On 25 November, the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) submitted its response to the European Commission’s consultation on the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), particularly regarding EU funding for cross-border education, training and solidarity, young people, media, culture, and creative sectors, values, and civil society.
The response reiterated a core message: Erasmus+ remains one of the EU’s strongest instruments for talent, cooperation and competitiveness—and requires investment that matches its ambitions.
- ACA welcomes the proposed EUR 40.8 billion envelope for the merged Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes, but stresses that it falls short of the EU’s mobility and cooperation targets. To achieve them, ACA calls for at least doubling the current programme budget, supported by administrative simplification and more flexible mobility formats.
- A major recommendation concerns stable, transparent sectoral budget shares. In particular, ACA urges the EU to maintain the 34% allocation for higher education—home to cost-intensive but high-impact actions such as joint programmes, European University alliances, and work on inclusion and digitalisation. The association also stresses the need to preserve the existing balance between indirect and direct management.
- On the global dimension, ACA calls for a clearly defined and ambitious budget line under Global Europe. Strengthened geopolitical outreach—international mobility, talent partnerships, humanitarian volunteering—must be backed by adequate investment. Successful schemes like Erasmus Mundus should be expanded, and new mechanisms such as strategic scholarships must not be funded by diverting resources from proven actions, as early signals in the 2026 call already suggest.
- Finally, ACA emphasises the importance of maintaining annual planning and budgeting cycles to ensure predictability, while keeping the Erasmus+ Programme Committee as a crucial safeguard of transparency and programme integrity.
A strong, future-oriented Erasmus+—properly funded and well-governed—remains an essential investment in Europe’s resilience and long-term prosperity.
