Coimbra Group’s Recommendations for the Erasmus+ Programme 2021-2027 Interim Evaluation
12 December 2023
The EU’s Erasmus+ programme plays a pivotal role in European Higher Education. The vast majority of the European Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) rely on it as the primary financial support for international mobility and collaboration in education. The Erasmus programme has always been a key element and emblem of the most successful idea of “Europe” both within and outside the European Union. As we approach the mid-term point of the 2021-2027 cycle, this position paper undertakes a thorough analysis of the accomplishments, obstacles, and prospects inherent in the Erasmus+ Programme in the area of Higher Education. The intention of the Coimbra Group is therefore to provide recommendations for further improving the Erasmus+ programme on behalf of the European higher education sector on the basis of joint work and thorough investigation among our members.
The paper first gives an overall analysis of the Erasmus+ programme and then focuses specifically on a number of specific concrete issues, identifying the relevant achievements and challenges, and giving recommendations for each area.
The document presents final remarks useful for the implementation of the future Programme and with the aim of offering a useful contribution to the best possible implementation of Erasmus+ higher education actions supported by internal policy funds (KA131), with regards topics with a specific focus on issues that concretely affect HEI members.
The Coimbra Group (CG) is an association of 40 long-established European multidisciplinary universities of high international standard. It is one of the pioneering actors in the creation of Erasmus+ in the 80’s and its members are still among the most active players of the programme. This position paper represents the results of a collective effort chaired by the Academic Exchange and Mobility Working Group, with the input from the Employability Working Group, the CG Executive Board and the CG Office. Since the public consultation on the “Interim evaluation of Erasmus+ 2021-2027 and final evaluation of Erasmus+ 2014-2020” was launched on 15th of September 2023, the participants have followed an intense work schedule in preparing this document to identify the key issues that are developed herein. The document presents the views of the CG member universities on the first years of Erasmus+ 2021-2027 and highlights issues of particular importance for its members.
Read the full Coimbra Group Erasmus+ 2021-27 interim evaluation