Erasmus+ is the EU's programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. The 2021-2027 programme, with an estimated budget of €26.2 billion, places a strong focus on four horizontal priorities: inclusion and diversity, environmental sustainability, digital education and participation in democratic life.
For the period 2028-2034, the Commission has a proposed budget of €40.8 billion, 50% higher than the one for the current programming cycle.
Swift recovery from crises can also be achieved through non-formal learning activities, which aim to enhance the skills and competences of young people and adult learners, as well as their active citizenship. In this direction, as of 2026, preparedness will be added to the horizontal priority on participation in democratic life.
Under this priority, the programme will provide its contribution to the EU Preparedness Union Strategy, by helping to foster the ability of education and training systems to anticipate, withstand and recover from crises while maintaining their core mission of delivering inclusive, high-quality education and training. In this respect, it will support active and democratic citizenship that is prepared and resilient in the face of emerging threats and potential crisis. Preparedness will remain a priority in the new programme.
The programme's objective is pursued through three “Key Actions”:
For the civil protection and disaster management community, Erasmus+ provides a unique opportunity to train, exchange knowledge, and prepare future generations of responders through mobility and cooperation projects through Key Action 1 and Key Action 2.
Examples of areas of support relevant for disaster risk management and preparedness include the following:
Key Action 1 – Learning Mobility of Individuals
It supports individuals spending learning periods abroad in a hosting institution.
Mobility of learners and staff: Opportunities for pupils, students, adult learners, trainees and young people, as well as for professors, teachers, trainers, educators, youth workers, sport staff, staff of education institutions and civil society organisations to undertake a learning and/or professional experience in another country.
Youth participation activities: Youth-led local and transnational initiatives run by informal groups of young people and/or youth organisations to help young people engage and learn to participate in democratic life, raising awareness about European Union common values and fundamental rights, bringing together young people and decision makers at local, national and European level, as well as contributing to European Union common goals.
Vocational Education and Training (VET): Erasmus+ supports traineeships (work placements) for students enrolled in vocational education and training (VET). These opportunities are also open to company-based apprentices and to recent VET graduates. This action supports organisations providing vocational education and training, or with other roles in this field, that want to organise learning mobility activities for learners, apprentices, recent graduates, teachers, trainers and other staff.
Projects are led by the applicant organisation, such as a VET provider, that sends participants to a hosting organisation abroad, such as a company for a traineeship. Learners and staff are then involved through their organisation’s project.
This action has two important goals: to benefit individual participants going abroad and to help develop educational institutions, raise their capacity for cross border cooperation and improve teaching and learning for everyone, not only for those who travel.
Key Action 2: Cooperation among organisations and institutions
It supports the development of organisations through the exchange of good practices and the creation of networks. Partnerships are always made up of organisations from different countries and led by a coordinator organisation, which submits the application on behalf of the project.
All funded projects are linked to one or several broad EU priorities. In addition, the project partners decide on more specific objectives based on their common interests and expertise. The project goals will often include capacity building through the development of innovative tools and ways of working, the exchange of good practices. There are two types of partnerships:
The Erasmus+ programme provides grants for exchanges, placements and training programmes in Vocational Education and Training, School education and Adult education. Grants are available for:
The Erasmus+ programme is managed by the the Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC, European Commission), the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), a series of National Agencies in Programme countries, and a series of National Offices in some Partner countries.
The European Commission handles the overall management of the programme, including:
The European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission is in charge of managing the "centralised" elements of the programme, including:
The EACEA and Commission also carry out studies and research, as well as managing and financing the other bodies and networks supported by Erasmus+.
In the EU countries, the Commission entrusts much of the management of Erasmus+ to National Agencies. Outside the EU, and specifically in the field of higher education, this role is filled by the National Erasmus+ Offices.
The Commission provides funding to the National Agencies, who use these funds to manage the programme's "decentralised" activities. This allows the Agencies to adapt the programme to suit their national education, training, and youth systems.
The National Agencies are responsible for:
These Agencies also support beneficiaries of the programme from the application stage to the end of a project. They also work with beneficiaries and other organisations to support EU policy in areas supported by the programme.
Outside the EU, in the partner countries participating in Erasmus+ in the area of higher education, much of the work of the National Agencies is carried out by National Erasmus+Offices. These offices are the focal point for anyone intending to take part in Erasmus+, and are responsible for:
There are two types of countries where Erasmus+ is active.
EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme: These can fully take part in all the actions of the Erasmus+ Programme. They include all EU countries, members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), candidate EU countries and others. They were previously called Programme countries.
Third countries not associated to the Programme: These can take part in certain Erasmus+ actions. There are many of these, spanning the globe. They were previously called Partner countries.
See the full list of eligible countries
For individuals from other non-EU countries there are some opportunities, for example the youth exchange schemes.
This programme provides financial support to legal entities (including public authorities - national, regional, local - private entities and universities). Eligible organisations include organisations providing initial and continuing vocational education and training, and other organisations with a role in this field.
If you are looking to take part by yourself, it’s likely that you will need to apply through an organisation such as your university, training centre, company and so on.
For example, if you are a VET learner, you can spend a learning period abroad at a partner VET provider, in a company, or in another organisation active in the field of VET or in the labour market. The learning period includes a strong work-based component and an individual learning programme is defined for each participant.
You can ask your organisation if they are applying for a project grant, or explore the Erasmus+ app for advice and inspiration.
For information on how to apply, please check the call specific page:
Application Portal: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-esc/index/
Examples of projects with disaster risk management relevance includes: