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Strategic Analysis
This call funds existing alliances of higher education institutions to move their cooperation to the next level in 24 months, against a long-term mission of at least ten years endorsed by every partner. What wins is evidence: documented baselines and achievements, cooperation already running for at least two to three years, and measurable progress on the four specific objectives. The bar is high, at 17/25 on each of the four scores and 80/100 overall, so a weak partnership or impact section cannot be compensated by a strong concept.
Everything the call asks for, seen from the call's point of view. Each line shows what answers it, and which partner carries it.
This matrix lists everything the call asks for: outcomes, impacts, scope, the requirements buried in the call text, and policy alignment. Sign up free and GrantForge tracks each line against the concept you build.
| Requirement | Covered by | Carried | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measures | |||
| SC1SO1: Increase seamless and inclusive mobilityincrease seamless and inclusive mobility, across physical, virtual, and blended formats, supported by automatic recognition of credits, agreed methods for grading conversion, as well as by rewarding mobility experiences; including shorter ones leading to micro-credentials and credits | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC2SO1: Scale up mobility opportunitiesscale up mobility opportunities, including by further implementing their joint mobility strategies and by continuing to embed mobility as a standard feature throughout their educational offerings and curricula across their partner institutions, at all levels, including at Bachelor, Master and Doctoral levels. Mobility opportunities may also be supported for example within flexible learning pathways, life-long learning and career pathways, challenge-based approaches, joint degrees, including for the implementation of the European Degree label, etc. The objective is to increase students and staff numbers benefiting from transnational mobility and internationalisation activities, progressing towards the target of at least 50% of the students within the alliance benefitting from such mobility, be it physical, virtual, or blended | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC3SO1: Disseminate and upscale innovative teaching, learning and cooperationdisseminate and upscale their innovative teaching, learning and cooperation activities across their partner institutions, supporting the engagement of an increased share of their partner higher education institutions and an increased number of their faculties in the activities of the alliance, including through support for inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC4SO1: Broaden accessibility of educational offerings and campus interoperabilitybroaden and increase accessibility and attractiveness of educational offerings and enhance interoperability of their campuses (e.g. joint course catalogues, joint enrolment of students, implementation of European Student Card, etc.). This may include efforts to align joint programmes with the criteria set for the joint European degree label and consider, where possible, offering a joint European degree label to students graduating within the grant period | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC5SO1: Upscale student and staff awareness and engagementupscale student and staff awareness of their higher education institution being partner in an alliance and of the existing opportunities available and increase their outreach, participation, engagement and community building in the alliance's activities | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC6SO1: Valorise student and staff engagementdevelop robust valorisation measures for students' and staff engagement and participation in the alliances' activities, including by accounting it towards degree obtention and/or career progression. The alliances should continue their efforts towards valorisation and rewarding of diverse career paths, enabling to strengthen the academic, teaching, research careers, ensure parity of esteem between teaching and research, and revalorising pedagogical roles in academia when it comes to academic career assessment. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC7SO2: Increase students in joint educational activitiesincrease the number of students participating in joint educational activities | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC8SO2: Expand partners participating in joint educational activitiesexpand the number of partners in the alliance participating in diverse manners in joint educational activities, also accounting for the legislative and institutional contexts at national level | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC9SO2: Update existing joint activities in partner curriculaupdate existing (joint) educational activities in their partners' curricula aiming to integrate the innovative activities developed under the alliance, including for example screening and updating joint degree programmes to align them with the joint European Degree label criteria, where possible, offer the joint European degree label to students graduating within the grant period | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC10SO2: Increase new high-quality joint educational programmeswhere possible, increase the number of new high-quality, innovative joint educational programmes, outlining the steps undertaken by the end of the granting period towards making such educational offerings concretely available for students and learners' cohorts, including by implementing the European Degree label | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC11SO2: Develop, test and implement innovative pedagogical methodswork towards developing, testing and implementing innovative pedagogical methods | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC12SO2: Commit to open science, open education and open datacommit to open science, open education and open data practices | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC13SO2: Increase European knowledge-creating teamsincrease the European knowledge-creating teams of students and academics, researchers, entrepreneurs, companies, local and regional actors, and civil society actors - depending on the overall strategy and vision of the alliance. They should work together to address societal and other challenges of their choice through interdisciplinary challenge-based approaches. Approaches shall allow involved parties to work jointly and across disciplines, reinforcing excellence in education and research, including through the transfer of research results back into education (e.g., in teaching, re-skilling, student traineeships, innovative activities, etc). | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC14SO3: Make the joint educational offer more attractive and inclusivemake their joint educational offer more attractive and inclusive, including by ensuring high levels of accessibility and integrating flexible learning pathways, as well as for example fostering automatic recognition of study qualifications and learning periods abroad between partner institutions, supporting the uptake of the European Degree label | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC15SO3: Support inclusiveness, equality and diversitysupport inclusiveness, equality, and diversity of the student, academic and research bodies, including lifelong learners, part-time and non-traditional students. Access, participation and completion of under-represented and disadvantaged groups should be ensured notably through institutional and alliance level measures | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC16SO3: Scale up flexible learning and alternative learning pathwaysscale-up and increase the attractiveness of their offer of flexible and inclusive learning opportunities and alternative learning pathways for learners at all stages of life, across disciplines and sectors. This may include widen access for non-traditional, adult and lifelong learners and reinforce their joint strategies for lifelong learning, including where relevant through small volumes of learning leading to micro-credentials | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC17SO3: Strengthen engagement with innovation ecosystems, industry and civil societystrengthen their engagement with local innovation ecosystems, industry, civil society and labour market actors to ensure for example their active participation in the design and implementation of educational offerings, for example by providing practical and work-based experience and traineeships supported by external mentors to foster entrepreneurial mind-sets and civic engagement, to promote knowledge transfer with surrounding ecosystems, as well as to support development of labour market relevant skills and competencies, and to amplify employability and flow of talent with other sectors. