The next EU Commission wants to strengthen Erasmus+
30 August 2024
In line with the Council Recommendation ‘Europe on the Move’ (link), the next Commission will work to facilitate access to the Erasmus+ programme for more people and remove existing barriers. This emerges from the guidelines on 18 July 2024, which von der Leyen presented in the EU Parliament shortly before her re-election. An increase in funding will be essential for this ambitious goal, which requires a target group-specific approach and the inclusion of an extended group of people. As part of consultations to determine the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the Political Guidelines provide a concrete basis for campaigning for sufficient funding for Erasmus+.
The guidelines, which von der Leyen presented five years ago for the previous Commission (2019-2024), contain concrete budget proposals for the EU education programme Erasmus+ 2021-2027. In 2019, von der Leyen supported the Parliament’s proposal to triple the Erasmus+ budget in the next MFF. In its report on the implementation of the current Erasmus+ programme (link), the Parliament also advocates tripling the budget for the successor programme (2028-2034). However, the Political Guidelines 2024-2029 do not contain a precise budgetary target.
Overall, the almost doubled budget for 2021-2027 compared to the predecessor programme shows a positive balance in the implementation of Erasmus+. This is clear both in the parliamentary report and in the draft report on the interim evaluation of the Erasmus+ programme commissioned by the Commission. Together with the ambitious benchmarks, this is likely to prompt the Commission to propose a significant increase in the next MFF for Erasmus+ for the period 2028-2034.
Background: In May 2024, the Council adopted the ‘Europe on the Move’ recommendation and set ambitious targets: 23% of higher education graduates and 15% of learners in vocational education and training should have participated in learning mobility across the EU by 2030, including at least 20% of people with fewer opportunities (link). Without sufficient financial resources, these goals will not be achievable in the future.
