USA cuts on EU university cooperation

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10 augustus 2011 | The U.S. government will cut its $2 million of the Atlantis program for transatlantic cooperation in higher education. No new projects will be initiated for at least two years.

Since the 90’s the US and EU have launched a number of projectsto foster cooperation in higher education and training. Finaloutcome of this policy was the Atlantis programs through which consortia ofAmerican and European higher education institutions work together,e.g. offering dual Master degrees.

The recent budget cuts in the US, however, have not onlyaffected American students with loans, but also led to the cancellation of anynew Atlantis projects for the upcoming two years.

The EU Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency(EACEA) published a statement saying: “EACEA regrets to inform youthat […] no Calls for Proposal will be published in the comingyears 2012 and 2013. This is due to severe US and Canadian budgetcuts. Unfortunately, the EU cannot fund projects without matchingfunding from Canada and US.”

Also Dutch universities have benefitted in the past fromAtlantis funding. The Erasmus University of Rotterdam cooperated[link to the PDF file] with a German and an American instituteoffering a transatlantic Master in International Security andDevelopment Policy backed up by EU funds of €408.000.