34 Amendments of Julie WARD related to 2015/2327(INI)
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the Erasmus+ KA1 main target is the removal of barriers to mobility e.g. financial obstacles, recognition of international work/study outcomes for all targeted sectors;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes that the 12.7% increase in the total budget in 2017 compared to 2016 and further annual increases in the remaining programme years will result in higher success rates and greater satisfaction among applicants; welcomes the Commission’s intention to allocate an additional EUR 200 million for the remaining programme period; encourages the European Commission to analyse the programme key actions and sectors that are underfunded, such as KA1 Youth Workers Mobility, KA2, school education, adult education, youth, and those that could benefit the most from the budgetary increase;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Emphasises the added value of Erasmus+ VET actions in supporting the integration or re-integration of disadvantaged groups into educational/vocational training opportunities in order to enhance their transition to the labour market;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Points out the continued social selectivity in enrolment to mobility in some Member States; indicates the high percentage of students in mobility programmes supported by third parties (family, parents, partners); notes that many working students resign from their participation in the mobility programme due to the potential loss in income; encourages the European Commission to further increase financial aid for those who are unable to participate due to financial constraints, and looks for further possibilities to facilitate their mobility in order to make the Erasmus+ truly accessible to all;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers the long-standing brand names (Comenius, Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus, Leonardo da Vinci, Grundtvig and Youth in Action) as important tools in promoting the variety of the programme; calls on all stakeholders to continue to use them, especially in publications and brochures, in order to maintain and strengthen the identity of the sectoral programmes, to ensure better recognition and to overcome any confusion among beneficiaries;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Encourages further fostering of cooperation between the NAs and EACEA in order to promote centralised actions of the Erasmus+ programme, provide additional information about them to potential applicants and exchange feedback on improving their implementation process;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Encourages the facilitating of contacts among European Commission, NAs, programme beneficiaries, representatives of civil society organisations and EACEA by developing a communication platform for exchanging information and good practices where all related stakeholders can receive quality information, as well as share their experiences and suggestions for further programme improvements;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the European Commission to ensure the consistent application of programme rules and regulations across the National Agencies, observing common quality standards, project evaluation, and administrative procedures, thus guaranteeing the uniform and coherent implementation of Erasmus+ programme;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Underlines the necessity of pursuing improvements in the programme, making it more user-friendly, taking into consideration the importance of differentiating among various sectors and groups of beneficiaries; encourages the European Commission to transform the programme guide and make it more user-orientated and sector-specific;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14c. Encourages the European Commission to work on improving programme attractiveness by simplifying administrative procedures and requirements, especially for schools and smaller-scale organisations, VET school, adult education, the youth sector and newcomers who often find the programme challenging to participate in;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)
Paragraph 14 d (new)
14d. Welcomes the actions of the European Commission to simplify application procedures, project management, accounting and reporting; encourages further reduction of administrative burdens by streamlining forms, making them promptly available in all official languages, and providing clear indication regarding documents needed at each stage;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Welcomes the European Commission´s proposition to set up a European Solidarity Corps; encourages the Commission to involve volunteer organizations in developing this new initiative in order to ensure its added and complementary value in strengthening volunteering in the European Union;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Notes the importance of strengthening the local dimension of the EVS; suggests providing the EVS volunteers with stronger support not only before departure, but also upon their return to their local communities in the forms of post-orientated and post- integrated trainings in order to help them to share their European expertise by promoting volunteering at the local level;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Notes grant discrepancies between countries and method of its allocations; encourages the European Commission to investigate the outcomes of such differences in an effort to minimise socio- economic disparities in the European Union;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. Underlines that grants to support the mobility of individuals within the Erasmus+ programme should be exempted from taxation and social levies;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 c (new)
Paragraph 20 c (new)
20c. Encourages the further increase of grant rates as well as their adjustment to the cost of living in the country of mobility in order to encourage the participation of socio-economically disadvantaged students, students and staff with special needs, and students and staff from distant regions;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 d (new)
Paragraph 20 d (new)