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC18SO4: Deepen institutionalised cooperation and pooling of resourcesfurther deepen their institutionalised cooperation supported by existing operational joint governance and management structures and cooperation methods to enable the implementation of the alliances' joint long-term strategies and efficient pooling of resources (financial, human, digital and physical, intellectual and administrative resources, infrastructure, data and services to ensure joint capacity and capability, reach critical mass and facilitate access to high quality and inclusive education) | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC19SO4: Bring cooperation and governance to the next levelbring current forms of cooperation and governance to the next level, to effectively support for example the joint education provision, quality assurance methods including external formative quality assurance at the alliance level, piloting or fully implementing a common legal status for alliances | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC20SO4: Valorise geographical balance and each partner's participationensure that the cooperation model valorises the geographical balance set by these alliances and strong participation of each partner of the alliance, and mobilises engagement of associated partners | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC21SO4: Ensure democratic involvement of students in governanceensure the democratic involvement of students in alliances' joint governance and cooperation structures | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC22SO4: Act as models of good practice for the sectorcontinue to implement activities enabling them to act as models of good practice to further increase the capacity, quality, international competitiveness and attractiveness of the European higher education landscape, further demonstrating their systemic transformational potential, in line with the relevant policy objectives of the European Education Area and the Union of Skills. The alliances are expected to continue to be a driving force for higher education policy implementation and development at EU and national levels, including regarding the European Degree label, the development of a legal status for alliances of higher education institutions, as well as digitalisation and increased interoperability taking into consideration the Higher Education Interoperability Framework, for example regarding joint course catalogues, joint enrolment of students for joint educational activities | · | · | Sign up to track |
| SC23SO4: Work towards European Education Area policy objectivesin cooperation with their national authorities, commit to work towards relevant policy objectives of the European Education Area, such as: multilingualism; automatic recognition of academic qualifications and learning periods abroad provided for by the participating higher education institutions within the alliance; the implementation of the European Student Card initiative; where relevant, the implementation of a whole institutional approach to sustainability and climate literacy and mainstreaming of education for sustainable development across all levels and disciplines; as well as the Bologna key commitments (quality assurance, recognition, and wherever applicable three cycle degree); commit to share relevant data with the European Higher Education Observatory. European Universities alliances are also encouraged to work together with their innovation ecosystems on common actions supporting synergies between education, research and innovation. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| General objectives | |||
| EO1Promote common EU values and a strengthened European identityPromote common EU values as enshrined in article 2 of the Treaty on European Union and a strengthened European identity by bringing together a new generation of Europeans, who can cooperate and work within different European and global cultures, in different languages, and across borders, sectors and academic disciplines. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EO2Reach a substantial leap in quality, performance, attractiveness and international competitiveness, and enable deep institutional transformationReach a substantial leap in quality, performance, attractiveness, and international competitiveness and enable deep institutional transformation of involved European higher education institutions. In this, contribute to the European knowledge economy, employment, creativity, culture, and welfare by making best use of innovative pedagogies and striving to make the knowledge square a reality. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Other requirements | |||
| REQ1Complementarities with projects supported by other EU funding programmesProjects should take into account the results of projects supported by other EU funding programmes. The complementarities must be described in the project proposals (Part B of the Application Form). | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Expected impacts | |||
| EI1Improve synergies between the European Education Area, the European Research Area, and the European Higher Education Area | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI2Contribute to a more united, innovative, autonomous, competitive, cohesive, digital and sustainable Europe, open to the wider world | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI3Increase attractiveness and competitiveness of participating higher education institutions and of the European higher education system on the global scene by deepening transnational cooperation, offering seamless mobility of students, academics, and researchers, and by creating and sharing knowledge, developing new concepts, technologies, and innovation | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI4Promote EU values, foster respect of fundamental academic values | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI5Enhance the quality and excellence dimension of higher education, research, and innovation, while promoting gender equality, inclusiveness, diversity, equity, geographical and social inclusiveness of European higher education institutions, contributing to social and geographical cohesion of Europe | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI6Trigger a much deeper level of transnational institutional cooperation between higher education institutions, leading to long-term structural institutional transformation with positive impact on higher education learning and teaching, fostering joint educational activities and allowing for more inclusive and enhanced flexible learning approaches | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI7Improve students', staff, researchers and lifelong learners' skills and employability perspectives, including entrepreneurial, transversal, intercultural, digital and green skills, and fuel innovation through a flow of creative talents to support the establishment and scaling up of start-ups and SMEs in Europe, notably by setting up and reinforcing technology transfer, or sharing knowledge and technology transfer capacity, supporting the development of emerging novel concepts likely to lead to breakthroughs or market creative innovations | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI8Make lifelong learning a reality in higher education, by offering diverse education opportunities and introducing innovative and learner-centred pedagogies and educational offerings (such as micro-credentials), jointly delivered across European inter-university campuses, where a more diverse student body can build flexible learning pathways at all levels of their studies and career | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI9Continue to develop cutting-edge knowledge, skills and competences for the digital and green transitions, fostering Europe's autonomy, competitiveness, preparedness and resilience | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI10Advance knowledge and talent nurturing, attraction and balanced circulation, thus fostering education, social and technological innovation to address societal challenges, and build a more sustainable and resilient future | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI11Strengthen European identity for all learners, teachers, researchers, and staff through cooperation and co-creation of knowledge within different European and global cultures, in different languages, across borders, sectors and academic disciplines | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI12Continue to drive legislative progress and catalysing the development of new instruments and legal frameworks to accelerate the transformation of higher education institutions and cooperation across Europe | · | · | Sign up to track |
| EI13Contribute to regional development and positively impact the local communities and ecosystems through education and training, research and knowledge exchange, technology transfer, contributing to improvements in social cohesion and societal wellbeing | · | · | Sign up to track |
| Underlying policies | |||
| POL1european education areaThe vision the European Universities initiative serves: the initiative contributes to an innovative, globally competitive and attractive European Education Area, in full synergy with the European Research Area and the European Higher Education Area. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL2union of skillsKey strategic initiative presented by the Commission in March 2025, with four strands: building skills for quality lives and jobs; upskilling and reskilling for the digital and clean transitions; circulating skills with free movement across the EU; attracting, developing and retaining talent. The call says the initiative is pivotal to its vision. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL3european strategy for universitiesPresented on 18 January 2022; sets out the objective to expand to at least 60 European Universities with more than 500 higher education institutions by mid-2024. European Universities are a key flagship initiative of this strategy. | · | · | Sign up to track |
| POL4european degree labelNamed repeatedly in specific objectives 1, 2 and 3 and 4: alliances may align joint programmes with the criteria for the joint European degree label and, where possible, offer it to students graduating within the grant period. | · | · | Sign up to track |
The binding rules of this call. Items marked auto are verified by GrantForge from the call and the template. The others are yours to confirm.
