The article examines the future of the European Universities Initiative, which currently brings together 73 alliances involving approximately 650 higher education institutions. While the Commission’s reference to a new phase has been welcomed as a positive signal, university representatives stress that long-term ambitions require a more stable, coordinated and diversified funding model.
As discussions continue around the EU’s 2028–2034 budget, the article highlights calls for European university alliances to be explicitly recognised as long-term strategic instruments contributing to Europe’s competitiveness, sovereignty, skills development and cohesion. It also explores proposals to extend funding beyond Erasmus+, potentially involving Horizon Europe, the European Competitiveness Fund and regional cohesion funds.
The article underscores the higher education sector’s shared expectation that European university alliances should be supported by a credible long-term policy and funding framework, alongside stronger integration into universities’ institutional strategies, enabling them to contribute more effectively to the European Union’s strategic priorities.
Read the full article in Research Professional News.
