European University Association

📢 The European University Association is looking for universities to pilot-test an online tool assessing their readiness to implement automatic credit recognition.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸?
The tool covers processes before and after student mobility and is aimed at higher education staff involved in credit recognition. 🎓 It helps them assess their institution’s readiness for full automatic credit recognition, identify gaps in current practice and consider ways to improve. The tool is designed for individual use, but pilot testers may also use it and provide feedback together with relevant colleagues.

Feedback from the pilot testers will support the Erasmus+ funded Automatic Recognition Assessment (AUREA) project in validating and finalising the tool before its official launch.

👥 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁?
The call is open to staff in Erasmus+ programme and partner countries who are involved in recognition processes linked to student mobility at their institution.

⏰ 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲?
Express your interest by 10 July.

🔗 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆?
Learn more at https://bit.ly/4xaV3Iq

ℹ️ Funded under Erasmus+ and coordinated by the European Students' Union - ESU, the AUREA project aims to support the automatic recognition of study periods abroad by identifying barriers, analysing existing options to overcome them and providing policy recommendations for the future of automatic recognition.

The Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU has published a proposal regarding member states’ position on the EU’s next long-term budget, including the next Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ programmes.

📉 The figures set out in this “negotiating box” fall well below the level of investment needed to deliver on Europe’s ambitions for research, innovation, education and skills. They also reflect a wider context of growing budgetary pressure on higher education and R&I across several European countries.

📣 Ahead of the meeting of heads of state and government on 18-19 June, EUA reiterates its call for a budget of €200 billion for Horizon Europe and €60 billion for Erasmus+ to support Europe’s competitiveness, scientific excellence, skills and innovation capacity.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲?
🔬 For the next Horizon Europe programme the Cypriot Presidency proposes a budget of €167 billion for 2028–2034. This is below both the European Commission’s proposal of €175 billion, and the European Parliament’s position calling for €200 billion.

🎓 For Erasmus+, the negotiating box proposes €39.1 billion over 7 years, compared with the Commission’s proposal of €40.8 billion and the Parliament’s proposed budget of approximately €48 billion.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗥&𝗜 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?
A lower FP10 budget would come at a time when Europe is placing greater expectations on R&I to reinforce its competitiveness, resilience and technological capacity. Inflation and the significant increase in research costs across Europe also mean that even the Commission’s proposed €175 billion would not translate into a proportional increase in research activity.

A lower FP10 budget would affect the programme’s capacity to support highly competitive and successful instruments such as collaborative research grants, the European Research Council (ERC), Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and early-stage innovation supports, all of which are central to Europe’s long-term scientific and technological leadership.

🎒 The impact on Erasmus+ would be equally serious. Under the proposed figures, funding would fall behind current levels under the 2021–2027 programme. This would mean less support for student and staff mobility, reduced cooperation between higher education institutions and the possible discontinuation of some actions. The consequences would extend beyond the European Education Area and mobility targets.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀?
Member states will hold a first discussion on 18-19 June in Brussels, with the aim of reaching an agreement in the coming months. Negotiations are expected to be difficult, as several member states have already signalled their intention to reduce the overall size of the 2028–2034 MFF compared to the Commission’s proposal. This could result in further reductions to the initially proposed budgets for Horizon Europe and Erasmus+.

Last chance to respond to EUA’s Trends 2027 survey until 19 June!

📊 Trends 2027 aims to examine the broader context in which European higher education continues to evolve, and take a closer look at: learning and teaching, social inclusion, values and engagement with society, as well as internationalisation.

The survey will also address ongoing transformations due to digitalisation, generative AI and the proliferation of formats such as micro-credentials.

📝 Each response contributes to developing a better understanding of changes taking place across the European higher education sector, underpinning EUA’s policy work in the EU and EHEA on a wide range of topics.

Trends 2027 is part of the EU-funded SPICE project, dedicated to gathering stakeholders’ perspectives on the Bologna Process. 📆 The Trends report will be presented at the Bologna Process Ministerial Conference in Iasi (Romania) and Chisinau (Moldova) in May 2027.

