The financial situation of university students in the EU

Subject: The financial situation of university students in the EU

Research carried out by Eurostudent indicates that, in the EU, university students who live alone have to spend on average at least a third of their budget on housing.

While the cost of living and housing will naturally vary from country to country, students in many EU Member States are experiencing severe financial difficulties.

It seems that in Italy, specifically, the average university student has to fork out around EUR 17 500 a year, which is a very heavy burden for European families considering that prices have risen due to inflation.

In the light of the above, what will the Commission do to support European students – especially those living away from home – at a time when the economy is struggling?

Submitted:18.4.2024

Answer given by Ms Ivanova on behalf of the European Commission

(1 July 2024)

Under Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (1), Member States are responsible for the organisation of their education systems, including for organising affordable housing and democratising access to pursue education. The role of the EU is to support and supplement Member States’ actions and foster transnational cooperation.

Inclusive education is a priority for the EU, as highlighted in the European strategy for universities (2). To achieve a European Education Area (3), the Commission supports Member States to remove barriers to learning and to improve access to education for all.

This includes the implementation of the Principles and Guidelines to Strengthen the Social Dimension of Higher Education in the European Higher Education Area (4).

EU funding programmes, like the European Social Fund or the Next Generation EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (5), provide the opportunity for Member States to complement their efforts.

Through the Technical Support Instrument (6), upon demand, Member States can also get support for reforms that foster better access of young people to housing.

Erasmus+ (7) is seeking to promote equal opportunities and inclusion across all its actions. With respect to individual support for those participating in Erasmus+ learning mobility, grant amounts were adjusted by 5.9% for most of the mobility actions in the 2024 call to alleviate the effect of inflation.

This increase came in addition to a first adjustment of 12.27% in 2023. For Erasmus+ students with fewer opportunities, there is the possibility to top up their Erasmus+ individual support grant with up to EUR 250 per month, which might help them in dealing with the cost of student housing.

1 ∙ ⸱ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A12008E165

2 ∙ ⸱ https://education.ec.europa.eu/document/commission-communication-on-a-european-strategy-for-universities

3 ∙ ⸱ https://education.ec.europa.eu/

4 ∙ ⸱ https://www.ehea.info/Upload/Rome_Ministerial_Communique_Annex_II.pdf

5 ∙ ⸱ https://next-generation-eu.europa.eu/recovery-and-resilience-facility_en

6 ∙ ⸱ https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/technical-support-instrument/technical-support-instrument-tsi_en

7 ∙ ⸱ https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/