The current Erasmus+ programme runs until the end of 2027. In July 2025 the European Commission put its proposal for the next seven years on the table, and the Member States and the European Parliament have been negotiating it since. Nothing is final yet, but the shape of the 2028–2034 programme is becoming clear. This is what we know, and what it would mean for youth exchanges, training courses and the projects we run with our partners.
A bigger programme in a leaner EU budget
On 16 July 2025 the Commission presented its proposal for the EU’s long-term budget for 2028–2034, worth close to €2 trillion, and cut the number of spending programmes from 52 to 16. Erasmus+ is one of the programmes that survive as a brand, and it grows: the Commission proposes €40.8 billion in current prices (€36.2 billion in 2025 prices) for education and training, youth and sport. That is roughly 50% more than the €26.2 billion of the 2021–2027 programme, which itself had almost doubled the budget of 2014–2020.
The proposed objectives read like a summary of what the programme already does: high-quality lifelong learning, life and employability skills and key competences for all, Union values, democratic and societal participation, solidarity, inclusion and equal opportunities, closer cooperation on youth policy and a stronger European dimension in sport.
One programme with the European Solidarity Corps
The biggest structural change is that the European Solidarity Corps would no longer be a separate programme. Volunteering, solidarity projects and the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps are to be integrated into Erasmus+, so that a young person finds mobility, learning and volunteering opportunities under one roof. For organisations like ours, which host Erasmus+ trainees and run youth exchanges, this means one set of rules and one programme guide instead of two.
AgoraEU for citizens, rights and culture
Next to Erasmus+, the Commission proposes AgoraEU, a programme of about €8.6 billion that merges Creative Europe (culture and MEDIA+) with the current CERV programme for citizens, equality, rights and values. CERV currently funds our projects TRUTH4YOUTH and Youth4GreenPolicy. Under the proposal, this kind of civic work would continue as the democracy, citizens, rights and values strand of AgoraEU. Together, Erasmus+ and AgoraEU would account for about 3% of the EU budget.
Where the negotiations stand
On 11 May 2026 the Council of the EU agreed a partial negotiating position on the Erasmus+ regulation, leaving the money questions to the parallel negotiations on the overall budget. The Member States kept the Commission’s architecture but made a number of changes:
- The programme committee, in which Member States steer the programme, is reinstated, with a work programme for new actions and one for actions that continue.
- Education and training, youth and sport each keep their own visible place in the regulation. Youth exchanges and DiscoverEU continue, solidarity activities and youth participation initiatives are kept, and grassroots sport mobility is supported.
- The Commission’s “Erasmus+ scholarships” become talent and excellence development opportunities, open to more types of transnational programmes.
- Non-EU countries can join the programme in full or in part, and partial association comes with the condition of respecting EU values.
The European Parliament is preparing its own position, and the final text will be agreed between the two institutions. The budget line depends on the deal on the whole 2028–2034 framework, which Member States must adopt unanimously. The aim is for the new programme to start on 1 January 2028 without a gap.
What it means for youth organisations
Three things stand out for the field. First, continuity: youth exchanges, mobility of youth workers and the networks built around them are not up for debate, and a larger budget should mean more funded projects rather than fewer. Second, integration: with volunteering inside Erasmus+, a young person who starts with a youth exchange can continue with a solidarity activity in the same system, and organisations can plan both together. Third, simplification: fewer programmes and one legal basis for learning mobility and solidarity should mean fewer parallel procedures, provided the implementing rules follow the same logic.
At EMOTiC we are preparing for the transition by planning our 2027 and 2028 mobilities with partners now, by keeping our Youthpass and quality standards aligned with the current programme guide, and by following the negotiations closely. If you are a partner organisation and want to discuss joint projects for the first calls of the new programme, get in touch. We will update this article as the negotiations move on.