Erasmus+ 2028-2034: MEPs Back a €47.39 Billion Programme — What It Means for Students Worldwide

The European Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) voted on Tuesday, 29 September 2026 by 24 votes to one, with one abstention, to raise the budget of the next Erasmus+ programme (2028-2034) to €47.39 billion in current prices — above the €40.8 billion the European Commission proposed, and more than 1.8 times the €26.2 billion allocated to the current 2021-2027 generation. It is a committee position, not final law: a full plenary vote and negotiations with the Council of the EU still lie ahead.

Source: European Parliament via Wikimedia Commons

What exactly happened on 29 September?

On Tuesday, 29 September 2026, the CULT committee adopted its negotiating position on the regulation for the next Erasmus+ programme covering 2028-2034, part of the EU's next long-term budget (MFF) package. The result — 24 in favour, one against, one abstention — is a striking level of consensus for a spending file, and it signals that MEPs want the EU's flagship mobility programme funded far more ambitiously than the Commission originally proposed.

The rapporteur, Bogdan Zdrojewski (EPP, Poland), framed the stakes in the official press release: Erasmus+ is one of the EU's most recognised programmes, and as it evolves it must remain "accessible, simple to navigate and responsive to the needs of young people, students, school pupils, teachers and organisations across Europe and beyond." Those last two words — "and beyond" — matter enormously if you are reading this from Lagos, Jakarta, Cairo or São Paulo, and we come back to them below.

From €26.2 to €47.39 billion: the numbers, honestly

A headline number this big deserves context before anyone celebrates. Here is the full comparison:

Three honest caveats:

1. The new figures are in current prices, which bake in expected inflation. The €26.2 billion figure for the current programme is expressed in 2018 prices. The real-terms increase is therefore large — but smaller than a naive "nearly tripled" reading would suggest.
2. This is one committee's position. The full Parliament has yet to vote, and the final number will be hammered out in trilogue negotiations between Parliament, Council and Commission.
3. The Council agreed its own position in May 2026. With all three institutions now positioned, the file enters its decisive phase — historically the moment when ambitious budget numbers get trimmed.

Where the money would go

Part of the committee's reasoning is not about the total at all, but about predictability. MEPs want a pre-agreed split between the programme's fields, so that universities and applicants can plan beyond one budget year:

• Education and training: 74.6% — by far the largest share, covering student and staff mobility, joint master's degrees and cooperation partnerships.
• Youth and volunteering: 15% — with the European Solidarity Corps, including the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps, merged into Erasmus+ proper.
• Sport: 4.1% — and, for the first time, grassroots athletes themselves become mobile under the programme, not just the staff of clubs and federations.

The press release does not spell out the remaining margin; in EU programmes such balances typically cover administration and reserves.

Five changes that touch participants directly

Buried in the committee position are rules that would change what an Erasmus+ grant actually feels like:

1. Grants that respect where you live. The committee demands that grant levels account for differences in living costs, housing prices and inflation between host countries, regions and cities — a long-standing complaint from students placed in expensive capitals on grants calibrated for cheaper ones.
2. A binding inclusion target. At least 20% of participants should be people with fewer opportunities — from lower-income backgrounds, remote areas, or with disabilities.
3. Simpler, more predictable management. A clear distribution of funds between fields, fewer rule changes mid-cycle, and easier combination of Erasmus+ grants with other EU funding instruments.
4. One programme instead of two. Merging the European Solidarity Corps into Erasmus+ folds volunteering and humanitarian service into a single, simpler application landscape.
5. A teacher mobility agenda. For the first time the programme is explicitly asked to support the EU's upcoming teachers-and-trainers agenda, including recruitment and retention — relevant if you work in education rather than study.

Source: European Commission on YouTube

What if you are not from the EU?

This is the section most coverage skips. Erasmus+ is a European programme, but it was never exclusively European — and the committee's own language stresses participants "across Europe and beyond". Your realistic routes in:

• Erasmus Mundus joint master's degrees. The most direct door: fully-funded master's programmes taught across two or more European countries, open to applicants worldwide, with more than 200 programmes in the current catalogue. Our step-by-step Erasmus Mundus 2027 application guide covers how selection actually works, and our comparison of Erasmus Mundus vs DAAD helps you choose between Europe's two giants.
• Capacity-building and partnership projects. Universities in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America join Erasmus+ as partners in cooperation projects, which fund mobility for the students and researchers attached to them — the MARIHE higher-education innovation programme is one example of how a single Mundus grant spans several countries.
• A bigger envelope historically means more seats. No one can promise you a specific slot — anyone who does is selling something — but every previous budget expansion has translated into more funded mobility places, more Mundus consortia and more partner-country involvement.

