European University Foundation warns Erasmus+ budget will not deliver on mobility targets

The European University Foundation says that the European Parliament's proposed budget for Erasmus+ for 2028-2034 would go against the goals of the Commission and Member States mobility targets.

Charles de Groot, Research and Policy Officer at the European University Foundation (EUF), told News Tank on 23/05/2026: "We calculated that the European Parliament is not putting the budget for the target they set themselves on Higher Education mobilities, i.e. 23%."

He responded to the publication on 18/05 of the European Parliament’s draft report on Erasmus+ 2028-2034 which allocates 73.4% of the total budget to education and training. This amounts to €34.79bn, compared with the €47.4bn for the entire programme proposed by the Polish MEP who drafted the report Andrzej Zdrojewski. Of this, higher education is proposed to get 34.6%, which equals roughly to €12bn.

EUF estimated that Erasmus+ mobility grants should provide around €500 per month for five months (€2,500 per student). Current funding is often insufficient, with over 80% of students reporting that grants do not cover living costs…