European Universities Call for More Even Funding Distribution for Erasmus+ Program

The European University Association (EUA), representing over 800 universities and national rectors’ conferences in 48 European countries, has called for more even funding distribution for Erasmus+, emphasizing the importance of students receiving their scholarships on time.

According to a statement published by EUA today, students and higher education institutions in several countries have been reporting problems related to their participation in the Erasmus+ program, in particular regarding the allocation of new funds under the new generation of the program (2021-2027), with some Erasmus+ countries reporting more severe problems.

“While the launch of the programme promised a steep increase in funding to support student mobility, Key Action 1 funding in 2021 (€705 million) is lower than in the final years of the previous programme (€942 million in 2020; €922 million in 2019),“ EUA wrote in its statement.

EUA said that it strongly supports distributing funding evenly across the years of a program generation, pointing out that the move would have saved students in 2021 from competing for a lower number of scholarships than those provided in the last years, Erudera.com reports.

At the beginning of this month, the Erasmus+ coalition issued a press release, noting that problems with the selection of mobility projects and distribution of funding to universities and colleges have triggered uncertainty among students.

Students expected to start their mobilities in the second semester have also reported a lack of clarity on whether they will receive their scholarships.

According to the Erasmus+ coalition, if the European Commission, European Commission, National Agencies, and National Authorities are unable to address these issues, there could be a reduction of quality in the mobility experiences of thousands of students.

Solutions that the Erasmus+ coalition proposed to support students, staff, and higher education institutions are:

• To set up mechanisms which guarantee that students receive their Erasmus payments on time to ensure inclusivity of the programme.
• National Authorities to offer financial support to students whose study with the Erasmus program has been affected by administrative problems.
• Swift application of the Flexibility Clause contained in Article 4 of the Erasmus+ Annual Work programme to increase the total Union contribution to learning mobility.
• To provide clear communication and more transparency to students and higher education institutions regarding the current issues and various possibilities to solve those issues by the European Commission and the National Agencies.
• A linear distribution of funding throughout the programme cycle.