The European Union offers project partners in the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes the possibility to support Ukrainians displaced or affected by the war.
EU-lippuja lipputangoissa Brysselissä.
Photo: Guillaume Périgois / Unsplash

(updated on 10.2.2023)

The European Commission encourages ongoing projects under the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes to adapt the project activities to support persons who have fled the war in Ukraine. Making adaptations to the activities is voluntary.

In all Key Actions (KA1: Learning mobility and KA2: Partnerships for Cooperation) and activities of the Erasmus+ programme. Under the European Solidarity Corps programme, volunteers from Ukraine can be hosted without a sending organisation.

The adapted activities must comply with the rules of the programmes. The adaptation or refocusing of activities only applies to project phases or activities that have not yet been started and/or implemented. 

The project beneficiary can request changes from the National Agency, which assesses the eligibility of the changes on a case-by-case basis. If you are planning such adaptations, please contact the contact person of the project already in the planning phase. 

The total funding granted to the project remains the same despite the adaptations. It is not possible to increase the project grant beyond the originally granted amount, with the exception of funding made available for exceptional costs and inclusion support. Project funding may only be used for eligible project activities. For example, purchasing materials and services not directly related to project activities is not permitted. 

Even if the project activities were to be adapted to support those fleeing Ukraine, the project cannot stray away from its original general objectives.

In ongoing Erasmus+ KA1 projects, it is possible to allocate unused project support to support measures by supplementing the original agreement.

In mobility activities it is possible to fund mobilities from Ukraine to Finland. A mobility period may also be granted to a person who has already fled to Finland or who has fled from Ukraine to another country earlier. In this case, the starting place of the mobility period is the person's current place of residence.  

The support measures apply to student, pupil and youth mobility and traineeships as well as staff mobility for teaching and for training. The existing programme rules apply to grants and arrangements.

Individual mobility opportunities will be opened according to the decisions and opportunities of the Finnish beneficiaries. It is important to ensure that the project budgets are adequate and that the organisations can provide suitable support and arrangements for incoming persons. 

If you are planning such adaptations, please contact the contact person of your project already in the planning phase. Upon request, the National Agency grants the implementation right by means of a contract amendment (either a simpler supplementary contract or both a supplementary contract and a contract amendment, depending on the situation). 

Read the more detailed guidance and eligibility rules for each field:

Read how Ukrainian refugees have been supported in Erasmus+ projects

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In Erasmus+ cooperation projects (KA2), making adaptations to support those who have fled the war in Ukraine is possible and also encouraged. These adaptations may include integration measures, providing training for refugees or depolarisation work.  

If you are planning such adaptations, please contact the contact person of the project already in the planning phase. Upon request, the National Agency grants the implementation right by means of a contract amendment.

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Under the European Solidarity Corps programme, volunteers from Ukraine can be hosted without a sending organisation.

Read the more detailed guidance and eligibility rules on the following pages:

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It is possible to take into account the situation of people fleeing the war in Ukraine in the project plans and activities submitted in open calls under the Erasmus+ programme.

The Commission has published an additional priority for the 2023 KA2 application round and considerable additional funding for supporting those affected by the war in Ukraine. The priority applies both to Cooperation Partnerships and to Small-scale Partnerships and is valid in all application rounds in 2023.  

Ways of taking the priority into account in the project applications has been determined for each sector.

In mobility activities (KA1), it is possible to fund mobilities from Ukraine to Finland. Additional funding is available for funding the mobility periods. 

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Erasmus+ register for supporting Ukrainian refugees

The European Commission has published a register of education and training staff for support to Ukrainian refugees on EPALE, the Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe. The register covers adult education, vocational education and training and general education from early childhood education and care and pre-primary education to basic education and upper secondary education.

Teachers, trainers and experts interested in supporting Ukrainian refugees can register their name in the register. Education and training organisations in turn can use the register to look for persons with suitable competence to work with them to support Ukrainian refugees.

The register is aimed especially at supporting organisations that have an ongoing Erasmus+ mobility project. Organisations can use the project funding granted to them to organise mobility activities to training staff and experts for working with Ukrainian refugees.

Linguistic support

Erasmus+ online language support OLS has an open section that is free of charge and available also for Ukrainian people to study languages. During spring 2023, the linguistic support will expand to cover 29 languages used in Europe. Some Finnish courses are available. In addition, the platform offers a language learning community with which it is possible to discuss learning the language in question.

Persons who have been granted an Erasmus+ grant can also complete language courses and language tests in the OLS service with limited access.
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Due to Russian's attack on Ukraine, the force majeure clause can be applied to ongoing projects and mobility activities funded by the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes. Projects and mobilities for which the force majeure clause is applied will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. In addition to Ukraine and Russia, the application of the force majeure clause also applies to other non-EU countries neighbouring Ukraine.  

It is possible to suspend ongoing EU programmes’ projects or mobility activities in the above countries. Additional costs for suspension may be accepted as exceptional costs or covered using Organisational Support funds or transferring funds between countries within the same budget envelope.

When applying the force majeure clause, beneficiaries may cancel or postpone planned activities or projects or change the destination country flexibly. This applies to both outgoing and incoming international mobility. 

For persons interrupting a mobility period and returning to their country of residence, it should be explored whether the mobility period can be extended virtually with the host organization.   

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According to the Commission's policies, cooperation between organisations and Russian public organisations will be suspended in the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes. However, individual Russians may continue to participate in the programmes.

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Erasmus+ for Adult Education: erasmus.aikuisoulutus(at)oph.fi
Erasmus+ for Vocational Education and Training: erasmus.ammatillinen(at)oph.fi
Erasmus+ for Higher Education: erasmus.korkeakoulutus(at)oph.fi
Erasmus+ for General Education: erasmus.yleissivistava(at)oph.fi
Erasmus+ Youth: youth(at)oph.fi
Erasmus+ Sport: sport(at)oph.fi
European Solidarity Corps: nuoriso(at)oph.fi

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