Erasmus+Future Forum

Output of the 2026 forum · Leipzig

Position Paper

On the next Erasmus+ programme (2028–2035), co-authored by the networks of the Erasmus+ Future Forum.

Draft scaffold. This page is laid out and ready for the final, co-created paper. Replace the sections below with the agreed text once the forum concludes — the structure, contents list and styling are already in place.

Leipzig, June 2026 — endorsed by the participating networks of the Erasmus+ Future Forum.

Why this paper

As the European Union prepares the next Multiannual Financial Framework and the next generation of Erasmus+ (2028–2035), the organisations that deliver the programme on the ground want their experience to count. This paper gathers the voices of international networks, alumni communities and grassroots NGOs into a single, shared position. It is offered in a constructive spirit, with full awareness of the budgetary pressures facing the Union and its Member States.

Together, the signatory networks reach more than one hundred organisations across Europe and beyond. What follows is not a list of separate wishes, but a set of priorities we hold in common.

A programme worth protecting

Erasmus+ is one of the most visible and trusted things the Union does. Its value depends on stability: organisations can only plan ambitious work, recruit and keep good people, and build lasting partnerships when funding is predictable from one cycle to the next.

We ask for an ambitious and ring-fenced Erasmus+ budget in the 2028–2034 framework, shielded from in-year reallocation, so that the programme can grow with demand rather than shrink against it.

Accessible to all, not only the large

The strength of Erasmus+ has always been its reach into small communities. Yet the heaviest cost of the programme is often administrative, and that cost falls hardest on the smallest organisations.

  • Simpler application and reporting, proportionate to the size of the grant.
  • Clear, stable guidance that does not change shape every round.
  • Real room for first-time and grassroots applicants to enter the programme.

Networks as structural partners

International student, alumni and youth networks already act as multipliers: they disseminate, mentor, quality-check and connect. The next programme should recognise this role formally and resource it, so that networks can do at scale what individual projects cannot.

Inclusion at the centre

A large share of the people who benefit most from Erasmus+ are those with the fewest opportunities. Inclusion cannot be an add-on. Financial accessibility, accessible formats and tailored support must be designed in from the start, so that taking part never depends on being able to front the cost.

Civil society in the room

The people who run the programme should help design it. We ask for meaningful and continuous involvement of NGOs and networks in the governance, monitoring and evaluation of Erasmus+ — structured dialogue throughout the cycle, not a consultation once decisions are already made.

Continuity and coherence

Every disruptive redesign forces organisations to rebuild expertise they had only just acquired. We ask for continuity in programme architecture, and for better alignment between Erasmus+, ESF+, ERDF and related funds, so that providers can combine resources and sustain multi-annual partnerships without unnecessary duplication.

Looking ahead

The next Erasmus+ will help decide how open, mobile and connected Europe is for a generation. The networks of the Erasmus+ Future Forum stand ready to work with the European Commission, EACEA, the European Parliament and National Agencies to help build a programme that is ambitious, accessible and genuinely shared.

Signatory networks: BRIDGE · Dreaming OPEnly · CUFA Deutschland · garagErasmus · Yes To Sustainability · CHANCE · Europeers · ESAA — and the partners who joined them in Leipzig.