Renew Europe drives push to turn university alliances into Europe’s competitive edge

The European Parliament has backed a new vision for the European Universities Alliances, led by Renew Europe’s MEP Laurence Farreng. The alliances, launched in 2019, already link more than 570 universities across 65 networks — building cross-border campuses where students and teachers move seamlessly, academics share resources, and universities of every size contribute to Europe’s excellence.

Renew Europe is raising the stakes: the report positions the alliances not just as the most transformative initiative of European higher education since the Bologna Process, but as a lasting cornerstone of Europe’s integration and competitiveness. They are designed to scale up mobility, joint degrees, and innovation, giving Europe the reach to compete globally and attract top talent. And at a time when academic freedom is under pressure worldwide, the alliances will become Europe’s defining advantage, a model where competitiveness is built on freedom, not at its expense.

Key priorities include:

• Competitiveness: Linking education and research to labour market needs and EU priorities such as digital, climate, and resilience.

• Academic freedom: Defending institutional autonomy and academic freedom as non-negotiable, with universities as engines of democracy and trust in science.

• Sustainable funding: Securing long-term, predictable financing through Erasmus+, as well as other instruments like Horizon Europe and European Competitiveness Fund.

• Seamless European mobility: Working towards automatic recognition of degrees and qualifications, a genuine European Degree, and tools such as the European Student Card to make moving across universities easier.

• Modern learning models: Investing in digital infrastructure and micro-credentials to support flexible, lifelong learning.

• Excellence and Diversity: Boosting quality through mobility and joint curricula while ensuring smaller universities and underrepresented groups are included, ensuring the democratisation of the higher education sector.


MEP Laurence Farreng (Mouvement Démocrate/France), Rapporteur and Renew Coordinator for the Committee on Culture and Education:

“Europe has the chance to lead the global race for talent — and our universities are at the heart of that ambition. By creating a cross-border university community, we unlock the skills, research, and innovation that Europe needs to stay competitive globally.

But Europe’s edge lies in more than competitiveness. In a world where academic freedom faces growing threats, the alliances show that autonomy, democracy, and academic freedom are not obstacles to success — they are the foundation of it. That is what makes Europe a magnet for the best minds worldwide: a place where excellence and freedom go hand in hand.”