Education
The EU supports member states in education and training, promotes multilingualism, funds mobility through Erasmus+, and has increasingly emphasised digital and AI skills as strategic competitiveness priorities. The European Year of Digital Citizenship Education in 2026 is driving attention to responsible, ethical, and effective digital engagement – including AI literacy – across all education levels.
The Commission is prioritising a ‘Union of Skills’ with increased investment in STEM, digital skills including AI and cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship. The European Universities Initiative has expanded significantly, now encompassing a large number of transnational alliances pursuing joint programmes. Erasmus+ Sport applications rose 34% in 2026, reflecting the programme’s breadth. Progress on mutual recognition of qualifications continues, facilitated by the EU Student Card and the Bologna Process.
The most significant new development is the European talent competition triggered by the Trump administration’s assault on US universities. Several administrations have targeted academic freedom and diversity initiatives, prompting leading European universities – including Aix-Marseille and Free University Brussels – to establish programmes offering refuge to affected US academics. The Netherlands’ Minister for Education explicitly stated that ‘top scientists are worth their weight in gold,’ and several EU governments are now actively recruiting leading international scientists displaced from the US system. This is creating a potentially historic opportunity for European research excellence – and significant political interest in how EU education and research funding frameworks support it.
Horizon Europe – at €95.5 billion the world’s largest multilateral research funding programme – is one of Brussels’ most contested advocacy arenas. Universities, research institutes, and companies compete intensively for access, while member states negotiate allocation terms. Negotiations for the post-2027 Horizon successor are already active, with major debates over defence research inclusion, AI priority spending, and UK association arrangements. AI in education is simultaneously generating opportunity and concern: the emerging EU framework for AI literacy is creating new advocacy spaces, while questions about academic integrity, assessment, and the future role of educators are becoming live policy debates. A critical AI skills shortage – with demand for expertise dramatically outpacing European graduate supply – is reshaping the education-industry interface and driving Commission attention to STEM pipeline investment and the attractiveness of EU institutions for international talent.