The 2018 annual report on Erasmus+, published today, shows that over the last three decades, more than 10 million people have participated in what turned out to be a life-changing experience for many of them.
Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, said: “People across Europe engage, exchange and learn when they participate in education, youth and sporting activities across borders. Erasmus+ is a fantastic common success and we should aim for more. More participants, more mobility, more diversity, more opportunities.”
At the opening of a stakeholder event on the new Erasmus+ programme in Brussels today, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, said: “Erasmus+ has become for our younger generations a gateway to Europe and to the world. It is one of the EU’s most tangible achievements: uniting people across the continent, creating a sense of belonging and solidarity, raising qualifications, and improving the prospects of participants.”
With a budget of €2.8 billion, a 10% funding increase compared to 2017, 2018 was yet another record year. Erasmus+ funded more than 23,500 projects and overall, it supported the mobility of over 850,000 students, apprentices, teachers, and youth workers in 2018. Nearly 10% of the 470,000 students, trainees, and staff in higher education who received a grant during the 2017/2018 academic year, travelled to and from partner countries across the world.
In addition to university students and staff, Erasmus+ supported 40,000 teachers and school staff, 148,000 vocational education and training learners, 8,400 adult education staff, and 155,000 young people and youth workers.
The programme also financed 199 sports projects, 118 of which were run by grassroots sport organisations. Erasmus+ supported the annual European Week of Sport, which saw unprecedented success with more than 50,000 events across Europe.
Building on synergies with the European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018, many actions supported by Erasmus+ addressed the importance of Europe’s cultural heritage.
Since 2018, Erasmus+ also supports the initiative to make the European Education Area a reality by 2025. The European Universities initiative helps higher education institutions to form strong new alliances.
Background
Erasmus+ and its predecessors are among the most successful EU programmes. Since 1987, they have been offering young people opportunities to gain new experiences by going abroad. The current Erasmus+ programme, running from 2014 to 2020, has a budget of €14.7 billion and will provide opportunities for 3.7% of young people in the EU to study, train, gain work experience, and volunteer abroad. The geographical scope of the programme has expanded from 11 countries in 1987 to 34 in 2020 (which includes all 28 EU Member States as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey). The programme is also open to partner countries across the world.
In May 2018, the Commission presented its proposal for an ambitious new Erasmus programme, seeking to double the budget to €30 billion in the EU’s next long-term budget for the period 2021-2027. The aim is to make the programme even more inclusive, more international and accessible to people from a diverse range of backgrounds.
