Erasmus+ - Performance

Programme in a nutshell

Concrete examples of achievements (*)

^{(*) Key achievements in the table state which period they relate to. Many come from the implementation of the predecessor programmes under the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework. This is expected and is due to the multiannual life cycle of EU programmes and the projects they finance, where results often follow only after completion of the programmes.}

Budget for 2021-2027

^{(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.}

Rationale and design of the programme

Erasmus+ is the EU's programme to support mobility and cooperation in education, training, youth and sport in Europe. The 2021-2027 programme places a strong focus on social inclusion, the green and digital transitions, and on promoting young people's participation in democratic life. It supports priorities and activities set out inter alia in the European education area, the digital education action plan and the European skills agenda.

Budget

Budget programming (million EUR):

^{(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.}

  Financial programming:
  + EUR 116.4 million (+ 0%)
  compared to the legal basis*

^{(*) Top-ups pursuant to Article 5 of the multiannual financial framework regulation are excluded from financial programming in this comparison.}

• The budget profile of the Erasmus + programme is strongly backloaded, growing at a regular, though not even, rhythm year-over-year between 2021 and 2026, with a sharp increase in 2027. Taking into account this multiannual financial framework profile, the Commission proposed a frontloading of EUR 100 million from 2027 to 2023, actually voted in the final EU budget for 2023, to reinforce the support of the programme to pupils, students, teachers and qualified staff fleeing from Ukraine.
• The difference of the budget between the financial programming and the legal basis (EUR 59.4 million) can be explained as follows: In 2022 and 2023, the Erasmus+ programme received additional credits as a result of the final EU voted budget, respectively EUR 35 million in 2022 and EUR 20 million in 2023. In 2022, an amount of EUR 4 million, resulting from a surplus in the employment and social innovation programme, has been transferred to the Erasmus+ programme to optimise the budget implementation with the title 07 of the budget

Budget performance – implementation

Multiannual cumulative implementation rate at the end of 202 (million EUR):

Annual voted budget implementation (million EUR)⁽¹⁾:

^{(1) Voted appropriations (C1) only.}

Contribution to horizontal priorities

Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):

• The actions supported by the programme contribute to the overall climate objective, both by the prioritisation of the green transition in the cooperation activities and by the promotion of green practices at the level of the projects throughout the programme.
• In this respect, the programme supports the use of innovative and awareness-raising practices to make learners, volunteers, staff and youth workers true factors of change (e.g. save resources, reduce energy use and waste, compensate carbon footprint emissions, opt for sustainable food and mobility choices).
• The yearly contribution to climate objectives is based on beneficiary organisations’ applications for receiving funding for cooperation projects (key action 2) with climate-related topics

Gender

Contribution to gender equality (million EUR) (*):

<sup>(*) Based on the applied gender contribution methodology, the following scores are attributed at the most granular level of intervention possible:
- 2: interventions the principal objective of which is to improve gender equality;
- 1: interventions that have gender equality as an important and deliberate objective but not as the main reason for the intervention;
- 0: non-targeted interventions (interventions that are expected to have no significant bearing on gender equality);
- 0*: score to be assigned to interventions with a likely but not yet clear positive impact on gender equality.</sup>

