EU Approves €26.2 Billion Budget for Erasmus+ 2021-2027 for Learning & European Cooperation

The European Commission has approved the first annual work program of Erasmus+ 2021-2027 for a €26.2 billion budget to be utilized for learning mobility and cross-border cooperation for ten million Europeans.

Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, has welcomed the new Erasmus+ program launch and highlighting the impact it will continue to have on millions of European youngsters.

“Erasmus+ program will continue to offer learning opportunities to hundreds of thousands of Europeans while providing a life-changing experience of mobility and common understanding amongst fellow Europeans,” Vice-President Schinas asserted.

The new Erasmus+ budget has been complemented with an additional €2.2 billion from the EU’s external instruments such as Neighbourhood, Development, and International Cooperation, which aim for more inclusivity, green and digital transitions, and resilience of education and training systems amid the ongoing effects of the pandemic.

The previous Erasmus+ for the 2014-2020 budget had been set at €14.7 billion and had assisted almost four million Europeans throughout seven years.

Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, highlighted the importance the EU gives to education and announces Erasmus+ open for applications.

“I invite all public and private organizations active in the fields of education, training, youth, and sport to look at the newly published calls for proposals and apply for funding. Thanks to Erasmus+, we will make the European education area a reality,” Commissioner Gabriel claimed.

What Does Erasmus+ 2021-2027 Offer?

The new program Erasmus+ establishes opportunities for studying abroad, training, apprenticeships, and staff exchanges. School pupils, high education and vocational students, adult learners, exchange students, youth workers, and sports coaches are all eligible for the program.

The primary points of the Erasmus+ 2021-2027 program are:

• Inclusive Erasmus+ that aims to provide special opportunities for people with diverse cultural, social, economic backgrounds and people living in rural areas. The program will also be more open to working with third-world countries to continue the successful collaboration by expanding into the sport, vocational education, and training sectors.
• Digital Erasmus+ will support digital upgrading skills under the Digital Education Action Plan. The program aims to provide high-quality digital training and exchanges with eTwinning, School Education Gateway, and the European Youth Portal. The project further plans to implement the European Student Card.
• Green Erasmus+ targets students’ participation in sustainable transport modes and supports promoting awareness of environmental issues projects.
• Erasmus+ for young people: DiscoverEU will continue to give 18-year-olds the possibility to rail pass across Europe, learn different cultures and meet fellow Europeans. The program also supports exchange and cooperation opportunities over new youth participation activities, helping young people engage, learn and participate in democratic life.

In terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Erasmus+ resilience effort will assemble schools, universities, training institutes, teachers, and young people and help them accelerate new methods to improve education’s quality and importance across Europe.

The Erasmus+ program has been active for 30 years and has served more than ten million people across Europe, with 33 participating countries. The program offers mobility and collaboration in education, training, youth, and sport around the world. Europeans have ranked the program as the third most positive result of the block, following free movement and peace.

During a summit held in Brussels in November, the EU agreed to offer €16 billion to Erasmus+ for strengthening the programs, providing anti-Corona programs for citizens, creating new opportunities, and maintaining European values.

The Erasmus+ 2021-2027 will not welcome UK students who are not eligible to apply to programs’s exchanges due to Brexit. About 200,000 British students have been under the last Erasmus+ program.