The Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2026 (Version 1) was published on 12 November 2025 as part of the 2026 Call for Proposals. Plenty of “what’s new in 2026” content circulates online, but a lot of it overstates the changes — presenting language that has existed unchanged for years as if it were freshly introduced.
This guide takes a different approach: every claim below has been checked by directly comparing the 2025 and 2026 guide text side by side, not by assumption. The result is a shorter list of genuine changes than you might expect — but the ones that are real matter, and it’s just as useful to know precisely what hasn’t changed, so you don’t waste effort “fixing” something that was never broken.
📋 In This Guide
- Overview: What Genuinely Changed for 2026
- The Four Horizontal Priorities: Confirmed Unchanged
- Key Changes by Key Action — Verified
- Accreditation: What’s Actually New (Not Much)
- Financial Regulation: Already in Force Since 2025
- The Full List of What Stayed the Same
- What to Actually Do Differently in 2026
- 2026 Programme Guide Checklist
1. Overview: What Genuinely Changed for 2026
Direct comparison of the 2025 and 2026 guide text turns up a short, specific list of real changes — far shorter than most “what’s new” summaries suggest. Here it is in full.
| Area | What Genuinely Changed | Impact on Applications |
|---|---|---|
| EU policy context | Explicit new links to the Union of Skills initiative and the EU Preparedness Union Strategy — absent from the 2025 guide, confirmed new | Projects referencing these frameworks specifically in their relevance section are aligned with genuinely new 2026 policy language |
| Civic engagement priority | The “Participation in democratic life” priority now explicitly adds preparedness and resilience — confirmed absent from 2025 | Genuinely new framing for projects addressing civic education, media literacy, disinformation |
| New KA2 action | European Partnerships for School Development introduced as a new action, contributing to the Union of Skills — confirmed genuinely new (exact action code not independently verified, check current call documentation) | New funding pathway for schools; deadline 9 April 2026 |
| Everything else commonly claimed as “new” | Green travel rules, mental health language, gender equality in STEM language, accreditation termination rules, Erasmus Plan update requirements, and the Financial Regulation citation are all identical, word-for-word, in the 2025 guide too | These are good practices worth following — just not new requirements to react to |
⚠️ Most “2026 Changes” You’ll Read Elsewhere Aren’t Changes
A direct text comparison between the 2025 and 2026 guides shows that claims like “mental health is now a 2026 priority” or “accreditation can now be terminated after 3 years unused” are describing rules that already existed, word-for-word, in 2025. These aren’t wrong pieces of advice — mental health genuinely does matter, and accreditation genuinely can be terminated for non-use — they’re just not new for 2026. Don’t let a “new rule” framing distract you from the two or three changes that actually are new.
2. The Four Horizontal Priorities: Confirmed Unchanged
The 2026 Programme Guide maintains the same four horizontal priorities as 2025, with essentially identical wording for three of the four. This doesn’t mean priorities don’t matter for scoring — they carry real weight under the Relevance criterion regardless of year — it just means there’s no new 2026 standard to chase here. Write to these priorities the way you always should: specifically, not generically.
1. Inclusion and Diversity. Focuses on equitable access for participants with fewer opportunities — socioeconomic disadvantage, geographic remoteness, disability, cultural differences, health barriers. Wording confirmed unchanged from 2025. Applications that name specific barriers and describe specific support measures score better than generic ones — this has always been true, not a new 2026 standard.
2. Digital Transformation. Covers digital competences, AI in education, and institutional digital strategy. Wording confirmed unchanged from 2025. For KA2 projects, digital outputs (tools, platforms, methodologies) remain well-aligned; for KA1, staff digital skills training remains explicitly valued.
3. Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change. Covers green competences, sustainability behaviours and climate literacy, plus the existing optional green travel funding enhancement. Wording confirmed unchanged from 2025 — including the green travel mechanism itself, which remains an optional bonus (extra funding and travel days) for choosing low-emission transport, not a mandatory requirement for any distance threshold.
4. Participation in Democratic Life. Covers civic engagement, media literacy, critical thinking and EU common values. This is the one priority with a genuinely new element: it now explicitly adds preparedness and resilience, connecting to the EU Preparedness Union Strategy — language confirmed absent from the 2025 guide. Projects addressing media literacy, disinformation or civic education have a genuinely new 2026 policy hook to reference here.