• The programme framework of inclusion measures was adopted in 2021 in order to reinforce inclusion measures already implemented and to help adapt them to different circumstances in the Member States. With these measures in place, which also include the setting up of national inclusion plans and the nomination of inclusion contact points in each national agency, the programme opens up opportunities for many people to have a learning experience in another country, in particular by reaching out to increasing numbers of people with fewer opportunities.
• In line with the principles of the gender equality strategy 2020-2025, Erasmus+ contributes to fostering equality, including gender equality, in all of the sectors it addresses. The programme seeks inter alia to help overcome gender stereotypes in education and educational careers and strengthen the promotion of participation of women in the area of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, especially in engineering, information and communication technologies and advanced digital skills. For instance, the programme contributes to fostering gender balance in higher education institutions, across fields of study and in leadership positions; in the vocational education and training sector, it supports targeted measures promoting gender balance in traditionally ‘male’ or ‘female’ professions and addressing gender and other stereotypes. The main programme indicators are disaggregated by gender when relevant and possible.
• To highlight inspiring examples of the promotion of equality, diversity and social inclusion in sport, the Commission launched a new edition of the #BeInclusive EU sport awards. In 2022, the #BeInclusive social media impressions relating to the 2021 award – the award event celebrating sport organisations working with people facing challenging social circumstances took place in May 2022 – totalled over 6 million.
• Regarding interventions of which the principal objective is to improve gender equality (score 2), the yearly contribution to gender is based on beneficiary organisations’ applications for receiving funding for cooperation projects (key action 2) with gender-related topics.
• Regarding interventions with a likely but not yet clear impact on gender equality (score 0*), the yearly contribution to gender is the difference between the programme’s budget as indicated in the relevant annual work programme and the yearly contribution to gender based on beneficiary organisations' applications for receiving funding for cooperation projects (key action 2) with gender-related topics.
  The data are provisional, as the final results will only be available upon completion of the projects (normally 2-3 years after they start).
• Due to the specificities of the Erasmus+ programme, it is not possible to fully discern gender contribution from voted budget implementation commitments only. The split presented in the table above represents a pro-rata repartition based on the scores' proportions of the total implementation included in the relevant Annual Work programmes.  This total of 6 879 million includes other sources of funding on top of the voted budget implementation.

Digital

Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):

• Erasmus+ is heavily mobilised to respond to the necessary digital transformation of education and training, youth and sport. The programme complements physical mobility by promoting distance and blended learning. Moreover, it has a broad offer of learning opportunities focusing on basic and advanced digital competence development and virtual exchanges, and it supports cooperation projects on digital education.
• The programme supports the implementation of the digital education action plan 2021-2027. In line with the action plan priorities, the programme contributes to the development of digital skills and competences, promotes accessible and high-quality digital learning, fosters teachers’ capacity to use digital tools, services, and content to enhance student learning and develop student digital skills, provides blended learning opportunities (combinations of more than one approach to the learning process, blending school-site and distance-learning environments, and digital and non-digital learning tools). Erasmus+ also supports European online platforms for virtual cooperation and digital education.
• In 2022, completed key actions included: (a) the structured dialogue with Member States on digital education; and (b) the two sets of guidelines for educators, one on tackling disinformation and promoting digital literacy and the other one on the ethics of using artificial intelligence in education.
• Throughout 2022, the Commission continued to implement ‘Self-reflection on effective learning by fostering the use of innovative educational technologies’ (known as ‘SELFIE’), which has by now been used by 4.6 million users in 33 829 schools in 84 countries. The European digital education hub was launched on 23 June 2022.
• The European student card initiative aims at making it as easy as possible for students across Europe to be mobile. Through its key components – the Erasmus+ mobile app, the European student card and the digitalisation of student mobility management – the initiative constitutes a real revolution for the simplification of the way universities manage student mobility. By the end of 2022, the Erasmus+ mobile app had been downloaded more than 200 000 times and more than 1 530 000 European student cards were produced. The ‘Erasmus Without Paper’ network has become the default option for higher education institutions to prepare intra-European student mobility. By the end of 2022, more than 50 000 inter-institutional agreements and 70 000 learning agreements were digitally exchanged and approved by partners.
• The yearly contribution to digital objectives is mainly based on beneficiary organisations’ applications for receiving funding for cooperation projects (key action 2) with digital-related topics. Results also include projects supporting digital and managed directly by DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, and digital platforms supporting learners, staff and organisations.
  The data are provisional as the final results will only be available upon completion of the projects (normally 2-3 years after they start).

Budget performance – outcomes

• In 2022, despite persisting external challenges (notably some long-lasting effects of the pandemic and a fast-growing inflation rate), the programme could fully resume its long-standing mission to support transnational learning mobility, while continuously promoting cooperation between organisations and policy development. In 2022, Erasmus+ supported a number of mobilities comparable to the pre-pandemic years.
• Some novelties of the programme, for instance the accreditation scheme (inspired from the mechanism already established for higher education, but now extended to the other main sectors of the programme), have been very successful and have attracted considerable demand; this scheme simplifies the application process and enables easier access to funds for mobilities activities.
• 2022 was the second year of rolling out the numerous initiatives contributing to achieving the European education area by 2025. The programme supported this through flagship initiatives like the European Universities, centres of vocational excellence and Erasmus+ Teacher Academies. Its many actions in support of youth were particularly highlighted during the 2022 European Year of Youth.

