Strasbourg: The European Parliament’s culture committee voted on 29 September 2026 to demand a far larger Erasmus+ budget for 2028 to 2034 than the Commission proposed. Members backed €47.39 billion for the programme, against the €40.8 billion on the table, by 24 votes to one with one abstention, Eunews reported.
Polish MEP Bogdan Zdrojewski of the European People’s Party steered the report as rapporteur. The gap between the two figures comes to about €6.6 billion, and it turns the Erasmus+ budget into an early test of how generous Parliament will be in the wider talks on the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework.
The report also sets out how the money should be split. It allocates 74.6% to education and training, 15% to youth and volunteering and 4.1% to sport. For the first time, the programme would support the mobility of grassroots athletes.
Access is a second theme. Members want the programme to account for differences in living costs, housing prices and inflation, and they call for at least 20% of participants to come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Universities back similar changes, and the European University Association has proposed joint amendments to secure the future of Erasmus+.
The numbers matter because Erasmus+ reaches far beyond university exchanges. The programme funds school partnerships, vocational training placements, adult learning, youth exchanges and sport projects, and its supporters say every euro multiplies through the networks it builds. Parliament argues that inflation and rising rents have eroded the purchasing power of existing grants, so a flat settlement would mean fewer places for students and trainees.
Parliament agrees with the Commission on one structural point: merging Erasmus+ with the European Solidarity Corps. That merger would place study exchanges, youth projects and volunteering under one funding line, and students and youth groups will watch how it affects the Erasmus+ budget they rely on.
The calendar is tight. The full Parliament votes in the November 2026 plenary session, and negotiations with the Council are expected in January or February. Member states must still agree the long-term EU budget as a whole, so the Erasmus+ budget will compete with farm, cohesion and defence spending.
Universities, schools and youth organisations will follow the Erasmus+ budget closely, because the final figure decides how many learners and trainees can go abroad from 2028. Official programme information sits on the Erasmus+ website. The committee vote shows that Parliament will not accept the Commission’s number without a fight.
