Fokus Kroatien Early and Later Developments When Croatian Higher Education Insti- tutions (HEIs) began to participate in LLP 11 years ago, at first only outgo- ing mobilities were carried out. Very soon, however, they began to take full advantage of the programme’s possibil- ities and also hosted incoming students, whose number has grown gradually over the years. In fact, incoming stu- dents now outnumber outgoing ones. In the academic year 2017/18, for instance, there were 2,485 incoming students compared to 2,013 outgoing students from both programme (KA103) and partner countries (KA107). Regarding Erasmus+, Croatian HEIs were initially somewhat cautious when it came to the various cooperation pro- jects, especially in the role of applicants. Over time, though, as they gained more experience, Croatian institutions started to apply for Strategic Partnerships in different educational fields, not least higher education. Their participation in centralised cooperation projects also increased. Three Croatian HEIs are par- ticipating in the European Universities Initiative,1 and many more are interest- ed in applying in future calls. Broad Impacts Despite its relatively short history, the overall impact of Erasmus on Croatian HE is difficult to exaggerate. The pro- gramme is, as Antonija Gladović makes clear, «by far the most important source of funding for the internationalisa- tion of higher education in Croatia», with other schemes such CEEPUS and 1 Two universities are full consortium partners, while another one is an associated partner. bilateral scholarships trailing behind. As such, Erasmus «has both boosted the numbers of mobile individuals like no other mobility scheme before – amongst students as well as teaching and non-teaching staff – and offered Croatian HEIs new ways of interna- tional cooperation under project rules which are and were relatively simple compared to other programmes and funds». Therefore, it should come as no surprise that all but two Croatian HEIs are Erasmus Charter for Higher Educa- tion (ECHE) holders. In addition, as already stated in the Croatian National Report on the Im- plementation and Impact of Erasmus+ Programme in May 2017, Erasmus has had an influence that has gone beyond mobility and international cooperation; it has also led to structural changes in the Croatian higher education system. «Because of their participation» in the programme, the mid-term evaluation concluded, Croatian HEIs have «estab- lished […] procedures» relevant to their new partnerships, «(especially credit recognition procedures), increased their visibility and attractiveness, and intro- duced courses in foreign languages».2 Challenges Ahead As widely accepted, popular, and momentous as Erasmus undoubted- ly is, Antonija Gladović is convinced that there are some aspects that could be improved. One shortcoming, she 2 National Report on the Implementation and Impact of Erasmus+ Programme – Croatia, ed. Branko Ančić and Marija Brajdić Vuković. Zagreb: Ministry of Science and Education and Ministry for Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy, 2017, p. 8, online available at https://t1p.de/fqay [04.02.2020]. feels, is the lack of flexibility when it comes to the transfer of funds be- tween Key Actions, particularly from KA103 to KA107, which has recently gained in popularity. Another aspect that warrants more attention are the different budget, application and con- tractual rules for different action types for higher education (e.g. Strategic Partnerships compared to Knowledge Alliances or Capacity Building in Higher Education), for they have proved to be confusing for applicants. Last but not least, «we feel that the programme should contribute more to cross-sec- toral cooperation and cooperation with the business sector», she states. While Gladović is hoping that the new programme generation will mitigate at least some of the aforementioned shortcomings (and also introduce short student mobilities at all levels of HE and higher grants for students), the Croatian NA is continuing its en- deavours to increase the visibility of Erasmus amongst non-beneficiaries and those who, for whatever reasons, could and should participate in the programme but have not yet done so. Together with national authorities, AMEUP thereby hopes to raise mobility rates which, for a number of (structur- al) reasons – an unfavourable national tax policy, for instance – have not kept pace with the steep budget growth over recent years. Given that even more funds will presumably be available with the start of the new programme gen- eration in 2021, the issue seems all the more urgent. 34