Eligible participants
Applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must be legal entities (public or private bodies) established in an eligible country: EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories), listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Erasmus+ Programme, United Kingdom and Switzerland (provided they join Erasmus+ as an associated third country), and Western Balkans third countries not associated to the programme (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo).
Higher education institutions with an ECHE
Applicants must be Higher Education Institutions holding a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) and entities affiliated to them, or any other organisation consisting of such institutions specifically set up with the purpose of implementing deep institutional transnational cooperation, including joint educational activities.
Consortium of at least 3 HEIs from 3 countries
Proposals must be submitted by a consortium of at least 3 applicants (beneficiaries and not affiliated entities), with a minimum of 3 eligible higher education institutions from 3 different eligible countries.
One alliance at a time
Any eligible institution, and any entity affiliated to it, can apply under this call and participate as beneficiary in only one European Universities alliance at the same time. They may apply in other applications and participate in other alliances only as associated partners.
Associated partners
Associated partners do not receive EU funding, but their involvement and role must be clearly described in the proposal. They can be any HEI with a valid ECHE in an EU Member State or associated third country; any public or private organisation from an EU Member State, associated third country or Western Balkans third country active in education and training, research and innovation or the world of work; or any HEI in a non-associated third country that is part of the European Higher Education Area, in Western Balkans third countries, in the United States of America and Canada. International organisations are eligible as associated partners.
Maximum EU grant by number of HEIs
9 or more HEIs as beneficiaries: 7.20 MEUR; 8: 4.32 MEUR; 7: 3.78 MEUR; 6: 3.24 MEUR; 5: 2.70 MEUR; 4: 2.16 MEUR; 3: 1.62 MEUR. Affiliated entities do not count.
No financial support to third parties
Financial support to third parties is not allowed.
Activities in eligible countries, matching the topic
Proposals must relate to activities taking place in the eligible countries. Applications are only eligible if their content corresponds wholly, or at least in part, to the topic description.
What the call requires for your dossier to be receivable: a mandatory section, a declaration, a document to attach. Nothing here can be checked automatically — confirm each one yourself once it's done.
Joint long-term mission statement endorsed by each partner
Mandatory annex: a single document with at least a time horizon up to 10 years after launch, endorsed through a signature of the relevant decision-making bodies (e.g. Rector, President) of each member of the alliance.
Detailed budget table
Mandatory annex that serves as the basis for fixing the lump sums. The costs included must comply with the basic eligibility conditions for EU actual cost grants.
6 key insights you must internalise before writing. Each is grounded in the call text and tells you what evaluators will actually look for. Share these with your consortium before drafting.
Pass marks are 17/25 on each of the four scores (Relevance, Project design and implementation, Partnership and cooperation arrangements, Impact) and 80/100 overall. Four scores at the minimum total 68, so a proposal must average 20 per score to reach the threshold. Proposals above 80 that are not funded for lack of budget receive a Seal of Excellence.
Source: Call document, section 9
The joint long-term mission statement is a mandatory annex, a single document endorsed by the relevant decision-making body of each partner (e.g. Rector, President), with a time horizon of at least 10 years. It is also named in the Relevance criterion. Rectorate signatures across the whole alliance need planning well before the deadline of 4 March 2027.
Source: Call document, sections 2, 5 and 9
Applicants must evidence a deep cooperation already existing for at least two to three years, and the needs analysis must rest on evidenced baselines and achievements. The work plan should give the starting points and the measurable progress reached by month 24, not a foundation phase.
Source: Call document, sections 2 and 9
Alliances address all four specific objectives but are expected to prioritise where they can generate the most significant impact or where the need is greatest. The focus must be clearly justified against the long-term strategy and tied to measurable outcomes within the grant.
Source: Call document, section 2
The maximum EU grant runs from 1.62 MEUR for 3 HEIs to 4.32 MEUR for 8 HEIs, then 7.20 MEUR for 9 or more. Only HEIs as beneficiaries count, not affiliated entities. An institution can be a beneficiary in only one alliance at a time. Criterion 2.2 also scores wide geographical coverage across North, South, East and West Europe.
Source: Call document, sections 6, 9 and 10
The grant is a lump sum at a funding rate of 80%, fixed on the detailed budget table, a mandatory annex. Its costs must comply with the eligibility conditions for actual cost grants; ineligible costs can reduce the grant, even after the project ends. Cost effectiveness is part of the Project design score.
Source: Call document, sections 5, 9 and 10
Specific requirements
Eligible participants
Applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must be legal entities (public or private bodies) established in an eligible country: EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories), listed EEA countries and countries associated to the Erasmus+ Programme, United Kingdom and Switzerland (provided they join Erasmus+ as an associated third country), and Western Balkans third countries not associated to the programme (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo).
Higher education institutions with an ECHE
Applicants must be Higher Education Institutions holding a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) and entities affiliated to them, or any other organisation consisting of such institutions specifically set up with the purpose of implementing deep institutional transnational cooperation, including joint educational activities.
Consortium of at least 3 HEIs from 3 countries
Proposals must be submitted by a consortium of at least 3 applicants (beneficiaries and not affiliated entities), with a minimum of 3 eligible higher education institutions from 3 different eligible countries.
