A joint call by the Erasmus Student Network, European Students´ Union, European University Foundation and the Coimbra Group of Universities.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have seen a historic mobilisation across European society to support the Ukrainian population. The response from the Higher Education sector has also been exemplary, developing all kinds of useful measures to support Ukrainian students and scholars and staff fleeing the war. The European University Foundation, the Coimbra Group and the European Students´Union have gathered many of these support initiatives on dedicated web pages. At the EU level, Commissioner Gabriel has already announced extraordinary measures to support pupils and teachers, and she previously expressed the Commission’s commitment to providing maximum support and flexibility in a previous statement on the 3rd of March. On the 23rd of March, the European Commission reaffirmed its commitment to grant maximum flexibility and support through Erasmus+, as part of a broader package of measures. This document gathers specific proposals on what that flexibility should entail in order to ensure effective support for students and staff.The Erasmus+ programme is currently proving as a useful tool to support Ukrainian students and University faculty and staff, but more can be done. There is significant funding available that could be used if certain extraordinary changes are made. The measures taken during the COVID 19 pandemic proved how the programme can be adapted to support the higher education community in times of need. It is now time to put in place extraordinary measures to offer help to students, faculty and staff affected by the war. We welcome the Commission’s proposal that Erasmus National Agencies apply the “force majeure” clauses and hope to see them activated.
