At the 2017 Gothenburg Summit, European Union (EU) leaders outlined a vision for education and culture. In its December 2017 Conclusions, the European Council called on EU Member States, the Council and the Commission to take forward a number of initiatives, including
…strengthening strategic partnerships across the EU between higher education institutions and encouraging the emergence by 2024 of some twenty ‘European Universities’, consisting in bottom-up networks of universities across the EU which will enable students to obtain a degree by combining studies in several EU countries and contribute to the international competitiveness of European universities.
The May 2021 Council Conclusions on the European Universities reiterated the support for the European Universities to achieve
…the ambitious vision of an innovative, globally competitive and attractive European Education Area and European Research Area, in full synergy with the European Higher Education Area, by helping to boost the excellence dimension of higher education, research and innovation, while promoting gender equality, inclusiveness, and equity, allowing for seamless and ambitious transnational cooperation between higher education institutions in Europe, and inspiring the transformation of higher education.
Co-developed by higher education institutions, student organisations, Member States and the Commission, the European Universities initiative responds to this call. Building on progress during the initial phase, the initiative is now an integral part of the Erasmus+ 2021-2027 programme.
The European Universities are also a flagship initiative of the European strategy for universities that sets the ambition to support 60 European Universities involving more than 500 higher education institutions by mid-2024.