One alliance at a time
Any eligible institution, and any entity affiliated to it, can apply under this call and participate as beneficiary in only one European Universities alliance at the same time. They may apply in other applications and participate in other alliances only as associated partners.
Associated partners
Associated partners do not receive EU funding, but their involvement and role must be clearly described in the proposal. They can be any HEI with a valid ECHE in an EU Member State or associated third country; any public or private organisation from an EU Member State, associated third country or Western Balkans third country active in education and training, research and innovation or the world of work; or any HEI in a non-associated third country that is part of the European Higher Education Area, in Western Balkans third countries, in the United States of America and Canada. International organisations are eligible as associated partners.
Maximum EU grant by number of HEIs
9 or more HEIs as beneficiaries: 7.20 MEUR; 8: 4.32 MEUR; 7: 3.78 MEUR; 6: 3.24 MEUR; 5: 2.70 MEUR; 4: 2.16 MEUR; 3: 1.62 MEUR. Affiliated entities do not count.
No financial support to third parties
Financial support to third parties is not allowed.
Activities in eligible countries, matching the topic
Proposals must relate to activities taking place in the eligible countries. Applications are only eligible if their content corresponds wholly, or at least in part, to the topic description.
Eligible participants (eligible countries)
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must be:
The applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must be:
Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register - before submitting the proposal - and will have to be validated by the Central Validation Service (REA Validation). For the validation, they will be requested to upload documents showing legal status and origin.
Other entities may participate in other consortium roles, such as associated partners, subcontractors, third parties giving in-kind contributions, etc. (see section 13).
Associated partners DO NOT receive EU funding under this grant, but their involvement and role in different activities have to be clearly described in the proposal.
The associated partners can be:
Natural persons - Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of selfemployed persons, i.e., sole traders, where the company does not have legal personality separate from that of the natural person).
International organisations - International organisations are eligible as associated partner. The rules on eligible countries do not apply to them.
Entities without legal personality - Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf and offer guarantees for the protection of the EU financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal persons 22 .
EU bodies - EU bodies (with the exception of the European Commission Joint Research Centre) can NOT be part of the consortium.
Associations and interest groupings - Entities composed of members may participate as 'sole beneficiaries' or 'beneficiaries without legal personality' 23 . Please note that if the action will be implemented by the members, they should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible).
Countries currently negotiating association agreements - Beneficiaries from countries with ongoing negotiations for participation in the programme (see list of participating countries above) may participate in the call and can sign grants if the negotiations are concluded before grant signature and if the association covers the call (i.e. is retroactive and covers both the part of the programme and the year when the call was launched).
EU restrictive measures - Special rules apply for entities subject to EU restrictive measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) 24 . Such entities are not eligible to participate in any capacity, including as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, subcontractors or recipients of financial support to third parties (if any).
EU conditionality measures - Special rules apply for entities subject to measures adopted on the basis of EU Regulation 2020/2092 25 . Such entities are not eligible to participate in any funded role (beneficiaries, affiliated entities, subcontractors, recipients of financial support to third parties, etc.). Currently no such measures are in place.
For more information, see Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment.
Proposals must be submitted by a consortium of at least 3 applicants (beneficiaries and not affiliated entities), which complies with the following conditions:
Any eligible institution, and any entity affiliated to it, can apply under this call and participate as beneficiary in only one European Universities alliance at the same time. They may apply in other applications and may participate in other alliances only as associated partners.
Applications will only be considered eligible if their content corresponds wholly (or at least in part) to the topic description for which they are submitted.
Eligible activities are the ones set out in section 2 above.
Projects should take into account the results of projects supported by other EU funding programmes. The complementarities must be described in the project proposals (Part B of the Application Form).
Projects must comply with EU policy interests and priorities (such as environment, social, security, industrial and trade policy, etc). Projects must also respect EU values and European Commission policy regarding reputational matters (e.g. activities involving capacity building, policy support, awar
eness raising, communication, dissemination, etc). 26
Financial support to third parties is not allowed.
Proposals must relate to activities taking place in the eligible countries (see above).
Projects should normally last for 24 months (extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment).
Applicants must have stable and sufficient resources to successfully implement the projects and contribute their share. Organisations participating in several projects must have sufficient capacity to implement all these projects.
The financial capacity check will be carried out on the basis of the documents you will be requested to upload in the Participant Register during grant preparation (e.g. profit and loss account and balance sheet, business plan, audit report produced by an approved external auditor, certifying the accounts for the last closed financial year, etc). The analysis will be based on neutral financial indicators, but will also take into account other aspects, such as dependency on EU funding and deficit and revenue in previous years.
The check will normally be done for coordinators, except:
If needed, it may also be done for affiliated entities.
If we consider that your financial capacity is not satisfactory, we may require:
or
For more information, see Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment.
Applicants must have the know-how, qualifications and resources to successfully implement the projects and contribute their share (including sufficient experience in projects of comparable size and nature).
This capacity will be assessed together with the 'Quality' award criterion, on the basis of the competence and experience of the applicants and their project teams, including operational resources (human, technical and other) or, exceptionally, the measures proposed to obtain it by the time the task implementation starts.
If the evaluation of the award criterion is positive, the applicants are considered to have sufficient operational capacity.
Applicants will have to show their operational capacity via the following information:
Additional supporting documents may be requested, if needed to confirm the operational capacity of any applicant.
Public bodies, Member State organisations and international organisations are exempted from the operational capacity check.
Applicants which are subject to an EU exclusion decision or in one of the following exclusion situations that bar them from receiving EU funding can NOT participate 27 :
purpose (including if done by persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control, beneficial owners or persons who are essential for the award/implementation of the grant)
Applicants will also be refused if it turns out that 30 :
| Timetable and deadlines (indicative) | |
|---|---|
| Call opening | 29 October 2026 |
| Deadline for submission | 4 March 2027, 17:00:00 CET (Brussels) |
| Evaluation | March-July 2027 |
| Information on evaluation results | July-August 2027 |
| Grant Agreement signature | October-November 2027 |
All proposals must be submitted directly online via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System. Paper applications are NOT accepted.
