The Road towards Erasmus: Fundaments and Challenges in Adopting the Programme
The Road towards Erasmus: Fundaments and Challenges in Adopting the Programme

Summary/Abstract: The Road towards Erasmus: Fundaments and Challenges in Adopting the ProgrammeThis article focuses on the genesis of the Erasmus Programme, starting from the idea that it resulted from a long-term process that implied gradually developing competencies in the field of education and cleverly identified the arguments the context needed to launch such an initiative. Nowadays, the Erasmus Programme is largely considered the most successful European initiative in the field of education, and in the last 30 years, it has become part of the academic experience for millions of students. However, in 1986 the negotiations for adopting the programme reached a deadlock, and for a few days, the compromise seemed impossible. In this matter, we try to trace back the steps in creating the programme, with particular attention to European institutions’ interactions. With this purpose, the article examines the stages of adopting the programme while highlighting the factors and arguments that fundament the proposal. It also reflects upon the personal contribution of certain European statesmen that developed and then fought so the programme would be adopted in a form that would allow further evolution. By analyzing the context of adopting the programme, we want to lay grounds to better understand the programme’s later evolution.

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