Delivering on main priorities

• In 2022, the programme also continued to focus on its four main transversal priorities, promoting inclusion and diversity, contributing to the green and digital transitions as well as to democratic participation and EU values via support to projects and to specific activities.
• Besides the dedicated existing support, advanced learning and training opportunities resource centres (known as ‘SALTO’) on inclusion and on democratic participation, other centres have been set up in 2022 to support both digital and the green transitions. The aim of the centres is to improve the quality and impact of the Erasmus+ programme at a systemic level through providing expertise, resources, information and training activities in specific areas for Erasmus+ national agencies and other relevant actors.
• Rising inflation puts an increasing pressure on the costs of mobile learners. Therefore, the Commission has adjusted the rates of individual support for the 2023 call for proposals of the Erasmus+ programme, with a focus on supporting individual mobility participants, who are most affected by the increase in the cost of living.

Democratic participation and EU values

• In the Erasmus+ call 2022, all three new Jean Monnet actions in other fields of education and training (‘Jean Monnet for Schools’) were included, promoting the teaching about the EU in schools and vocational education and training sessions and enhancing teachers’ competences in this field. The objective of these funding opportunities is to empower teachers to teach about the EU, to improve learning outcomes on EU matters, strengthen EU literacy and create interest in the EU and democratic processes among learners, thus promoting active citizenship education in the programme countries. In 2022, three networks and seven teacher training projects were selected, along with 33 projects under the ‘Learning EU’ initiatives action. The Jean Monnet actions in the field of higher education continue to stimulate teaching, learning and research in European integration matters, to promote debates and contribute to spreading knowledge about the European Union.
• Youth participation activities have also been launched as a new action aiming to enhance young people’s skills, competences and foster active citizenship. This action complements the existing support to non-formal learning activities, such as youth exchanges bringing together young people from different countries to exchange and learn outside their formal educational system. From 2021 to 2023, EUR 80 million have been devoted to this action.

The international dimension

• In 2022, most of the Erasmus+ international actions were launched for the first year during the 2021-2027 programming period. For instance, the Erasmus+ national agencies selected around 1 200 international credit mobility projects aiming to provide opportunities to around 50 000 higher-education students and staff to carry out their mobility periods abroad, all around the world. These mobility projects amount to a total requested budget of EUR 670 million. Through Erasmus Mundus actions, around 130 higher education institutions from 34 countries are involved in the development of joint international master’s degree programmes.

An unprecedented level of support to Ukraine

• Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Erasmus+ programme has been mobilised, thanks to its built-in flexibility, to support projects promoting educational activities and facilitating the integration of people fleeing the war in Ukraine into their new learning environments, as well as activities supporting organisations, learners and staff in Ukraine. Participating organisations have been encouraged to focus their activities as they see fit. A focus was placed on key action 1 (mobility) projects, relating to their capacity to support incoming mobility from Ukraine and facilitate the integration of learners and staff fleeing the war in Ukraine.
• In 2023, Ukraine will continue to be a key focus for the programme and sector-specific priorities have been added, in particular to partnerships for cooperation (key action 2) in the fields of education, training and youth, seeking to support those affected by the war. In order to contribute to this effort, the budget authority has also re-allocated EUR 100 million from the Erasmus+ 2027 budget to 2023. The range of actions in support of Ukraine is expected to be very broad, as there are many different needs in the education sector, from pupils and students, teachers and trainers, universities and schools, along with non-governmental organisations.
• The Commission launched – through Erasmus+ – ‘Capacity Building in the field of higher education’, with EUR 5 million under heading 6 funding. This is a competitive call for the creation of an open educational digital environment for students who have fled Ukraine or have been displaced in the country. The aim is to allow them to continue their education activities virtually.

Contribution to the sustainable development goals