Submission is a 2-step process:
To use the Submission System (the only way to apply), all participants need to create an EU Login user account.
Once you have an EULogin account, you can register your organisation in the Participant Register. When your registration is finalised, you will receive a 9-digit participant identification code (PIC).
Access the Electronic Submission System via the Topic page in the Calls for proposals section (or, for calls sent by invitation to submit a proposal, through the link provided in the invitation letter).
Submit your proposal in 4 parts, as follows:
The proposal must keep to the page limits (see section 5); excess pages will be disregarded.
Documents must be uploaded to the right category in the Submission System otherwise the proposal might be considered incomplete and thus inadmissible.
The proposal must be submitted before the call deadline (see section 4). After this deadline, the system is closed, and proposals can no longer be submitted.
Once the proposal is submitted, you will receive a confirmation e-mail (with date and time of your application). If you do not receive this confirmation e-mail, it means your proposal has NOT been submitted. If you believe this is due to a fault in the Submission System, you should immediately file a complaint via the IT Helpdesk webform, explaining the circumstances and attaching a copy of the proposal (and, if possible, screenshots to show what happened).
Details on processes and procedures are described in the Online Manual. The Online Manual also contains the links to FAQs and detailed instructions regarding the Portal Electronic Exchange System.
Guidance on the use of generative AI tools for the preparation of the proposal:
When considering the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools for the preparation of the proposal, it is imperative to exercise caution and careful consideration. The AI-generated content should be thoroughly reviewed and validated by the applicants to ensure its appropriateness and accuracy, as well as its compliance with intellectual property regulations. Applicants are fully responsible for the content of the proposal (even those parts produced by the AI tool) and must be transparent in disclosing which AI tools were used and how they were utilised.
Specifically, applicants are required to:
Proposals will have to follow the standard submission and evaluation procedure (one-stage submission and one-step evaluation).
Extent to which the proposal:
Extent to which the proposal:
Extent to which the proposal:
Extent to which the proposal:
| Award criteria | Minimum pass score | Maximum score |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | 17 | 25 |
| Quality: Project design and implementation | 17 | 25 |
| Quality: Partnership and cooperation arrangements | 17 | 25 |
| Impact | 17 | 25 |
| Overall (pass) scores | 80 | 100 |
Maximum points: 100 points. Individual thresholds per criterion: 17/25 points. Overall threshold: 80 points. Proposals that pass the individual thresholds AND the overall threshold will be considered for funding, within the limits of the available call budget (i.e. up to the budget ceiling). Other proposals will be rejected.
Operational capacity is assessed together with the Quality award criterion, on the basis of the competence and experience of the applicants and their project teams, including operational resources (human, technical and other) or, exceptionally, the measures proposed to obtain it by the time the task implementation starts.
Proposals will have to follow the standard submission and evaluation procedure (one-stage submission + one-step evaluation).
An evaluation committee (assisted by independent outside experts) will assess all applications. Proposals will first be checked for formal requirements (admissibility and eligibility, see sections 5 and 6). Proposals found admissible and eligible will be evaluated against the operational capacity and award criteria (see sections 7 and 9) and then ranked according to their scores.
For proposals with the same score (within a budget envelope) a priority order will be determined according to the following approach:
Successively for every group of ex aequo proposals, starting with the highest scored group, and continuing in descending order:
All proposals will be informed about the evaluation result (evaluation result letter). Successful proposals will be invited for grant preparation; the other ones will be put on the reserve list or rejected.
The proposals evaluated above the quality threshold (80 points), but that cannot be funded under Erasmus+ due to lack of available budget under this call for proposals, will be awarded with a Seal of Excellence certificate to attest the quality of the proposal and to facilitate the search for alternative funding at national level.
No commitment for funding - Invitation to grant preparation does NOT constitute a formal commitment for funding. We will still need to make various legal checks before grant award: legal entity validation, financial capacity, exclusion check, etc.
Grant preparation will involve a dialogue in order to fine-tune technical or financial aspects of the project and may require extra information from your side. It may also include adjustments to the proposal to address recommendations of the evaluation committee or other concerns. Full compliance will be a pre-condition for signing the grant.
If you believe that the evaluation procedure was flawed, you can submit a complaint (following the deadlines and procedures set out in the evaluation result letter). Please note that notifications which have not been opened within 10 days after sending will be considered to have been accessed and that deadlines will be counted from opening/access (see also Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions). Please also be aware that for complaints submitted electronically, there may be character limitations.
The estimated available call budget is EUR 216 000 000.
Additional funding of EUR 2 400 000 has been made available for this call through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) 18 to further support the participation of higher education institutions from the Western Balkans countries not associated to the Erasmus+ programme 19 , leading to a total budget of EUR 218 400 000.
The availability of the call budget still depends on the final adoption of the budget 2027 by the EU budgetary authority.
We reserve the right not to award all available funds or to redistribute them between the call priorities, depending on the proposals received and the results of the evaluation.
The grant parameters (maximum grant amount, funding rate, total eligible costs, etc.) will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 3 and art 5).
| Total number of HEIs as beneficiaries | Maximum EU Grant |
|---|---|
| 9 or more | 7.20 MEUR |
| 8 | 4.32 MEUR |
| 7 | 3.78 MEUR |
| 6 | 3.24 MEUR |
| 5 | 2.70 MEUR |
| 4 | 2.16 MEUR |
| 3 | 1.62 MEUR |
The maximum EU grants are based on the number of HEIs as beneficiaries (not affiliated entities). However, it is entirely discretionary for each alliance to distribute in the proposal the total budget among the partners.
The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.
The grant will be a lump sum grant. This means that it will reimburse a fixed amount, based on a lump sum or financing not linked to costs. The amount will be fixed by the granting authority on the basis of the estimated project budget and a funding rate of 80%.
The budget categories and cost eligibility rules are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 3, art 6 and Annex 2).
