French Erasmus+ agency representative plays down reports of financial penalties

Representatives of the French national agency in charge of Erasmus+ have responded to rumours of financial penalties for institutions lagging in digitalisation despite this requirement being a contractual obligation, saying that such sanctions seem "difficult to implement".

The representative was attending an event for coordinators from French universities that are members of university alliances held at the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris on 09/12/2025.

He stated that "the Commission takes into account the difficulties, particularly financial, encountered by institutions". He added that "a penalty seems difficult to implement" because digitalisation also depends on foreign partner institutions and levels of progress vary greatly from country to country. "We have no official indication of any financial penalties."

At the meeting, delegates from the Erasmus+ agency presented information provided to them by the European Commission regarding the European Student Card Initiative (ESCI).

The ESCI has two main components: the European Student Card and the Erasmus Without Paper (EWP), which aims…