Council agrees position on the EU’s flagship programme for education and training
The Council has agreed its position on the Erasmus+ regulation for 2028-2034.
The agreement ensures that the regulation builds on the strengths of the current Erasmus+ programme and marks a crucial first step towards negotiations with the European Parliament.
Erasmus+ is the EU’s flagship programme for education and training, youth and sport, and has changed the lives of more than 16 million people over the last four decades.
This agreement marks an important milestone for the future of Erasmus+. The Council’s mandate strengthens the role of member states and ensures that all sectors – education and training, youth and sport – receive the visibility and support they deserve. Erasmus+ has transformed millions of lives, and today we are taking the first step to ensure it continues to do so.
Dr Athena Michaelidou, Minister for Education, Sport and Youth, Republic of Cyprus
The Erasmus+ programme aims to support high-quality education and training and provide learning and mobility opportunities for a wide range of participants, including young people, learners and people in grassroots sport. The Commission’s proposal merges the programme with the European Solidarity Corps (ESC).
Today’s negotiating position is ‘partial’ because it excludes financial and horizontal issues. These are currently being discussed as part of the negotiations on the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) covering the period 2028 to 2034.
Main elements of the Council’s position
An enhanced governance model
The Council has updated the governance model of the Erasmus+ programme to strengthen member states’ powers of scrutiny.
In particular, it has reinstated the programme committee that exists under the current Erasmus+ programme, giving member states greater control in the governance of the programme.
It has also introduced two separate categories of work programme, via which actions under Erasmus+ shall be implemented:
- a ‘new action work programme’ for new actions under direct management that have been proposed by the Commission
- a ‘regular work programme’ for actions that continue to receive financing after their initial implementation
European Solidarity Corps
In order to preserve the legacy of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) in the post-2027 Erasmus+ programme, the Council’s position includes provisions for actions that currently fall within the scope of the ESC programme, such as initiatives supporting youth participation and solidarity activities.
A reference has also been added to ESC-related volunteering activities, including volunteering under the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps..
Providing visibility to all sectors
The text approved by the Council today ensures the visibility of all sectors covered by the Erasmus+ programme. Activities supported by Erasmus+ in education and training, youth and sport appear in different articles.
Under the Council’s mandate, Erasmus+ will continue to support youth exchanges and DiscoverEU in the field of youth. In the field of sport, the mandate stipulates that Erasmus+ will support the learning mobility of people active in grassroots sport, including sport staff.
Non-EU countries
The Commission’s proposal introduces the new concept of ‘partial’ association to the Erasmus+ programme for non-EU countries. The Council’s mandate takes this further, clarifying the conditions under which a non-EU country would qualify for partial association, and stipulating that those countries should respect EU values.
Talent and excellence
In its mandate, the Council has renamed the ‘Erasmus+ scholarships’ in Article 5 of the Commission’s proposal ‘talent and excellence development opportunities’. The scope of the new initiative has been broadened to include other programmes with a transnational dimension, in addition to joint study programmes.
Next steps
The partial negotiating position approved today is the Council's mandate to start negotiations with the European Parliament on the Erasmus+ regulation. The decision on the programme’s budget for 2028-2034 will depend on the final agreement on the next MFF.
Background
On 16 July 2025, as part of the wider package for the MFF, the Commission published its proposal for the next generation of the Erasmus+ programme (2028-2034). The proposal merges two existing EU programmes: Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps (ESC), and provides for a budget of €40.8 billion. The programme is built around two pillars: learning opportunities for all, and capacity building support.