Budget categories for this call:
Specific cost eligibility rules for this call:
The reporting and payment arrangements are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 4 and art 21 and 22).
After grant signature, you will normally receive a prefinancing to start working on the project (float of normally 80% of the maximum grant amount; exceptionally less or no prefinancing). The prefinancing will be paid 30 days from entry into force/financial guarantee (if required) - whichever is the latest.
There will be no interim payments.
Payment of the balance: At the end of the project, we will calculate your final grant amount. If the total of earlier payments is higher than the final grant amount, we will ask you (your coordinator) to pay back the difference (recovery).
All payments will be made to the coordinator.
Please be aware that payments will be automatically lowered if one of your consortium members has outstanding debts towards the EU (granting authority or other EU bodies). Such debts will be offset by us - in line with the conditions set out in the Grant Agreement (see art 22).
Please also note that you are responsible for keeping records on all the work done.
The call supports alliances demonstrating an existing deep institutional transnational cooperation, including but not limited to the European Universities alliances previously funded under the 2023 Erasmus+ call for proposals (ERASMUS-EDU-2023-EUR-UNIV).
Projects should take into account the results of projects supported by other EU funding programmes. The complementarities must be described in the project proposals (Part B of the Application Form).
Alliances are expected to further leverage the contribution of associated academic and non-academic partners from the world of work and the civil society, and are encouraged to work together with their innovation ecosystems on common actions supporting synergies between education, research and innovation.
Following a bottom-up approach, each alliance will have the flexibility to shape through a step-by-step approach its joint work plan of activities that is the most relevant to reach their specific objectives and that will enable them to achieve the long-term vision of European Universities in line with their strategies. Their joint work plan of activities should be supported by existing efficient common management and governance structures, by a clear and robust methodological approach and concrete steps towards delivering their objectives until the end of the granting period. The feasibility of the concrete actions proposed should be reflecting a thorough assessment of the alliance's strengths, achievements, challenges and needs, and the starting points towards further developments. The joint work plan should describe how these activities will enable measurable progress towards the specific objectives and contribute to the joint longterm mission.
As the alliances should build on the past achievements and results, clear evidence of the starting points and solid methodology towards further developments, should be provided. The alliances are expected to implement activities that contribute to the achievement of specific objectives as defined in this call, in line with their long-term strategies. In this context the alliances that have already a robust maturity level of their cooperation, are expected to prioritise their activities and consider opportunities to upscale, mainstream and expand successful activities and practices embedded across their institutions. Activities shall leverage impact, outreach and engagement, increasing the alliances' level of integration, and enabling to reach the full transformational potential of the alliances for their partners and the European higher education sector. The activities shall consolidate achievements and strengthen capacity, in line with the alliances long-term strategies. They shall also aim to further leverage the contribution of associated academic and non-academic partners from the world of work and the civil society.
The joint work plan should cover work packages, tasks, activities, deliverables, milestones, timelines and appropriate effort and resources, in order to achieve the specific objectives (award criterion 2.1). Milestones and deliverables will be managed through the Portal Grant Management System and reflected in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement.
IPR rules: see Model Grant Agreement (art 16 and Annex 5):
Communication, dissemination, and visibility of funding: see Model Grant Agreement (art 17 and Annex 5):
Specific rules for carrying out the action: see Model Grant Agreement (art 18 and Annex 5).
The application form asks in section 5.1, if the call document contains a section on ethics, to describe ethics issues that may arise and the measures to solve or avoid them, and to describe how gender mainstreaming and children's rights will be ensured in the project activities. All measures and actions must align with EU values and priorities, particularly the green and digital transitions, social inclusion, and the resilience of democratic societies, as well as the respect of fundamental academic values.
Under specific objective 2, alliances should commit to open science, open education and open data practices. They also commit to share relevant data with the European Higher Education Observatory (specific objective 4).
Multi-actor: alliances should further leverage associated academic and non-academic partners from the world of work and civil society, and engage local innovation ecosystems, industry, civil society and labour market actors in the design and implementation of educational offerings.
Interdisciplinarity: inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches are expected in joint educational activities, delivered where relevant in the three cycles, including through the STEAM approach and challenge-based approaches working jointly and across disciplines.
If you pass evaluation, your project will be invited for grant preparation, where you will be asked to prepare the Grant Agreement together with the EU Project Officer.
This Grant Agreement will set the framework for your grant and its terms and conditions, in particular concerning deliverables, reporting and payments.
The Model Grant Agreement that will be used (and all other relevant templates and guidance documents) can be found on Portal Reference Documents.
The project starting date and duration will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 1). Normally the starting date will be after grant signature. A retroactive starting date can be granted exceptionally for duly justified reasons, but never earlier than the proposal submission date.
Project duration: see section 6 above.
The milestones and deliverables for each project will be managed through the Portal Grant Management System and will be reflected in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement.
If a prefinancing guarantee is required, it will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 4). The amount will be set during grant preparation, and it will normally be equal or lower than the prefinancing for your grant.
The guarantee should be in euro and issued by an approved bank/financial institution established in an EU Member State. If you are established in a non-EU country and would like to provide a guarantee from a bank/financial institution in your country, please contact us (this may be exceptionally accepted, if it offers equivalent security).
Amounts blocked in bank accounts will NOT be accepted as financial guarantees.
Prefinancing guarantees are normally requested from the coordinator, for the consortium. They must be provided during grant preparation, in time to make the prefinancing (scanned copy via Portal AND original by post).
If agreed with us, the bank guarantee may be replaced by a guarantee from a third party.
The guarantee will be released at the end of the grant, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement (art 23).
Depending on the type of action, size of grant amount and type of beneficiaries, you may be requested to submit different certificates. The types, schedules and thresholds for each certificate are fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet, point 4 and art 24).
The liability regime for recoveries will be fixed in the Grant Agreement (Data Sheet point 4.4 and art 22).
For beneficiaries, it is one of the following:
or
In addition, the granting authority may require joint and several liability of affiliated entities (with their beneficiary).
