Viadrina Co-Signs Joint Statement on the Future of European University Alliances
Europa-Universität Viadrina is one of 261 institutions from 30 European countries that have co-signed the joint statement "For an explicit recognition of European University Alliances as pillars of Europe's competitiveness, sovereignty and skills". The statement calls on the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament to acknowledge the role of the Alliances in the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework and in the European Competitiveness Fund.
European Universities alliances are pioneering new models of deep collaboration across borders, reducing fragmentation, connecting regional innovation ecosystems, and advancing the free circulation of knowledge and innovation across Europe.
Joint Statement on the Future of European University Alliances
The full statement and the list of signatory institutions are available for download here (PDF).
European University Alliances were launched as a flagship initiative of the European strategy for universities following French President Emmanuel Macron's Sorbonne speech in 2017. Currently supported through Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe, the alliances are designed to enable deep cross-border collaboration: joint degree programmes, shared research infrastructures, student and staff mobility, and institutional reform at a scale that individual universities cannot achieve alone.
The Viadrina has been a member of the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA) since November 2023. Founded in 2019, ERUA brings together eight universities from eight European countries committed to reforming higher education from within. In May 2026, ERUA formalised this commitment by establishing itself as permanent — moving beyond project-based cooperation towards a durable institutional structure.
At the Viadrina, ERUA membership has opened concrete opportunities for students and researchers: more than 20 international research clusters, a joint degree programme with further programmes in development, Travelling Seminars and Summer Schools at partner universities, a student-led sustainability commission, and formats such as ERUAvision. The Viadrina leads the alliance's work on student engagement.
The statement was initiated by France Universités and extended across Europe through FOREU4ALL, the community of practice that brings all European University alliances together. It addresses a critical moment in EU budget negotiations: with the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFR) for 2028–2034 currently under discussion, the signatories are calling for explicit legislative recognition of the role alliances play — not only in higher education, but in strengthening Europe's research capacity, regional development and strategic autonomy. ERUA's partner institutions have also co-signed the statement.
Fritz Schlüter
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