If Europe is one option on your list, our open scholarships hub tracks fully-funded programmes worldwide with current deadlines, alongside free tools such as the GPA calculator that converts your grades to the US, UK and German systems European admissions offices use.

The realistic timeline

• 16 July 2025 — Commission proposes the new Erasmus+ regulation inside the 2028-2034 MFF package.
• May 2026 — the Council agrees its negotiating position.
• 29 September 2026 — CULT committee adopts Parliament's position, 24-1.
• Next — a full plenary vote in an upcoming session, then trilogue negotiations on the final text and figures.
• 2027 — the programme's 40th anniversary year, with final adoption expected before the new cycle starts.
• 2028 — the first grants under the new generation, meaning the direct beneficiaries are those planning studies for the 2028-2029 academic year and beyond.

If you are applying for 2027 entry, this reform will not affect your funding — you are applying under the current programme. The new envelope widens the door for the cohort after you.

How to position yourself for the 2028 cycle

Two full years separate this committee vote from the first grant paid under the new programme — which is an asset if you use them deliberately:

• Now through summer 2027: build the fundamentals — a strong GPA, documented volunteering or professional experience, and an English test still valid in 2028 (IELTS scores expire after two years, so time your sitting carefully). If Mundus is your target, read the admission criteria of at least three programmes in the current catalogue; the structure usually carries over between cycles with only minor changes.
• Autumn 2027: the Mundus catalogue for the 2028-2029 cycle typically opens between October and January. That is when the number of funded programmes — and the first visible effects of the new budget — become concrete. Applicants who start their file in autumn 2027 write their motivation letters in a rush; the strongest candidates drafted theirs the summer before.
• The smart parallel move: apply for the 2027 cycle at the same time. Acceptance under the current programme does not prevent you from reapplying under the new one, and a complete application cycle of experience measurably sharpens your second attempt.

Before you shortlist a single programme, convert your grades with the GPA calculator to the US, UK and German scales European admissions teams actually use, and check where partner universities stand in our rankings directory — a joint degree spans several of them at once.

Frequently asked questions

Has the Erasmus+ budget actually increased yet?

Not legally. On 29 September 2026 the European Parliament's culture committee adopted a position calling for €47.39 billion for 2028-2034, above the Commission's €40.8 billion proposal. A full plenary vote and trilogue negotiations with the Council must follow before any figure becomes binding.

Can non-EU students apply to Erasmus+?

Not directly to the classic exchange strand, which requires you to be enrolled at a participating institution. The main worldwide opening is Erasmus Mundus — fully-funded joint master's degrees open to all nationalities — plus cooperation projects that include partner universities outside Europe.

What is the difference between Erasmus+ and Erasmus Mundus?

Erasmus+ is the umbrella programme (2021-2027 now, 2028-2034 next) funding all education, training, youth and sport mobility. Erasmus Mundus is a strand inside it offering joint master's degrees delivered across multiple European countries with full scholarships for international students.

When would students feel the new budget?

Realistic estimate: the regulation is adopted during 2027, and the first new-generation grants fund the 2028-2029 academic year onward. Applicants for 2027 entry remain under the current €26.2 billion programme.

Why did one MEP vote against?

The committee's press release does not itemise the single opposing vote. Opposition to EU spending files typically concerns the total size of expenditure or conditionality — the position requires grants to respect the EU's financial interests and the values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union.

Sources

• European Parliament press release — Erasmus+: MEPs push to make 2028-2034 programme more accessible — CULT vote result, figures, quotes
• European Parliamentary Research Service — A reworked Erasmus+ for 2028-2034 — legislative background
• European Commission — Commission proposes new Erasmus+ beyond 2027 — the 16 July 2025 proposal
• Official Erasmus+ programme site — current €26.2 billion envelope
• Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2026 — current application mechanics

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