A decisive year is opening for European universities, as the European Commission launches a sweeping review of education policy while a fierce argument builds over how much money the next funding cycle should carry.

The Commission fired the starting gun in late July 2026, launching a public consultation on a major overhaul of education across the Union. Citizens, institutions and experts have been asked to weigh in before the plan is finalised later this year.

One pillar tackles a problem that has alarmed policymakers for years: slipping performance among schoolchildren in reading, mathematics, science, digital skills and citizenship. The initiative on strengthening basic skills frames weak foundations as a threat to Europe’s long-term competitiveness.

Higher education sits at the centre of the same debate. The Commission’s strategy for universities presses institutions to deepen cross-border cooperation, protect academic freedom, and act as engines of the green and digital transitions.

Money, though, is where the argument turns sharp. For the 2028 to 2034 period the Commission has proposed raising the Erasmus+ budget to around 40.8 billion euro, a jump of roughly half on the current envelope of about 26 billion.

University groups say that is not enough. They argue the programme needs at least 60 billion euro to broaden access and meet the priorities the EU itself has set, while the European Parliament has floated a figure as high as 75 billion. The gap between those numbers, laid out by university representatives, signals a bruising negotiation ahead.

The stakes reach beyond student mobility. Brussels wants universities to license inventions faster and spin out more companies, and has opened a separate survey on a blueprint for how public research turns ideas into businesses.

Critics of the reform drive worry about ambition without capacity. Alliances of universities have multiplied, yet many still struggle with mismatched national rules on degrees, staff contracts and funding that slow genuine cooperation.

Inclusion adds another fault line. Advocates want a bigger Erasmus+ to reach students from poorer backgrounds and smaller institutions, rather than concentrating benefits among those already able to travel and study abroad.

The consultation phase hands the sector a rare chance to shape the outcome before the figures harden. What emerges will influence not only classrooms and campuses, but Europe’s wider bet that skills and research can keep it competitive in a tougher decade.