The three objectives of the programme are mutual understanding, cooperation and higher education modernisation.

Mutual Understanding
Tempus enhances understanding between cultures, strengthens cooperation in higher education between the European Union and countries from the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and the Mediterranean region. As the Tempus III Council Decision states: “cooperation on higher education strengthens and deepens the whole fabric of relations existing between people, brings out common cultural values, allows fruitful exchanges of views to take place and facilitates multinational activities in the scientific, cultural, artistic, economic and social spheres.”

Cooperation
Tempus promotes the ‘people to people’ approach: its added value lies in its promotion of international and regional co-operation, which generates better communication and new networks of personal and professional contacts between the academic worlds of the EU and the partner countries.

Higher Education modernisation
The Tempus programme is designed to support the transition and modernisation processes in higher education through a range of interventions. It is a key instrument in the consolidation of the objectives pursued by the EU TACIS, CARDS and MEDA cooperation programmes. With the introduction of Structural and Complementary Measures, Tempus aims to impact on higher education national policies.