Erasmus Plus 2025 vs 2026: What Really Changes and What Stays Exactly the Same
A few days ago, the new Erasmus Plus Programme Guide for 2026 was finally published. For those of us who work with Erasmus Plus every day, this moment is always a mix of curiosity and anticipation. Each year, the guide sets the rhythm of our work: first by giving us the deadlines for the new cycle, and then by showing whether anything has changed in terms of priorities, rules or opportunities.
Like many colleagues, I began by checking the key dates. Then I moved to the much more time consuming part, which is comparing the 2025 and 2026 versions side by side to understand whether the structure of the programme has shifted in any meaningful way.
After reading both documents carefully, the overall picture is clear. The 2026 programme remains extremely stable. The structure, the logic of the actions, the award criteria and most of the formulations are almost identical to the 2025 edition.
However, two elements genuinely stand out because they represent real differences. Everything else is continuity.
Before getting into the differences, here are all the deadlines for 2026 as listed in the Programme Guide.
Main Erasmus Plus 2026 deadlines:
Cooperation Partnerships in education, training and youth: 5 March 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time
Possible second round (if activated by National Agencies): 1 October 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time
Cooperation Partnerships for European NGOs: 5 March 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time
Small Scale Partnerships in education, training and youth: 5 March 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time
Possible second round for Small Scale Partnerships: 1 October 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time
Small Scale Partnerships in sport: 5 March 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time
European Youth Together: 26 February 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time
Erasmus Mundus Actions: 12 February 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time
Alliances for Innovation: 10 March 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time
Capacity Building in Higher Education: 26 March 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time
Capacity Building in VET: 26 March 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time
Erasmus Virtual Exchanges: 26 March 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time
Centres of Vocational Excellence: 3 September 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time
Turning to the real differences between 2025 and 2026, the first and most significant one is the introduction of a new action under Key Action 2: the European Partnerships for School Development. This action does not exist in the 2025 guide. In the 2026 guide, however, it occupies an entire section and introduces a new level of ambition for the school education sector.
What I find interesting while reading the description is that this action is built on the idea of supporting systemic cooperation in school education. It is not just about schools working together on a project, but about creating structured partnerships between schools and school authorities. The guide emphasises institutional development, pedagogical innovation, stronger support structures for teachers, transnational networks and the need to make results usable at a broader level. It is clearly positioned above the traditional Cooperation Partnerships in terms of scale and expected impact.
The action also requires the partnership to organise its activities through a clear structure of work packages. It calls for a long term vision and for the capacity to connect local school ecosystems across countries. As I read through the description, it becomes clear that the Commission wants to provide a new tool for achieving deeper change in school systems, something that goes beyond the project by project approach that characterises smaller cooperation actions.
The second difference appears in the introduction of the 2026 guide. Compared to the 2025 version, the new introduction includes updated references to European policy initiatives that were not mentioned previously. These include for example the Union of Skills and the Preparedness Union Strategy. There is also a stronger emphasis on advanced digital skills and artificial intelligence. None of this changes the structure of the programme, but the updated political framing gives a clearer sense of where the EU is heading and how Erasmus Plus is expected to support those directions.
Everything else remains almost exactly the same. The award criteria, the structure of the actions and the operational rules have not changed in any significant way. After many years of working with Erasmus Plus, it becomes quite easy to spot whether a small textual difference will have a real effect on how applications are written or evaluated, and in this case, most of the changes are purely editorial. They do not alter the way organisations will work with the programme.
The 2026 Programme Guide confirms a very stable framework. Those preparing proposals can rely on continuity, while taking into account one new opportunity in the school sector and a slightly updated policy context. For me, the clearest message of this year’s guide is precisely this stability. It allows applicants to plan with confidence, which is not something to take for granted in European funding programmes.