Agreement about Erasmus Mundus

Settled: 26. June 2009
Duration: Until further
Settlement Parties: the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the Social Democratic Party

• Agreement about Erasmus Mundus (PDF)

The following framework will in future apply to the participation in and offering of Erasmus Mundus programmes by Danish universities:

• In partnership with universities abroad, Danish universities can offer Erasmus Mundus programmes if the programme has been granted a positive accreditation and has been approved.
• Taximeter funding, i.e. funding per FTE student, is available for EU/EEA students for those parts of an Erasmus Mundus programme that are completed at a Danish university.
• Students who are entitled to Danish state educational support can finance any tuition fees necessary for a period of studying abroad through a scholarship for studying abroad. This applies even if in doing so the student is in receipt of a scholarship for studying abroad for more than two years.
• The universities may not enter into agreements concerning Erasmus Mundus programmes with universities charging tuition fees exceeding the Danish scholarship for studying abroad.
• More detailed rules are laid down for the Erasmus Mundus programmes in Denmark concerning, enrolment, admission, issuing of diplomas, etc.
• A universities Erasmus Mundus agreement must state that students who are enrolled in the programme must be admitted to one of the universities that offer the programmes. The admitting university is responsible for ensuring that students are informed of their rights and the conditions that apply to the programme, including during their study abroad. The admitting university is also responsible for ensuring that the student can complete the entire programme, and that a valid diploma is issued after completion of the programme.

The agreed framework assumes an amendment to the University Act and the Act containing provisions pertaining to the State education grant and loan system (scholarships for studying abroad).

The overall framework must be simple to manage for the universities; it must protect the legal rights of the students and make it attractive for Danish citizens to take Erasmus Mundus courses.

In order to assess whether the rules that have been established fulfil these requirements, after one year the parties to the agreement will review the status of developments concerning Danish participation in
Erasmus Mundus programmes.

Background to the agreement

The parties to the agreement agree that the right of Danish citizens to higher education free of charge is a fundamental principle for the Danish education system.

The expectation behind the agreement is thus that all qualified Danish citizens who wish to be admitted to a Danish university in order to complete an Erasmus Mundus programme will be able to finance any tuition fees required for study periods abroad either through a scholarship for studying abroad or in some
other way.

The parties to the agreement will be observant of the principle of education free of charge being fulfilled with the chosen model and will review the matter regularly if this should prove not to be the case.

Payment for higher education programmes varies considerably between EU Member States, a factor that has hampered the introduction of the Erasmus Mundus programmes. Denmark will therefore work to ensure that in future Erasmus Mundus programmes for EU/EEA citizens are instead based on mutual exchange that is free of charge to the individual, which is already an underlying principle for international educational cooperation in Europe.

Denmark will actively participate in international cooperation within the field of education, and the international mobility of Danish students will be promoted.

Danish universities shall therefore be able to enter into partnerships with other European universities to develop and offer Erasmus Mundus programmes, and it shall be attractive for Danish citizens to enrol in Erasmus Mundus programmes.

The scholarship for studying abroad was introduced to give more Danish students access to education abroad free of charge or subsidised.

Experience from the first round of Erasmus Mundus programmes in 2004-2008 shows that, under the current Danish regulation concerning parallel courses and joint degree programmes, it is difficult for Danish universities to join the Erasmus Mundus programme. This is because of the EU requirement for a common tuition fee and the Danish rule which states that the course programme be organised according to the principle of the mutual exchange of students.

The new Erasmus Mundus programme for 2009-2013 contains no requirement for a common tuition fee for students who are admitted to a given Erasmus Mundus programme. The participating universities within the cooperation are responsible for establishing any tuition fees in accordance with the national rules in this area.

This is a consequence of the EU having no competence to establish rules that take precedence over national legislation within the field of education.