Annually, over half a million students participate in the Erasmus+ mobility opportunities. The demand for Europe’s most celebrated programme for education, training, youth and sport is only likely to grow given the recognition of its value in international cooperation, employment, and connecting people across cultures.
In an attempt to meet these demands, the European Commission has proposed a budget of €40.8 billion for the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034. Yet if we link funding rates, participation trends and the EU’s own policy ambitions, the 50% increase in the overall budget not only underrepresents the entire picture but undercuts the ambitions of the programme, key to the European Union’s fundamental values. The Commission’s proposal for Erasmus+ funding has placed civil society and other actors in higher education in a predicament, as many argue that the so-called increase merely masks an entropic erosion of resources once inflation and expanding priorities and actions are taken into account.
Against this backdrop, the EUF presents its analysis of the 2028-2034 proposal and calls for matching the funding with policy priorities. As the European Parliament and Member States are consolidating their views on the European Commission proposal, we ask them to consider the arguments made by the Universities for a more ambitious Erasmus+ programme in 2028.
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