WHAT IS EHEA?

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is the objective of the Bologna process - to create more comparable, compatible and coherent systems of higher education in Europe. Under the Lisbon Recognition Convention of the Council of Europe, degrees and study periods are recognized mutually.

WHAT IS THE ERASMUS PROGRAMME?

The ERASMUS programme is a European student exchange programme established in 1987. It forms a major part of the European Union's Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013, and is the operational framework for the European Commission's initiatives in higher education.

The ERASMUS Programme was incorporated into the SOCRATES programme established by the European Commission in 1994. The Socrates programme was replaced with the Socrates II programme on 24 January 2000, which in turn was replaced by the Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 on 1 January 2007.
ERASMUS has a number of specific objectives:

• To improve the quality and to increase the volume of student and teaching staff mobility throughout Europe, so as to achieve at least 3 million student and teacher exchanges by 2012.
• To improve the quality and to increase the amount of multilateral cooperation between higher education institutions in Europe.
• To improve and to increase cooperation between higher education institutions and enterprises.
• To spread innovation and new pedagogic practice and supports between universities in Europe.

The aim of ERASMUS is to encourage and support academic mobility of higher education students and teachers within the European Union, the European Economic Area countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as well as EU candidate countries such as Turkey.

ERASMUS LLP

The Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 is the European Union programme for education and training. The Programme's objectives are first, to support the development of quality lifelong learning and thereafter to help Member States develop their own education and training systems. The objectives are underpinned by actions which concentrate on the creation of links between people, institutions and countries in education and training.