💡 Name the Priority, Then Show the Strategy
Regardless of what’s new or unchanged, the most effective way to address priorities in any Erasmus+ application is to name the specific priority explicitly, describe the specific strategy your project uses to address it, and explain how you’ll measure the outcome. Evaluators are checking for evidence of genuine integration, not keyword presence — that standard hasn’t changed, and it wasn’t introduced in 2026 either.
3. Key Changes by Key Action — Verified
Here’s the action-by-action picture, with each claim checked directly against both guide texts.
| Key Action | Verified Status | What to Do |
|---|---|---|
| KA121/122 — School, VET, Adult Mobility | Structural rules unchanged from 2025 — confirmed identical wording for course budget caps, mentor limits, mobility structure. 50% “Courses and training” budget cap, max 2 participants shadowing the same mentor, and one course per person per project are all confirmed real and unchanged. | No structural changes needed. Continue applying the same rules as previous years; verify current unit cost rates, which do update annually even when structure doesn’t. |
| KA152/153/154 — Youth Mobility | Two-round structure (February + October) confirmed unchanged; inclusion expectations and Youthpass requirement confirmed unchanged from 2025 | Continue naming specific fewer-opportunities barriers and integrating Youthpass into the learning programme — good practice regardless of year |
| KA210 — Small-Scale Partnerships | Lump sum model unchanged — two fixed tiers, €30,000 or €60,000 (not a single €60,000 ceiling). Minimum 2 partners/2 countries unchanged. 6–24 month duration unchanged. | Strengthen the transnational necessity argument and ensure outputs are genuinely collaborative — standard good practice, not a new 2026 requirement |
| KA220 — Cooperation Partnerships | Also a lump sum model — three fixed tiers (€120,000/€250,000/€400,000), built on a detailed cost-category budget used to justify the tier requested. Not a “hybrid” model as sometimes described. Minimum 3 partners/3 countries, 12–36 month duration, all unchanged. | Reference the genuinely new Union of Skills / Preparedness Union Strategy language where relevant to your sector; otherwise apply the same standards as previous years |
| European Partnerships for School Development | Confirmed genuinely new action for 2026 — for schools and school authorities, contributing to the Union of Skills. Deadline 9 April 2026, 36-month duration. | Check current call documentation for eligibility specifics before applying — this is new enough that details may be refined as the first call rounds progress |
4. Accreditation: What’s Actually New (Not Much)
This is the area where “what’s new in 2026” claims most commonly overstate the reality. Every one of the following rules — often presented elsewhere as 2026 changes — is confirmed word-for-word identical in the 2025 guide.
Accreditation can be terminated for non-use. If an accredited organisation doesn’t use its accreditation for at least three consecutive years, the National Agency can terminate it unilaterally. This rule is not new to 2026 — it’s word-for-word identical in the 2025 guide. It’s genuinely important to know, but it isn’t a fresh tightening of the rules.
Erasmus Plans can be updated. Accredited organisations may voluntarily request to update their Erasmus Plan, and the National Agency may organise checks or monitoring visits to track implementation. This provision is also confirmed identical in 2025 — not a new 2026 expectation.
Accreditation transfer on merger or restructuring. Provisions for transferring an accreditation to a successor organisation after a merger or structural change are also confirmed identical between the two years.
None of this means accreditation holders can ignore these rules — they’re real and enforced, they just aren’t new. If your organisation holds an accreditation and hasn’t used it recently, or hasn’t reviewed your Erasmus Plan in a while, that’s worth addressing regardless of what year it is.
💡 If You’re Not Actively Using Your Accreditation, This Is Still Worth Acting On
Even though the termination-for-non-use rule isn’t new, it’s still a real risk if you haven’t submitted a grant request in a while. If your organisation holds an accreditation, confirm you have planned mobility activities and are submitting requests regularly. See our 2026 deadlines guide for the current accreditation deadline.
5. Financial Regulation: Already in Force Since 2025
The EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 is frequently cited as a “new for 2026” reference. It isn’t — this exact regulation, with the same citation, appears identically in the 2025 Programme Guide as well. The financial documentation standards, the 5-year retention requirement, and the general financial rules it underpins are all unchanged.
This doesn’t mean financial compliance doesn’t matter — it’s one of the most consequential parts of running an Erasmus+ project. It just means there’s no new 2026-specific financial regime to adapt to. Continue following the same documentation discipline you always should: clear records for every cost category, evidence collected as activities happen, and everything retained for a minimum of 5 years after the project ends.
