Why an Erasmus+ Coalition?

 

Operational since 2010, the Erasmus+ Coalition is co-led by the Lifelong Learning Platform and the European Youth Forum. It accounts for 81 EU-wide networks, with over 6200 member organisations that represent networks, institutions, coalitions of stakeholders in youth, sports, education and training at national, regional and local levels across Europe.

 

These members are stakeholders in the most famous EU programme, the Erasmus+. The Coalition aims to improve the programme’s implementation and to advocate on behalf of beneficiaries during Multiannual Financial Framework negotiations. The goal is fostering concrete proposals for current implementation and a comprehensive vision for the future.

 

In 2017, ahead of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) negotiations, the Coalition set up a campaign to ask decision-makers for a ten times increase of the Erasmus+ budget! In 2025, ahead of the next MFF negotiations, the Coalition launched a new campaign for a five time increase of the Erasmus+ budget!

 

Ongoing campaign

 

In 2024, the Erasmus+ Coalition launched a new campaign around the negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2028-2034. The stakeholders call for a five-time increase of the Erasmus+ budget and a strong safeguarding of its current objectives and priorities which have been rated consistently as relevant (according to Erasmus+ Implementation Report 2021-2023).

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The Coalition has prepared five key messages to support the five time budget increase. Read the Common Demands for the new iteration of the programme.

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• Scaling up to address the ambition-reality gap: a five times increase of the Erasmus+ budget 

  • The European Parliament requests a tripling of the budget to maintain the programme at its current scope. Mario Draghi insisted on a five-time increase only for learning mobility. To ensure equitable access to the programme and upscale it for current needs, a five times budgetary increase is needed.

• Erasmus+ builds democratic and societal resilience

  • Erasmus+ develops active citizenship competences, a sense of intercultural understanding and solidarity as well as of further closeness to Europe. This boosts systemic societal resilience and contributes to safeguard the Union’s social and territorial cohesion. Resilient and secure countries require active, healthy, informed and connected citizens.

• Erasmus+ as a driver of innovation and competitiveness

  • Erasmus+ contributes to the development of basic skills, STEM skills, transversal skills according to the objectives of the Union of Skills. It also boosts innovative collaboration across education and training stakeholders to deliver tailored learning in formal, non-formal and informal learning formats to all Europeans. This strengthens innovation and competitiveness in Europe.

• A strong Erasmus+ multiplies impact through synergies with other programmes and policy instruments

  • Improve synergies with other programmes tackling education and training such as European Social Fund+, the European Regional Development Fund, the European Solidarity Corps, the Development Education and Awareness Raising Programme. Linkages with national funding have to be improved. However, it is essential to keep Erasmus+ as a flagship, stand-alone funding programme, with a clearly earmarked budget for lifelong learning, youth, solidarity and sports.

• An Erasmus+ that supports multiplier organisations

  • Erasmus+ is implemented through a strong ecosystem of organisations and institutions that support learners and young people at European, national and local levels. As such, it requires a balance between centralised and decentralised parts of the programme, and between structural and project-based funding. In this way, it can ensure cross-sectoral and cross-country collaboration, facilitated by the civil society organisations benefitingbenefitting from the programme.

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Additional positions:

• Academic Cooperation Association (ACA): The future of Erasmus+ is the future of Europe. Why further invest in (higher) education at EU level?

• European Federation for Intercultural Learning (EFIL): Widening access to Erasmus+ Long-Term IPM Schools and non-profit pupil mobility organisations working together.