What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

7. Welcomes pilot projects aimed at creating a European degree and/or a legal status; underlines, however, that alliances should not serve as the sole instrument for innovation in higher education; notes that alliances should have the freedom to specialise and be flexible in their undertakings;

8. Welcomes the outcomes of the six Erasmus+ policy experimentation projects on the European degree and the European degree label conducted by 21 alliances; acknowledges the clear added value of a common framework for European degrees, based on European criteria, as a step towards the recognition of degrees and diplomas at EU level; recognises that such EU-level recognition would enhance mobility and the quality of education, reinforcing the framework for cooperation and encouraging wider engagement in transnational academic programmes as well as strengthening the global visibility and competitiveness of European higher education;

9. Notes that the European degree label should be accessible to all other joint university programmes and be complementary to national qualification frameworks, which should be adapted when necessary without creating an additional administrative burden;

10. Firmly believes in the potential of the alliances to strengthen the European Higher Education Area, paving the way for a single area of accreditation at EU level; believes that this is a necessary step for our European autonomy, as numerous European higher education institutions, such as those issuing MBA degrees, still rely on American accreditation agencies;

11. Welcomes the significant increase in the number of mobility projects involving students, lifelong learners and researchers, as well as academic and non-academic staff in universities participating in alliances compared to other Erasmus+ mobility projects;

12. Notes, however, that the initial objective of achieving seamless mobility for 50 % of students in participating alliances has not yet been reached and will remain challenging without appropriate funding mechanisms; is worried, in this regard, about the potential competition between the alliances’ mobility schemes and universities’ general Erasmus+ mobility, which share the same limited funding provisions, as mobility targets for alliances are higher than those for general Erasmus+ mobility; calls on the Commission, therefore, to assess those requirements;

13. Is deeply concerned about current threats to academic freedom in several parts of the world, including in some Member States and non-EU countries participating in Erasmus+;

14. Stresses the need for alliances to uphold EU values, democratic resilience and institutional autonomy, and to foster active citizenship; highlights their role as multilateral and multicultural learning spaces;

15. Welcomes values-based initiatives such as the cooperation in solidarity with Ukraine, the global outreach of alliances and the alliances’ role in the accession preparations of candidate countries from the Eastern neighbourhood and the Western Balkans;

16. Welcomes the Union of Skills initiative, especially the upcoming proposal for a future investment pathway and a clear legal status for alliances, as it will make it easier for universities to initiate and lead European projects, pool resources, enhance their autonomy, reduce administrative burdens, attract funding and broaden their governance structure, especially in the case of universities from non-EU countries, as well as facilitating the institutionalisation of cross-border cooperation;

17. Underlines the key role that universities, including alliances, play in protecting and promoting evidence-based science, building trust in democratic discourse, fostering cooperation based on EU values and making themselves and the European higher education sector more attractive to non-EU students, academic staff and researchers;

18. Welcomes the creation of FOREU4ALL, a community of practice for European Universities alliances; underlines its key role in disseminating innovations from the alliances to the broader academic community, as universities and higher education institutions that are not part of alliances should not be left behind; recalls that policies and initiatives should benefit the entire higher education system;

19. Acknowledges the important role of other networks within the higher education sector that bring together a broader spectrum of European universities, irrespective of their participation in an alliance; underlines the complementary nature of these networks with the alliances and their potential to prepare the ground for legislative change at national level;

20. Underlines that the mission of universities includes all four aspects of the knowledge square: education, research, innovation and service to society; stresses that alliances must be closely aligned with the labour market to address Europe’s skills shortages and competitiveness challenges;

21. Is notably worried about the lack of research and innovation pillars within the alliances given the current framework, as it undermines the full potential for cooperation between universities within alliances;

Recommendations

22. Encourages the alliances to deepen the link between education and research; highlights the significant ability of the alliances to build cross-border networks of excellence for researchers and to share and disseminate knowledge at EU level and beyond, especially in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects, including in strategic fields for the EU;

