursued through synergies with other instruments, such as the European Competitiveness Fund”, as called for by the sector,” he said.

Evolving beyond traditional student mobility

The proposed programme for 2028 to 2034 reflects a continued evolution beyond traditional student mobility, supporting skills development, institutional cooperation and lifelong learning across education and training systems.

It places a strong emphasis on developing skills for the digital and green transitions, as well as expanding flexible lifelong learning opportunities, including through micro-credentials.

The programme also continues to support deeper collaboration between institutions, including through initiatives such as the European universities alliances.

Erasmus+ is the EU’s flagship programme for supporting high-quality education and training, youth and sport, and providing mobility opportunities to a wide range of participants – 16 million participants over the past four decades – including young people, learners and people in grassroots sports.

The Erasmus+ programme plays a crucial role in the development of a European Education Area.

EU leaders have called for mobility and exchanges to be stepped up, including through a substantially strengthened, inclusive and extended Erasmus+ programme.

Support for European university alliances

The council’s position recognises the role of European Universities alliances and explicitly states that Erasmus+ should sustainably support the core education mission of the alliances, enabling systemic impact through long-term union-level action.

That mission is described as encompassing future-orientated skills and competences, relevant and future-proof study programmes, pedagogical innovation, joint degrees, lifelong learning and micro-credentials.

Further, the council mentions that “support for all dimensions of the alliances, including research and innovation and their contribution to the competitiveness of the union, should be pursued through synergies with other instruments, such as the European Competitiveness Fund and Horizon Europe.”

Fernando M Galan, executive director at EU CoNexus, the European University for Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability, said this was very positive news for the future of Erasmus+ and the European University alliances.

“This is an encouraging and meaningful political signal,” he said in a post on LinkedIn.

“It confirms that European universities are increasingly understood as a structural component of the European Education Area, with a clear role in skills development, innovation, talent, competitiveness and the future of transnational cooperation in Europe.”

‘Ambitious, inclusive and responsive’

The Irish Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton TD said the agreement reflects a strong commitment from member states to ensuring the next Erasmus+ programme remains “ambitious, inclusive, and responsive to the challenges facing young people and education systems across Europe”.

She said the continued emphasis on inclusion, mobility, skills development, and lifelong learning will help ensure that even more learners and youth organisations can benefit from the programme in the years ahead.

Key elements of the proposal include new opportunities to strengthen cooperation across education sectors and targeted support to address skills needs in strategic areas.

As incoming president of the Council of the European Union, Ireland will play a central role in advancing negotiations with the European Parliament in the months ahead.