Erasmus+ for organisations in Romania: eligibility and key actions

Romania has one of the largest and fastest-growing Erasmus+ participant communities in Central and Eastern Europe. Romanian schools, NGOs, VET providers, universities, youth organisations and public bodies have access to the full range of Erasmus+ actions — and the 2026 call offers significant opportunities across all sectors, from first-time applicants exploring KA210 to experienced organisations developing ambitious KA220 cooperation projects.

This guide covers the complete Erasmus+ landscape for Romanian organisations in 2026 — eligibility, available actions, funding amounts, the National Agency, 2026 deadlines and practical guidance for building a competitive application.

Who is eligible for Erasmus+ in Romania?

Erasmus+ is open to a wide range of organisations legally established in Romania. Eligible types include:

• Schools — unități de învățământ preuniversitar including grădinițe, școli primare, gimnaziale and licee at all levels of pre-university education
• VET providers — liceele tehnologice, școlile profesionale and other organisations providing initial and continuing vocational training
• Higher education institutions — universități and other accredited HEIs holding a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE)
• Adult education providers — centere de educație permanentă, furnizori de formare profesională and non-formal adult learning organisations
• NGOs and civil society organisations — asociații, fundații and other non-profit bodies registered under Romanian law, active in education, youth, culture, social inclusion or civic participation
• Youth organisations and centres — cluburi ale copiilor, palate ale copiilor, case de cultură and informal groups of young people (for KA152)
• Public bodies — consilii locale, primării, consilii județene and public institutions active in education or youth
• Enterprises and companies providing structured workplace training as part of VET programmes

All organisations must hold a valid Organisation ID (OID) registered on the EU Academy portal before submitting any application. Registration is free and takes up to 10 working days — do not leave this for the final week before the deadline.

The National Agency: ANPCDEFP

Unlike Italy, Spain and Portugal which have two separate agencies, Romania has a single National Agency managing all Erasmus+ actions across all fields — education, VET, adult learning, higher education and youth.

The ANPCDEFP — Agenția Națională pentru Programe Comunitare în Domeniul Educației și Formării Profesionale manages KA1 mobility, KA210, KA220, the Erasmus Accreditation and all youth actions (KA152, KA153, KA154) in Romania.

ANPCDEFP publishes national call information, application guidance and national deadline confirmations in Romanian. Their Erasmus+ portal (erasmusplus.ro) is the primary reference for current call information. Always check before submitting — ANPCDEFP may publish national adjustments after the Programme Guide is released by the European Commission.

Which Erasmus+ actions are available to Romanian organisations?

KA210 — Small-Scale Partnerships (recommended starting point)

KA210 is the most accessible and widely used Erasmus+ action for Romanian organisations applying for the first time. No experience required, lump sum grants with no receipts, minimum of just two partners from two countries.

Romania has one of the highest volumes of KA210 applications in Central and Eastern Europe — which means competition is real and application quality matters. A generic first application will not score well against the volume of submissions ANPCDEFP receives. Focus on a specific, well-defined project concept with clear activities, realistic scope and genuine alignment with the 2026 priorities.

KA220 — Cooperation Partnerships

KA220 is the full-scale cooperation action for Romanian organisations with prior EU project experience and a clear innovation or systemic impact objective.

KA122-SCH — Short-term Mobility for Schools

Romanian schools at all levels can fund staff professional development abroad through job shadowing, teaching assignments and training courses. No prior experience required, maximum 30 participants, managed by ANPCDEFP.

KA122-VET — Short-term Mobility for VET

Romanian liceele tehnologice and școlile profesionale can fund learner placements abroad, staff job shadowing and ErasmusPro long-term learner placements. Maximum 30 participants per project, maximum 3 short-term grants in any 5-year period.

KA122-ADU — Short-term Mobility for Adult Education

Romanian organisations providing adult education and non-formal learning for adults can fund staff professional development abroad. No 50% course fee cap for adult education actions.