Call IDs. Each year’s calls do get new Call IDs as a matter of routine — always confirm you’re applying under the current year’s Call ID for your specific action rather than assuming, since this is genuinely worth double-checking every year regardless of whether anything else changed.
6. The Full List of What Stayed the Same
Given how much of the “what changed” content turned out to be unchanged on closer inspection, this section is worth reading in full — it’s longer than usual for good reason.
The Key Action structure is unchanged. KA1, KA2, KA3 and Jean Monnet Actions continue in the same format. KA121, KA122, KA152, KA153, KA154, KA210 and KA220 all operate under the same basic structure as 2025.
Evaluation criteria and scoring are unchanged. The four criteria remain: Relevance, Quality of Project Design, Quality of the Partnership and Cooperation Arrangements, and Impact. Weightings differ by action (KA210: 30/30/20/20; KA220: 25/30/20/25) — this split existed in 2025 too and hasn’t changed. Minimum thresholds (60 for KA210, 70 for KA220) are unchanged.
Budget models are unchanged. KA210 continues to use the lump sum model with two fixed tiers (€30,000 or €60,000). KA220 continues to use its lump sum model with three fixed tiers (€120,000/€250,000/€400,000), built on a detailed cost-category budget used to justify the requested tier. KA1 continues to use unit costs for travel, individual support and organisational costs. No ceilings have changed.
Partnership requirements are unchanged. KA210 requires a minimum of 2 partners from 2 different programme countries. KA220 requires a minimum of 3 partners from 3 different countries. Informal groups remain eligible for KA1 Youth actions but not for KA210 or KA220, in any sector.
Registration systems are unchanged. Organisations still register via the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps Organisation Registration System to obtain an OID for NA-managed actions, or via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal to obtain a PIC for EACEA-managed actions. This dual-system structure is unchanged from 2025.
The 33 programme countries are unchanged. The list — 27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye — remains the same for 2026.
7. What to Actually Do Differently in 2026
Given how few things genuinely changed, the honest advice list for 2026 is shorter than most “what’s new” posts suggest — but the items on it are real.
Reference the Union of Skills and EU Preparedness Union Strategy where genuinely relevant. This is the clearest new hook available in 2026 — particularly for VET, adult education and higher education projects (Union of Skills) and projects addressing civic education, media literacy or disinformation (Preparedness Union Strategy). Only use these where they authentically fit your project; forced references read as exactly that.
Consider the new European Partnerships for School Development action if you’re a school with prior KA1 experience. This is a genuinely new funding pathway. Check current call documentation carefully since it’s in its first year.
Keep doing what already worked — priorities, inclusion, sustainability, well-being. These all remain genuinely important to how applications are evaluated. They just aren’t new 2026 requirements — they’re standing good practice that a careless “what’s new” summary can make you think you’re behind on.
If accredited, don’t let your accreditation go unused. The termination-for-non-use rule isn’t new, but it’s real. If it’s been a while since your organisation submitted a grant request under your accreditation, this is a good moment to plan your next mobility activities.
Always use the current Programme Guide — not last year’s. Unit cost rates and Call IDs are updated annually even when the underlying structure isn’t. Download the 2026 Programme Guide from the official Erasmus+ website and verify every figure used in your budget planning.
8. 2026 Programme Guide Checklist
- ✅ 2026 Programme Guide downloaded from the official Erasmus+ website — not the 2025 version
- ✅ Correct current Call ID used in the application form
- ✅ Union of Skills and/or EU Preparedness Union Strategy referenced where genuinely relevant — not forced
- ✅ Four horizontal priorities addressed specifically, with named strategy and measurable outcome for each
- ✅ Considered whether European Partnerships for School Development fits your school’s profile (new action)
- ✅ For KA210: correct lump sum tier (€30,000 or €60,000) selected proportionately
- ✅ For KA220: correct lump sum tier (€120,000/€250,000/€400,000) and cost-justification budget prepared
- ✅ For accredited organisations: confirmed accreditation is being actively used, not left dormant
- ✅ Budget figures verified against current-year unit cost rates — not last year’s
- ✅ Document retention plan confirmed — minimum 5 years after project end
- ✅ Correct registration system used — OID via the Organisation Registration System for NA-managed actions, PIC via the Funding & Tenders Portal for EACEA-managed ones
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