The Erasmus+ National Agency Higher Education at the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is calling on students to take part in the European elections on June 9th. On its website, it also provides information on how German Erasmus students in other (EU) countries can vote.

"The European Union faces major, if not existential, challenges in the coming years. This historically unique confederation of states is particularly dependent on the participation of its citizens and, in particular, the young people who make up the future of the Union. It is therefore logical and very gratifying that the National Agency within the DAAD is calling on Erasmus students in Germany and German Erasmus students abroad to take part in the election," said DAAD President Prof Dr Joybrato Mukherjee in Bonn. 

"One of the most important goals of the Erasmus programme is to make Europe and the world tangible for young people and to enable them to help shape the future of Europe. This is why we are specifically calling on Erasmus students to take part in the EU elections. We are supplementing this with information on the websites about electoral opportunities, for example during an Erasmus semester abroad," said Dr Stephan Geifes, Director of the Erasmus+ National Agency Higher Education at the DAAD. 

Options abroad

German Erasmus students in other European countries have two options for taking part in the election: They can vote in person on site after registering on the electoral roll in good time. Alternatively, they can opt for postal voting, where they order the documents from their home town or municipality in Germany. This is often possible online and even shorter before the election, the voting documents are then sent to the place of study.

High voting intention and voluntary commitment

A stay abroad as part of the Erasmus programme has a positive impact on the exercise of democratic rights at EU level: in a recent survey of 19,000 former Erasmus scholarship holders, 85% of respondents said they wanted to take part in the 2024 European elections. In Germany, Erasmus alumni are also active in student volunteering programmes such as "Local Erasmus+ Initiatives" or "Europa macht Schule" and are campaigning at their universities for participation in the European elections on 9 June 2024. 

Erasmus at the Wahl-o-Mat

The Erasmus programme is also represented in the theses of the Wahl-O-Mat for the European elections, with which citizens can compare their attitudes with those of the 35 parties registered for the elections. In the 30th of a total of 38 theses, they can vote in favour of or against an increase in the Erasmus grant for financially disadvantaged students. The theses of the Wahl-O-Mat are developed and selected by an editorial team of young voters (under 26 years of age) from all over Germany, experts from science and education as well as those responsible at the Federal Agency for Civic Education.