KA152 — Youth Exchanges

Romanian youth organisations can send or host groups of young people aged 13–30 for structured non-formal learning exchanges with partner groups from other programme countries. Two rounds per year. Romania has a very active youth exchange sector and ANPCDEFP receives a large volume of KA152 applications — quality of project design is critical.

KA153 — Youth Worker Mobility

Professional development for Romanian youth workers, trainers and non-formal educators through learning visits, seminars and job shadowing abroad. Two rounds per year, managed by ANPCDEFP.

KA154 — Youth Participation Activities

Funds civic engagement and democratic participation activities for young people — national or transnational. Particularly relevant for Romanian youth organisations working on active citizenship, local democracy, anti-corruption awareness and European values.

Erasmus Accreditation — School, VET and Adult Education

Romanian schools, VET providers and adult education organisations committed to long-term European mobility can apply for simplified annual access to KA1 mobility funding through the Erasmus Accreditation.

2026 Erasmus+ deadlines for Romanian organisations

All deadlines at 12:00 Brussels time. Always verify with ANPCDEFP at erasmusplus.ro — ANPCDEFP may publish national adjustments after the Programme Guide is released.

How much funding can Romanian organisations receive?

The individual support rate for Romania as a destination is €120/day — Country Group 3, alongside Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Serbia and Türkiye. This makes Romania one of the more cost-effective destinations for incoming participants from Western Europe. When Romanian participants travel to Western European destinations, the higher destination rates apply — €160/day to Germany, France or Italy, €140/day to Greece or Portugal.

Romania’s strengths as an Erasmus+ partner

Romanian organisations are sought-after partners across Europe for several reasons:

• Large and active civil society — Romania has a substantial NGO sector with considerable experience in EU-funded projects across education, youth, social services and community development
• Geographic diversity — Romania’s range of contexts — major cities (București, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara), rural and mountain communities, the Danube Delta region — provides rich inclusion and diversity contexts for projects addressing regional disparities and access to education
• Strong Roma inclusion context — Romania has one of the largest Roma communities in Europe. Projects addressing Roma inclusion in education, VET and youth participation are strongly aligned with both the 2026 inclusion priority and the EU Roma Strategic Framework
• Bridge between East and West — Romania’s position as an EU Member State bordering non-EU countries (Moldova, Ukraine) gives projects an Eastern European dimension that adds genuine transnational value
• Cost-effective hosting — at €120/day individual support, hosting activities in Romania is among the most cost-effective options in the programme, allowing project budgets to accommodate more participants or more activity days
• Experienced higher education sector — Romanian universities have long-standing Erasmus+ exchange relationships across Europe and bring institutional capacity to KA220 and international cooperation projects

The 2026 priorities for Romanian organisations

• Inclusion and diversity — Romania’s geographic inequalities between urban and rural areas, its large Roma community, communities with limited access to quality education, and young people facing socioeconomic barriers all provide genuine and well-documented inclusion contexts. This is the priority area where Romanian applications are naturally strongest — provided the inclusion design is genuine and specific, not generic
• Digital transformation — digital skills for educators and youth workers, digital tools in non-formal education, addressing the digital divide between urban and rural communities, and digital inclusion for disadvantaged groups
• Environment and climate change — environmental education, sustainable practices in project design, green travel choices. Romania’s biodiversity (Danube Delta, Carpathian forests) and environmental challenges create strong environmental education contexts
• Democratic participation — civic education, anti-corruption awareness, media literacy, active citizenship and European values — particularly relevant in the Romanian context given civic engagement trends among younger generations

How to apply: step by step for Romanian organisations

Step 1 — Register your OID. Register your organisation on the EU Academy portal to obtain an Organisation ID. Free, up to 10 working days. Do this as soon as you decide to apply — not the week before the deadline.

Step 2 — Choose your action. First-time applicants: KA210. Youth organisations: KA152 or KA153. Schools and VET providers: KA122. Experienced organisations with innovation objectives: KA220. VET providers wanting long-term annual funding: Erasmus Accreditation.