· Don't wait until the end - complete your application sufficiently in advance of the deadline to avoid any last-minute technical problems. Problems due to last minute submissions (e.g., congestion, etc.) will be entirely at your risk. Call deadlines can NOT be extended.
The roles should be attributed according to the level of participation in the project. Main participants should participate as beneficiaries or affiliated entities; other entities can participate as associated partners, subcontractors, third parties giving in-kind contributions. Associated partners and third parties giving in-kind contributions should bear their own costs (they will not become formal recipients of EU funding). Subcontracting should normally constitute a limited part and must be performed by third parties (not by one of the beneficiaries/affiliated entities). Subcontracting going beyond 30% of the total eligible costs must be justified in the application.
This includes:
The publication can exceptionally be waived (on reasoned and duly substantiated request), if there is a risk that the disclosure could jeopardise your rights and freedoms under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights or harm your commercial interests.
SO1: Increase seamless and inclusive mobility
SO1: Scale up mobility opportunities
SO1: Disseminate and upscale innovative teaching, learning and cooperation
SO1: Broaden accessibility of educational offerings and campus interoperability
SO1: Upscale student and staff awareness and engagement
SO1: Valorise student and staff engagement
SO2: Increase students in joint educational activities
SO2: Expand partners participating in joint educational activities
SO2: Update existing joint activities in partner curricula
SO2: Increase new high-quality joint educational programmes
SO2: Develop, test and implement innovative pedagogical methods
SO2: Commit to open science, open education and open data
SO2: Increase European knowledge-creating teams
SO3: Make the joint educational offer more attractive and inclusive
SO3: Support inclusiveness, equality and diversity
SO3: Scale up flexible learning and alternative learning pathways
SO3: Strengthen engagement with innovation ecosystems, industry and civil society
SO4: Deepen institutionalised cooperation and pooling of resources
SO4: Bring cooperation and governance to the next level
SO4: Valorise geographical balance and each partner's participation
SO4: Ensure democratic involvement of students in governance
SO4: Act as models of good practice for the sector
SO4: Work towards European Education Area policy objectives
Promote common EU values and a strengthened European identity
Reach a substantial leap in quality, performance, attractiveness and international competitiveness, and enable deep institutional transformation
Improve synergies between the European Education Area, the European Research Area, and the European Higher Education Area
Contribute to a more united, innovative, autonomous, competitive, cohesive, digital and sustainable Europe, open to the wider world
Increase attractiveness and competitiveness of participating higher education institutions and of the European higher education system on the global scene by deepening transnational cooperation, offering seamless mobility of students, academics, and researchers, and by creating and sharing knowledge, developing new concepts, technologies, and innovation
Promote EU values, foster respect of fundamental academic values
Enhance the quality and excellence dimension of higher education, research, and innovation, while promoting gender equality, inclusiveness, diversity, equity, geographical and social inclusiveness of European higher education institutions, contributing to social and geographical cohesion of Europe
Trigger a much deeper level of transnational institutional cooperation between higher education institutions, leading to long-term structural institutional transformation with positive impact on higher education learning and teaching, fostering joint educational activities and allowing for more inclusive and enhanced flexible learning approaches
Improve students', staff, researchers and lifelong learners' skills and employability perspectives, including entrepreneurial, transversal, intercultural, digital and green skills, and fuel innovation through a flow of creative talents to support the establishment and scaling up of start-ups and SMEs in Europe, notably by setting up and reinforcing technology transfer, or sharing knowledge and technology transfer capacity, supporting the development of emerging novel concepts likely to lead to breakthroughs or market creative innovations
Make lifelong learning a reality in higher education, by offering diverse education opportunities and introducing innovative and learner-centred pedagogies and educational offerings (such as micro-credentials), jointly delivered across European inter-university campuses, where a more diverse student body can build flexible learning pathways at all levels of their studies and career
Continue to develop cutting-edge knowledge, skills and competences for the digital and green transitions, fostering Europe's autonomy, competitiveness, preparedness and resilience
Advance knowledge and talent nurturing, attraction and balanced circulation, thus fostering education, social and technological innovation to address societal challenges, and build a more sustainable and resilient future
Strengthen European identity for all learners, teachers, researchers, and staff through cooperation and co-creation of knowledge within different European and global cultures, in different languages, across borders, sectors and academic disciplines
Continue to drive legislative progress and catalysing the development of new instruments and legal frameworks to accelerate the transformation of higher education institutions and cooperation across Europe
Contribute to regional development and positively impact the local communities and ecosystems through education and training, research and knowledge exchange, technology transfer, contributing to improvements in social cohesion and societal wellbeing
European Education Area
highThe vision the European Universities initiative serves: the initiative contributes to an innovative, globally competitive and attractive European Education Area, in full synergy with the European Research Area and the European Higher Education Area.
Alliances commit, in cooperation with their national authorities, to relevant European Education Area objectives: multilingualism, automatic recognition of qualifications and learning periods abroad, the European Student Card, sustainability and climate literacy where relevant, and the Bologna key commitments.
Union of Skills
highKey strategic initiative presented by the Commission in March 2025, with four strands: building skills for quality lives and jobs; upskilling and reskilling for the digital and clean transitions; circulating skills with free movement across the EU; attracting, developing and retaining talent. The call says the initiative is pivotal to its vision.
Evaluators read how the alliance helps nurture, attract and retain talent, including through joint study programmes and the pooling of resources.
European strategy for universities
highPresented on 18 January 2022; sets out the objective to expand to at least 60 European Universities with more than 500 higher education institutions by mid-2024. European Universities are a key flagship initiative of this strategy.
Proposals are read against the ambitious vision of the European Universities initiative: long-term institutional, structural, systemic and strategic cooperation.
European Degree label
highNamed repeatedly in specific objectives 1, 2 and 3 and 4: alliances may align joint programmes with the criteria for the joint European degree label and, where possible, offer it to students graduating within the grant period.
