Erasmus+ 2021 2027: Council reaches a provisional agreement with the European Parliament

The German presidency of the Council and the European Parliament's negotiating team secured a provisional deal on the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2021-2027. The new programme will be much more inclusive than the current one and is expected to triple the number of participants, bringing them up to 12 million people. It will cover not only higher education, but all levels and types of education and training, which is reflected by the kept label "Erasmus+". It will be provided with a substantial budget of EUR 24.57 billion in current prices plus EUR 1.7 billion in 2018 prices, which constitutes a significant increase compared to the amount for the current programme. 83% of the total budget will be allocated to activities in the field of education and training, 10,3% to actions in the area of youth and 1,9% to sport-related activities.

For the three action areas - education and training, youth and sport, the main specific objectives of the Erasmus+ programme are the following:

The programme also aims to achieve cooperation, quality, inclusion, creativity and innovation at the level of organisations and policies in the field of education and training, youth and sport. Further to that, Erasmus+ will support teaching, learning, research and debates on European integration matters, including on the Union's future challenges and opportunities through the so-called "Jean Monnet actions".

Erasmus+ 2021-2027 will be much more inclusive by offering access to learners in higher or general education, vocational education or training, adult education, non-formal learning, youth and active participation activities. It will also facilitate the participation of small scale and grassroots organisations, and people with fewer opportunities, including people with disabilities and migrants, as well as EU citizens living in remote areas. The inclusiveness of the programme is also strengthened by the provisions on virtual learning and measures such as language support, preparatory visits, training and virtual cooperation for people who are unable to participate in learning mobility in the field of education and training, youth and sport.

Further to that, DiscoverEU, European Universities and Centres of vocational excellence initiatives are included in the scope of Erasmus+ 2021-2027.

Erasmus is one of the most popular and successful EU programmes. Launched 30 years ago, it has helped around 10 million people to study, work or volunteer abroad. Under Erasmus more than 2 000 transnational partnerships are established each year.

The Commission presented its proposal for the new Erasmus+ programme on 30 May 2018. On 15 November 2018, the Council adopted its mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament.

The provisional agreement will now be submitted to EU member states' ambassadors for endorsement. The adoption of the Erasmus+ regulation for 2021-2027 will happen at a later stage.