03/07/23 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 3 July, the European Commission announced the beneficiary universities of €402.2 million in funding from the Erasmus+ programme. Each selected institution will receive €14.4 million per year for four years. Collectively, they will form seven new European University Alliances, bringing the total number of alliances to 50, involving 430 higher education institutions in 35 European countries. This call enabled the countries of the Western Balkans to participate, even though they are not associated with the Erasmus+ programme. The Commission’s next call is scheduled for autumn 2023. Its aim will be to achieve the objective of the EU strategy for universities, which is to increase the number of alliances between European universities to 60, with more than 500 universities, by mid-2024 (see EUROPE 13159/10). (HS)