Measures to screen and update joint degree programmes against the label criteria, and alliances acting as a driving force for its implementation at EU and national levels.
Legal status for alliances of higher education institutions
mediumSpecific objective 4 refers to piloting or fully implementing a common legal status for alliances, and to the development of a legal status for alliances of higher education institutions.
Governance brought to the next level and concrete steps on legal status, where the alliance's strategy foresees them.
European Research Area
mediumExpected impact and Relevance criterion: improve synergies between the European Education Area, the European Research Area and the European Higher Education Area.
European added value demonstrated through improved synergies between the three areas.
European Higher Education Area and Bologna key commitments
mediumThe call asks for quality assurance, recognition and, wherever applicable, three cycle degree, and for respect of fundamental academic values as defined by the Rome and Tirana communiques of the Bologna process.
Commitment to the Bologna key commitments and to fundamental academic values.
Council Recommendation on a European approach to micro-credentials
mediumCouncil Recommendation of 16 June 2022 for lifelong learning and employability (2022/C 243/02). The call uses its definition and asks for micro-credentials in mobility and in flexible learning.
Shorter mobility and small volumes of learning leading to micro-credentials, in line with the Recommendation.
Council Recommendation on attractive and sustainable careers in higher education
mediumReferred to under specific objective 1 for valorising student and staff engagement towards degree obtention and career progression.
Robust valorisation measures, including parity of esteem between teaching and research.
European Student Card initiative
mediumNamed under specific objectives 1 and 4 as an example of interoperability and as a policy objective alliances commit to.
Implementation of the European Student Card by the partner institutions.
Higher Education Interoperability Framework
mediumReferred to under specific objective 4 regarding digitalisation and increased interoperability, for example joint course catalogues and joint enrolment of students for joint educational activities.
Digitalisation and interoperability measures that take the Framework into consideration.
Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (EU values)
mediumGeneral objective 1 and the Relevance criterion refer to common EU values: respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
The Relevance criterion scores respect and promotion of shared EU values, as well as fighting any sort of discrimination.
European Innovation Agenda
lowPresented on 5 July 2022; the call says higher education, including European Universities alliances, has a key role to play in its implementation.
Links to local innovation ecosystems, where the alliance's strategy foresees them.
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Part B is the technical description. Download the mandatory Word template from the Submission System, fill it in and upload it as a PDF file. The form states that the documents on the Topic page are for information only.
Page limit: proposals are limited to maximum 70 pages (Part B); evaluators will not consider any additional pages. This call document value applies in place of the form's default limit.
Layout (from the form): minimum font size Arial 9 points, page size A4, margins (top, bottom, left and right) at least 15 mm (not including headers and footers). Please do NOT delete any instructions in the document. The document is tagged: do not delete the tags, they are needed for the processing.
Sections of the form: Project summary; 1. Relevance (1.1 Background and general objectives, 1.2 Needs analysis and specific objectives, 1.3 Complementarity with other actions and innovation, European added value); 2. Quality (2.1 Project design and implementation, with 2.1.1 Concept and methodology, 2.1.2 Project management, quality assurance and monitoring and evaluation strategy, 2.1.3 Project teams, staff and experts, 2.1.4 Cost effectiveness and financial management, 2.1.5 Risk management; 2.2 Partnership and cooperation arrangements, with 2.2.1 Consortium set-up and 2.2.2 Consortium management and decision-making); 3. Impact (3.1 Impact and ambition, 3.2 Communication, dissemination and visibility, 3.3 Sustainability and continuation); 4. Work plan, work packages, activities, resources and timing; 5. Other (5.1 Ethics, 5.2 Security); 6. Declarations; Annexes.
Use of generative AI tools: applicants are fully responsible for the content of the proposal and must be transparent in disclosing which AI tools were used and how they were utilised. They are required to verify the accuracy, validity and appropriateness of the content and citations generated by the AI tool, provide a list of sources used to generate content and citations, check for potential plagiarism, and acknowledge the limitations of the AI tool in the proposal preparation.
Language: a proposal can be submitted in any official EU language (project abstract/summary should however always be in English). The call strongly advises using English for the entire application.
Proposals must be submitted before the call deadline (see timetable section 4).
Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System (accessible via the Topic page in the Calls for proposals section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.
Proposals (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the forms provided inside the Submission System ( NOT the documents available on the Topic page - they are only for information).
Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required annexes and supporting documents:
Please be aware that since the detailed budget table serves as the basis for fixing the lump sums for the grants (and since lump sums must be reliable proxies for the actual costs of a project), the costs you include MUST comply with the basic eligibility conditions for EU actual cost grants (see AGA - Annotated Grant Agreement, art 6). This is particularly important for purchases and subcontracting, which must comply with best value for money (or if appropriate the lowest price) and be free of any conflict of interests. If the budget table contains ineligible costs, the grant may be reduced (even later on during the project implementation or after their end).
At proposal submission, you will have to confirm that you have the mandate to act for all applicants. Moreover, you will have to confirm that the information in the application is correct and complete and that the participants comply with the conditions for receiving EU funding (especially eligibility, financial and operational capacity, exclusion, etc). Before signing the grant, each beneficiary and affiliated entity will have to confirm this again by signing a declaration of honour (DoH). Proposals without full support will be rejected.
Your application must be readable, accessible and printable (please check carefully the layout of the documents uploaded).
Proposals are limited to maximum 70 pages (Part B). Evaluators will not consider any additional pages.
You may be asked at a later stage for further documents (for legal entity validation, financial capacity check, bank account validation, etc).
The detailed budget table (Tpl_Detailed Budget Table, ERASMUS LSII) is a mandatory annex. It serves as the basis for fixing the lump sums for the grants: the costs included must comply with the basic eligibility conditions for EU actual cost grants (AGA, art 6), particularly for purchases and subcontracting, which must comply with best value for money (or if appropriate the lowest price) and be free of any conflict of interests. If the budget table contains ineligible costs, the grant may be reduced, even later on during the project implementation or after its end. Costs for financial support to third parties are not allowed.