Step 3 — Develop your project concept. Define clearly: the problem your project addresses, your specific target group, your planned activities, your expected outputs and how your project connects to the 2026 priorities. For KA210, keep the concept focused and proportionate to the €30,000 or €60,000 tier you intend to select.

Step 4 — Find your partners. Use EPALE (for adult education), the Erasmus+ partner search tools, ANPCDEFP’s partner-seeking resources or your existing European network. GrowthProjects.eu provides partner matching for Romanian organisations seeking European partners.

Step 5 — Read ANPCDEFP’s national guidance. ANPCDEFP publishes national call documents in Romanian that clarify how Programme Guide rules apply in the Romanian national context. Always read these before writing your application.

Step 6 — Submit and wait. Submit online through the Erasmus+ application system. ANPCDEFP notifies applicants approximately 3–4 months after the deadline.

Common mistakes Romanian organisations make when applying

Using inclusion as a buzzword rather than a design principle. Romania’s genuine inclusion contexts — Roma communities, rural areas, educational inequalities — are powerful assets in Erasmus+ applications. But ANPCDEFP evaluators have seen thousands of applications that mention Roma inclusion or rural disadvantage without designing specific activities, adapted content or inclusion support measures. Genuine inclusion must be built into the project design from the start.

Choosing the €60,000 KA210 tier for a first application. The higher tier requires more convincing evidence of organisational capacity. Start at €30,000 with a focused, well-designed project and build your track record before applying for larger grants.

Underestimating the competition volume. ANPCDEFP receives one of the highest volumes of KA210 and KA152 applications in the region. A weak or generic application will not compete. Every section — relevance, activities, partnership, impact — must be specific and evidence-based.

Not reading ANPCDEFP’s national guidance documents. ANPCDEFP publishes detailed national guidance after each Programme Guide release, including clarifications on eligibility, budget rules and evaluation criteria. Many Romanian applicants submit without reading these documents and miss important national-level information.

Leaving OID registration too late. Takes up to 10 working days. Register immediately when you decide to apply.

Frequently asked questions

Does Romania have one National Agency or two?

Romania has a single National Agency — ANPCDEFP — managing all Erasmus+ actions including both education/VET and youth fields. Unlike Italy, Spain and Portugal which have separate agencies for education and youth, Romanian organisations submit all applications to ANPCDEFP regardless of field.

Can a Romanian asociație be an Erasmus+ coordinator?

Yes. Non-profit associations (asociații) registered in Romania are fully eligible to coordinate Erasmus+ projects — including KA210 and KA220. There is no restriction on legal form for coordinators in most actions, provided the organisation is legally registered in Romania and meets the specific eligibility requirements for the chosen action.

Can a Romanian school apply for KA210 at the same time as KA122-SCH?

Yes — both go to ANPCDEFP and are evaluated independently. There is no rule preventing a school from applying for a KA1 mobility project and a KA210 cooperation project in the same call.

What is the individual support rate for activities in Romania?

The Programme Guide reference rate for Romania as a destination is €120/day — Country Group 3. This is among the lower destination rates in the programme, making Romania a cost-effective location for hosting transnational project meetings and activities. Verify the exact rate with ANPCDEFP before building your budget.

Can a Romanian youth organisation apply for KA152 and KA210 in the same call?

Yes. Both go to ANPCDEFP and are evaluated independently. Many Romanian youth organisations run both a KA152 exchange and a KA210 cooperation project simultaneously.

All programme information is based on the official Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2026 (Version 1, published 12 November 2025). The individual support rate of €120/day for Romania is confirmed from the Programme Guide Country Group 3. Always verify current national information with ANPCDEFP at erasmusplus.ro before submitting. GrowthProjects.eu is an independent consultancy and is not affiliated with ANPCDEFP, the European Commission or EACEA.