Europe’s mobility landscape is changing again.
The United Kingdom is officially returning to Erasmus+ in 2027, Switzerland is preparing for full association, and important developments are taking place around Hungarian higher education participation.
For Erasmus+ coordinators, these changes could mean more partners, more mobility opportunities and a wider European network from 2027 onwards.
The UK is coming back to Erasmus+
The UK is coming back to Erasmus+
This is now official.
The United Kingdom will associate to Erasmus+ from 1 January 2027, putting UK learners, staff, educational institutions and organisations on the same footing as organisations in EU Member States and other countries associated with the programme.
UK organisations will again be able to participate across the Erasmus+ programme, including opportunities in:
• education and training
• vocational education
• higher education
• youth
• sport
• international cooperation projects
For European organisations, this also means something important:
UK partners are becoming part of the mainstream Erasmus+ network again.
The first 2027 funding opportunities are expected to be included in the 2027 Erasmus+ Call for Proposals.
Switzerland is preparing for full Erasmus+
Switzerland is preparing for full Erasmus+
Switzerland could also make a major return to the programme.
The EU and Switzerland signed their EU Programmes Agreement in November 2025, creating the framework for Switzerland to associate to Erasmus+ from 2027.
Full association would give Swiss organisations access to the complete range of Erasmus+ mobility and cooperation activities – considerably broader than the opportunities available under the current Swiss mobility scheme.
The remaining step is on the Swiss side: the necessary Erasmus+ funding still requires parliamentary approval as part of the wider Switzerland–EU package.
If completed as planned, Switzerland would join the UK as another major European education partner entering Erasmus+ as an associated country in 2027.
And what about Hungarian universities?
And what about Hungarian universities?
There are also important developments in Hungary.
Hungary itself has always remained an EU Member State fully participating in Erasmus+. However, since 2022, a group of Hungarian universities maintained by public-interest asset management foundations has been affected by EU restrictions preventing new Erasmus+ funding commitments with those institutions.
The Hungarian government has announced that students at the affected universities should be able to participate in Erasmus mobility again from the 2026/2027 academic year, alongside reforms to the university governance model.
However, at the time of writing, EU-level confirmation of the complete lifting of the restrictions is still important to watch.
For Erasmus+ coordinators, the practical message is therefore:
Hungarian higher education mobility may be opening up again – but eligibility should still be checked at institutional level before planning a new partnership.