23. Underlines that the strategic vision for university alliances has to be reflected in the next multiannual financial framework to maximise their potential and impact; asks the Commission to evaluate each alliance in order to provide support and tailor-made solutions regarding their future development;

24. Encourages the Commission, the Member States and the alliances to shift from a ‘project-based logic’ to long-term, transformative cooperation by introducing a funding approach that enables this transition; underlines the importance for alliances to be able to scale up; underlines the need to set qualitative rather than quantitative goals, emphasising the transformative impact for the European Education Area;

25. Stresses the need for coordinated, sustainable and predictable funding for current alliances; asks the Commission to consider reserving future calls for the continuation of successful alliances, enabling them to deepen integration and build on their accomplishments; asks the Commission to keep the application and reporting processes as simple as possible; encourages a fast-track renewal process for successful alliances to secure continued funding without an excessive administrative burden;

26. Recognises the relevance of the European Universities initiative continuing to be a part of the Erasmus+ programme, taking into account the current framework; at the same time, invites the Commission to study the viability of creating a tailor-made solution for financing the European Universities alliances in the post-2027 multiannual financial framework, with the possibility of creating a separate programme with a view to enabling alliances to plan strategically, engage in long-term initiatives and establish enduring cooperation;

28. Highlights the fact that, in order to achieve real and sustainable success encompassing quality, excellence and inclusion, support for alliances cannot come solely from the EU budget but should also come from coordinated contributions from national, regional, local and private sources, provided that they can guarantee the autonomy of higher education institutions and safeguard academic freedom;

29. Emphasises that the closer integration of alliances with the private sector can be mutually beneficial; encourages partnerships and structured cooperation between universities and businesses in order to create integrated systems that foster innovation and high-level technical and professional training, and facilitate students’ transition to the job market as well as reskilling and upskilling for people outside of higher education;

30. Stresses the need to strengthen the internationalisation of alliances, in line with, among others, the Global Gateway strategy and talent partnerships; notes that alliances are at the right level for establishing partnerships with non-EU countries, in particular candidate countries, and can strengthen the international dimension of Erasmus+, through, for example, Erasmus Mundus; asks the Commission and the alliances to ensure that all partners involved comply with EU values and the principle of academic freedom, and adhere to the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education;

31. Notes that alliances are testing innovative ways of teaching and acquiring knowledge, such as European learning pathways, micro-credentials, blended learning mobility and the automatic recognition of qualifications; stresses the need to invest in secure digital infrastructure and strengthen existing initiatives such as the European student card;

32. Emphasises the need to consolidate the interoperability of computer systems and align European and national policies to create genuine virtual European inter-campuses; encourages more cross-alliance collaboration to enable secure, interoperable student identification, course registration, and academic record exchange as well as investment in integrating new educational technologies;

33. Stresses the need to expand the use of micro-credentials, building on best practice, to integrate the alliances in a wider learning environment, bridging their work with other non-formal learning institutions; notes that training and upskilling recognised through micro-credentials can facilitate the flexible revision, expansion and modernisation of university degrees;

34. Asks the Commission to consider adding criteria to possible future calls, in line with topics linked to European strategic autonomy and competitiveness, such as resilience, energy, climate change, the digital transition and digital skills, and defence, while keeping in mind the core objectives of adherence to EU values, education excellence and innovation;

35. Stresses the need for alliances to have the appropriate structures and capacities to support transfer from academia to business, to contribute to the realisation of the EU’s ambitions of strategic autonomy; calls on the Commission to dismantle barriers that impede the effective sharing and pooling of joint resources and knowledge, through actions such as the facilitation of joint recruitment of academic staff and researchers, as well as the development and use of shared facilities;

36. Underlines the need for effective and accessible awareness raising and information campaigns about the European Universities alliances to foster greater engagement, especially at local levels and among students, as recognition of the initiative is currently very low;

37. Calls on the Hungarian Government to comply with the rule of law and EU values and to put in place the necessary reforms so that Hungarian students, teachers and researchers of public trust funded universities may benefit from the Erasmus+ programme, including alliances under the European Universities initiative;