Amid high youth unemployment rates in many EU member states, Erasmus sponsored a record number of over 25,000 students as well as 46,000 academic and administrative staff to study and work abroad in the 2011-2012 academic year.

　　"Erasmus is more important than ever in times of economic hardship and high youth unemployment... It has also played a tremendous role in improving the quality of higher education in Europe by opening up universities and colleges to international cooperation," said European education and culture commissioner Androulla Vassiliou here on Monday.

　　The EU has a target of 20 percent for overall student mobility by 2020. Currently about 10 percent of EU students study or train abroad and 4.5 percent receive an Erasmus grant.

　　Starting from next January, the EU is to launch a strengthened program known as Erasmus Plus, with a budget of 14.5 billion euros (18.7 dollars) for 2014-2020 to facilitate the mobility of 4 million people.