The Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin has successfully joined the fourth generation of the ERASMUS program. This accomplishment is particularly remarkable, considering the delays encountered in beginning this program, which were due to belated program decisions and late preparation of required documentation. The new financial regulations, particularly those for SMS, proved to be a further difficulty. While very welcome in principle – primarily because they provide students with certainty regarding the amount of their monthly funding in advance of their study abroad, these changes presented the ERASMUS management with the all but insurmountable tasks of developing and carrying out a serious, realistic strategy for conducting efficient financial planning with a minimal amount of administrative effort. In this area, further adjustments are called for, and modifications need to be carried out in the intermediate term. The commission needs to address the question as to why – after the financial budget has already been confirmed – it is not possible to provide the national agencies with financial framework data by March/April at the latest. This would enable the national agencies to base their planning on a concrete budget and not on speculation. As a university, we enter into contractual obligations with students without any legal financial basis. In the event of noncompliance with grant agreements, the university/the university coordinator bears responsibility and not the commission or the national agency. This is an untenable state of affairs. The argument that one could finalize the grant agreements in June/July evinces a lack of practical experience, at least as concerning large universities, of which there are not few. Additionally, the division of the individual countries into the specific funding groups should also be evaluated with criticism. In some cases, this division demonstrates a further disconnect from practical reality.