Sector calls for amendments to the European Commission’s proposal for the next Erasmus+ programme

February 25 2026

The signing organisations reaffirm the key role of Erasmus+ in implementing the European Education Area and supporting the Union of Skills, while safeguarding the programme’s primary educational mission – high-quality, inclusive mobility and transnational cooperation –  and recognising its contribution to the EU’s wider goals of competitiveness, cohesion and resilience.

Once inflation, the integration of the European Solidarity Corps, and newly proposed initiatives are considered, the Commission’s suggested budget would barely maintain the 2027 level of activities. In response, the organisations call for a substantial overall increase of the budget and the reintroduction of budgetary allocations per sector, while safeguarding at least 34.6% for higher education. This would ensure transparency, long-term planning, quality and access, which are deemed essential for the programme’s successful implementation and the ability to meet ambitious policy objectives and evolving needs.

Fostering synergies with Horizon Europe, the European Competitiveness Fund, as well as National and Regional Plans would enable universities to better align their education, research, and innovation missions. European Universities alliances, in particular, would benefit from complementarities across EU funding instruments. The new Erasmus+ Scholarship in strategic fields as proposed by the European Commission could – where appropriate – be co-funded by initiatives such as the European Competitiveness Fund.

It is moreover, called for member states and relevant stakeholders to be actively involved in defining and reviewing this new initiative’s scope, which, according to calculations, is cost-intense in amounting to twenty-five mobilities each.

Recognising the programme’s strategic value in fostering partnerships, talent circulation, and capacity building, a €6 billion contribution from the Global Europe instrument would strengthen international cooperation and enhance the EU’s global standing in a shifting geopolitical landscape.

The sector also highlights the need for a dedicated Erasmus+ scholarship scheme for at-risk students, alongside efforts to establish a permanent European programme for scholars with an at-risk background in the successor of Horizon Europe, building on current pilot initiatives (SAFE, MSCA4Ukraine).

In its 2025 General Assembly, DAAD already addressed some of the proposed amendments before the publication of the Commission’s proposal, where member universities and students called for a €60 billion total budget, including a third of the total budget allocated to the higher education sector. The Director of the National Agency Erasmus+ for Higher Education Cooperation within DAAD, Dr. Stephan Geifes, Director, regularly advocates for a strengthened Erasmus+ programme both at national and EU levels, such as in the context of events in Brussels and hearings at the European Parliament.