Erasmus+ 2026 European Universities call opens fully to Western Balkans institutions with 145.6 million euro budget
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 03, 2026 • Study Abroad, Study in Europe, Erasmus & Exchange, Money & Budgeting, Education News & Policy
The European Commission opened its 2026 European Universities call worth 145.6 million euros, and Western Balkans institutions are now eligible to join alliances as full beneficiaries instead of associates.
💶 Total budget: 145.6 million euros.
🎓 Western Balkans higher education institutions are eligible as full beneficiaries in alliances.
⏱️ The call gives two years of bridge funding until the next EU budget period starts.
📩 Proposals that score high but miss funding get a Seal of Excellence to seek national funding instead.
What the 2026 call funds
The European Commission opened its 2026 call for European Universities alliances with a budget of 145.6 million euros, according to the European Education Area website. European Universities are groups of higher education institutions from different countries that run joint teaching, research and mobility programs under one alliance.
This call acts as bridge funding, keeping existing alliances running for two years until the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework begins. It targets alliances that already received funding under the 2022 call, though it stays open to others too. Proposals that score above 80 points but miss out on funding due to budget limits receive a Seal of Excellence, a label that helps them apply for national funding instead.
Western Balkans institutions join as full partners
Higher education institutions from Western Balkans countries are eligible to join European Universities alliances as full beneficiaries under the 2026 call, giving them equal access to funding and decision-making within an alliance rather than a supporting role.
The European Commission discussed this shift at a Western Balkans Alumni Association event in Bitola, North Macedonia, on 5 June 2026, according to the Erasmus Networks Platform . Representatives from the European Commission, the EU Delegation to North Macedonia, national mobility agencies, university alliances and student groups discussed what a joint or European degree would look like across the region. The alumni association prepared policy recommendations on the role alumni networks play in future joint degree programs.
What a European Universities alliance does
An alliance links several universities across different countries into one teaching and research network. Students enrolled at any member institution get access to joint courses, shared mobility programs, and in some alliances a single joint degree recognized across every member country. Staff move between campuses to teach and collaborate on research, and alliances often build shared student services such as joint career support and language courses.
Bringing Western Balkans universities in as full members changes who sets the agenda inside these networks. Institutions from candidate countries previously joined mostly as associated partners, contributing to activities without the same funding access or vote in alliance decisions. Full beneficiary status closes that gap for the 2026 call.
Why this matters for students
Full beneficiary status means universities in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia co-design curricula and joint degrees with EU partner universities, instead of only sending students on exchange. It also gives regional institutions a direct say in how an alliance spends its budget and structures its programs.
If you study at a university in the Western Balkans, watch for new joint degree programs and mobility routes opening as alliances add regional partners in upcoming application rounds. Results for the 2026 call typically follow the application deadline by several months, so confirm with your university which alliances it belongs to and what new options that membership brings.
The Commission frames this integration step as part of a broader effort to align Western Balkans higher education systems with the European Higher Education Area, a process that runs alongside each country's separate path toward EU membership. Deeper participation in alliances like these gives students and staff in the region a working link to EU institutions well before any formal accession date.