20 May 2026
EUA calls for synergies between ECF and Erasmus+ to be maintained
The European University Association (EUA) calls on policy makers to maintain explicit references to higher education in the regulation to establish a European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), as originally proposed by the European Commission.
Notably, the recent draft report on the ECF by the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) seeks to delete or reduce mentions of concrete links between the Fund and measures funded under Erasmus+ (Article 30 and Recital 21 respectively). These amendments would also remove any mention of the ECF’s role in supporting European Universities alliances ‘to improve their delivery on innovation and the development of skills and talent’. In addition to retaining these important aspects, EUA also suggests that the proposed scholarships in strategic educational fields under the next Erasmus+ programme be included here.
The EUA states that in general, it highly welcomes synergies between Erasmus+ and other EU funding programmes, including the European Competitiveness Fund and the next Horizon Europe programme. Yet, as higher education and research stakeholders have previously highlighted, to best contribute to Europe’s competitiveness, prosperity and resilience and complement each other, these programmes must remain distinct (i.e. in terms of identity and governance).
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