ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at European Union (EU) higher education law and policy, which ostensibly delineates what is possible in the university context, and how it relates to the Erasmus Programme as a potential site for the development of EU citizenship. Both the Erasmus Programme and the Bologna Process talk in similar language of European citizenship and their role in its consolidation. Erasmus has been credited with having created ‘the first generation of young Europeans’ and whether such an outcome is viewed with awe or dismay, its significance, if more than mere hyperbole, can hardly be denied. The Erasmus Programme, the undeniable flagship of the EU’s activities in the field of higher education, effectively grew out of the 1976 Action Programme proposals for short study visits and joint study programmes. The Erasmus Programme has enhanced public perception of the EU’s involvement in higher education, which in many ways it symbolizes.