We look forward to receiving your university’s input at https://bit.ly/4spZpbb

The European degree is an initiative of the European Commission to support the development of transnational higher education in Europe. 🎓 It aims to promote deeper institutional cooperation by supporting joint degree programmes delivered by consortia of universities from different European countries, including European Universities alliances.

💻 During this webinar, EUA updated participants on the current status of the development of the European degree label, explained how and when it can be used by institutional consortia offering joint degrees and provide some reflections on the future evolution of the initiative.

🎥 You can now watch the recording at

The European degree label: state of play and ways forward During this webinar, EUA updated participants on the current status...

Yesterday, EUA Vice-president Ivanka Popovic and EUA Board member Manuel Tuñón de Lara took part in the roundtable "Pillars of freedom: Safeguarding knowledge, building institutional resilience" organised by Science|Business in partnership with Elsevier and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

Academic freedom is the lifeblood of meaningful scientific endeavour and a precondition for universities to play their societal roles. 🛡️ In Europe and across the globe, academic freedom – and its close relative, institutional autonomy – find themselves increasingly under pressure. For EUA, it is essential to support universities as central actors and offer concrete and practical guidance on how universities can protect and strengthen academic freedom.

Last year, the Association published a position paper on ‘How universities can protect and promote academic freedom’. 📄 Complementing EUA’s existing work and contributions to related expert and policy discussions over recent years, this text formulates key principles that highlight the essential role of academic freedom for universities and for societies. It also proposes a number of guidelines to frame and reinforce efforts by university leadership, individual academics and university communities to ensure that academic freedom is a lived daily reality.

Read the document at https://bit.ly/411BJiX

Are your university’s recognition procedures in line with the Lisbon Recognition Convention and international good practice? 🎓 📜

This updated self-assessment tool offers a formative way for institutions to:
- benchmark their institutional recognition procedures and processes against required and good practice;
- assure and demonstrate that institutional recognition practice is fair and transparent, and that it serves the best interests of applicants, institutional staff and the institution itself; and
- identify actionable areas for improvement.

The tool is accompanied by a ‘self-assessment tool companion’, which offers additional practical tips for the self-assessment process and a short version of the questionnaire. 📘

📥 Download the tool at https://bit.ly/4fHsTyF 📥

This updated edition was produced as part of the Erasmus+ co-funded ‘Automatic Recognition in the EEA 2030’ (AR2030) project.

“Far from being limited to representation, diversity is also a driver of innovation. It expands the range of questions universities are able to ask, enriches collective processes of ideation and enables the design of roadmaps that are more robust, more inclusive and better aligned with social complexity.”

For Àngels Fitó, Rector of Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) placing people back at the centre of universities' transformation agendas is not a rhetorical choice, but a strategic one, as diversity-aware leadership fosters decisions anchored in inclusion, responsibility and long-term institutional sustainability. 💡

In her article, Àngels explains:
- Why a strategy without people is an incomplete strategy;
- Why diversity is a structural pillar of higher education leadership, not a side policy;
- How to lead university transformation through participation and co-responsibility; and
- Why leadership development can sustain higher education's transformation.

🔗 Read her article at https://bit.ly/3Q3d1vU

Is generative AI making it harder to spot truly brilliant scientific ideas? 👉 https://euperspectives.eu/2026/06/genai-is-writing-funding-proposals-for-horizon-europe-and-that-might-be-a-problem/

The increasing use of generative AI in writing proposals could place overwhelming pressure on Horizon Europe evaluation processes, warns Kamila Kozirog of the European University Association.

💬 "We are preparing students for a world that does not exist 𝘆𝗲𝘁." EUA's Director of Institutional Development, Maria Kelo, spoke to the Portuguese newspaper Expresso. 🇵🇹

In the interview, Maria argues that while we cannot predict what students will need in the future, we must equip them with transversal skills such as critical thinking and ethics, and review curricula so graduates can act as responsible citizens in the age of AI. She also stresses that we need to make sure that quality assurance allows enough flexibility for innovation to emerge.

🗞️ Read Maria's interview (in Portuguese) at https://expresso.pt/sociedade/2026-06-06-a-universidade-esta-a-preparar-os-alunos-para-um-mundo-que-ja-nao-existe.-temos-de-fazer-uma-revisao-radical-do-que-se-ensina-440d4113