Inclusion, digital and green skills: the new Erasmus + 2021 – 2027

The new Erasmus+ 2021-2027 was launched last March 25 by the European Commission. The Program budget is over 26 billion euros, significantly increased with respect to the budget allocated for the period 2014 – 2020. 

Faced with common policies, the European Union has equipped itself over the years with tools that have made it possible to achieve some strategic objectives. In the field of education and training, the Erasmus + Program is part of a European framework of interventions aimed at creating a European area of education, a Europe of knowledge in which learning is not limited by borders and where people have a strong sense of their identity as Europeans, of Europe’s cultural heritage and its diversity.

Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “The fact that the Erasmus + budget for the next 7 years has almost doubled demonstrates the importance attached to education, lifelong learning and to young people in Europe. Erasmus + remains a unique program in size, scope, and global recognition, involving 33 countries and accessible to the rest of the world through its international activities. Thanks to Erasmus + we will create the European Education Area. “

Erasmus+ 2021-2027 aims to be even more inclusive than the previous seven-year program and to support green and digital transitions, investing in projects to raise awareness of environmental issues and aimed at developing high quality digital skills.

The program constitutes a key tool for achieving ambitious objectives, which all national agencies must strive for; to do this it is necessary:

  • Reaching out to people from all social backgrounds: through new measures it will be possible to have access to finance for smaller organizations and in disadvantaged environments;
  • Building stronger relationships with the rest of the world: mobility and cooperation with third countries will increase, through a combination of physical and virtual mobility;
  • Promote fields of study that look to the future such as renewable energy, climate change, the environment, artificial intelligence;
  • Supporting digital innovation and the circular economy, also thanks to resilience skills.