On 7 May 2026, Prof. Dr Eduard Mühle, President of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), together with the heads of the partner universities of the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA), signed the notarial deed to establish an international non-profit association under Belgian law in Brussels. With this step, the Alliance is transforming its previously project-based cooperation into a permanent institutional structure. The aim is to secure the cooperation within ERUA in the long term and to develop it strategically - independently of temporary funding cycles.
The establishment of the non-profit association represents an important milestone for Viadrina and its European university cooperation within the ERUA alliance. While many cross-border university networks are primarily based on temporary EU funding programmes, ERUA's new legal form creates a stable framework for sustainable cooperation.
Viadrina President Eduard Mühle emphasises: "ERUA is now becoming a truly European university - a strong academic community with over 80 faculties and around 120,000 students from the Canary Islands, France, Italy, Germany and Poland to Lithuania, Bulgaria and Greece. Together, we are developing study programmes, researching key issues for the future of Europe and building a digital campus that enables new forms of everyday international cooperation in everyday university life."
A current example of the intensified cooperation is the joint Master's degree programme "Forced Migration: Europe in a Global Context", which is due to start in the winter semester 2026/27. The programme is being developed jointly, combines different academic perspectives and enables study phases at several locations in Europe. For the Viadrina, this means greater international visibility in a highly relevant subject area as well as an expansion of its study programme.
Another focus of ERUA is on the close integration of universities and their regional contexts. In this context, the Viadrina recently hosted the event "Doing Democracy", which brought together actors from civil society and academia, particularly from Poland and Germany.
Background
The European Reform University Alliance (ERUA) was founded on 1 November 2020 as part of the European Commission's Erasmus+ initiative "European Universities". The European University Viadrina has been a member since November 2023 and is responsible for the area of student participation.
The alliance stands for in-depth European cooperation in research, teaching, campus life and transfer to society. The aim is to promote internationally orientated, reform-oriented and socially committed higher education.
Currently, ERUA comprises:
- over 80 faculties
- around 120.000 Studierende
- etwa 10.500 employees in science and administration
Member universities:
- European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder) (Germany)
- University of Paris 8 Vincennes, Saint-Denis (France)
- University of Macerata (Italy)
- Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius (Lithuania)
- University of the Aegean, Aegean Islands (Greece)
- New Bulgarian University, Sofia (Bulgaria)
- SWPS University, Warsaw (Poland)
- University of Las Palmas de Gran Canari