20d. Suggests more flexibility in moving funds between KAs, and entrusts NAs in this process due to their familiarity with the potential funding gaps in their countries, thus allowing them to narrow these gaps;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Notes more demanding implementation work for NAs under the current programme; calls on the European Commission to provide NAs with sufficient resources and necessary assistance, thus enabling more efficient programme implementation and allowing NAs to tackle new challenges resulting from the budget increase;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Calls on the European Commission to monitor the quality criteria used by the National Agencies in project evaluations and exchange best practises in this regard; encourages trainings for evaluators in order to continue their development, especially in cross-sector projects, and to allow them to provide quality feedback to all applicants in order to encourage the accomplishment of goals in future projects and to improve the performance of future applicants;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 c (new)
Paragraph 21 c (new)
21c. Calls on the National Agencies to provide full transparency while evaluating projects by publishing the list of selected projects together with their ongoing progress and designated financial support;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 d (new)
Paragraph 21 d (new)
21d. Stresses that although progress has been made in recognising study periods, credits, competences and skills through non-formal and informal learning gained abroad, these challenges remain; underlines that recognition of international qualifications is essential to mobility and forms the foundation for further cooperation in the European Higher Education Area; highlights the importance of making full use of all EU tools for the validation of knowledge, skills and competences essential to the recognition of qualifications;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 e (new)
Paragraph 21 e (new)
21e. Encourages in Key Action 1 to continue the best function practises from Comenius such as fostering school class exchanges, and the possibility for school staff members to apply individually for mobility grants under Key Action 1;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 f (new)
Paragraph 21 f (new)
21f. Notes that despite the high quality of projects in KA2, many of them have been refused due to limited funding; encourages the European Commission to mark these projects in order to help them attract investments from other sources; encourages Member States to acknowledge “the marked projects” by giving them priority in accessing public funds for their realisation, if such funds are accessible;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 g (new)
Paragraph 21 g (new)
21g. Calls on the European Commission to continue efforts to resolve the funding challenge for European organisations based in Brussels in order to further their contribution to the development of European policies in the fields of education, training, youth and sport;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 h (new)
Paragraph 21 h (new)
21h. Notes the NAs' challenges in implementing the International Credit Mobility (ICM); calls for greater flexibility for NAs to allocate resources from some countries and regions for the purpose of meeting the cooperation priorities of the HEIs;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 i (new)
Paragraph 21 i (new)
21i. Encourages Member States to incorporate educational mobility as a part of higher or vocational education programmes in order to foster knowledge about learning, training, and youth work, improve the quality of higher education and the VET system, help individuals with upgrading their professional skills, competences and career development;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 j (new)
Paragraph 21 j (new)
21j. Encourages Member States, in order to foster the mobility of teachers, lecturers and non-academic staff, to acknowledge their participation in mobility programmes as an important part of their career progression, and if possible introduce a reward system linked to participation in mobility programmes; for example, in the form of financial benefits or reduction of workload;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 k (new)
Paragraph 21 k (new)
21k. Notes the decreasing number of individual mobility participants due to preferential treatment by European HEIs of an institutionalised mobility system; encourages the European Commission and national authorities to renew opportunities for individual candidates to participate in mobility;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 l (new)
Paragraph 21 l (new)
21l. Encourages the European Commission to bolster the VET system by promoting VET mobility programmes among its new organisations and smaller institutions, in addition to providing them with assistance in applying for appropriate funding by offering further guidance, on-line trainings, and personalised support in preparing high quality applications for funding through contact with national agencies for the Erasmus+ programme;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 m (new)
Paragraph 21 m (new)
21m. Urges the Commission to identify current unequal participation of VET institutions in the EU mobility programmes in countries and regions in order to diminish these differences through improved collaboration and exchange of information among national agencies for Erasmus+, supporting teamwork among VET institutions by connecting experienced VET institutions with other institutions, offering policy support measures and specific suggestions to VET institutions, and improving VET institution support systems already in place;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 n (new)
Paragraph 21 n (new)
21n. Encourages the promotion of the European educational system around the world, as well as the advancement of individual knowledge worldwide by enhancing all relevant stakeholders (Member States, the HEIs, associations of higher education) to make the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees more attractive for HEIs and potential applicants;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Calls on the European Commission to involve all relevant stakeholders in the work on next funding programming period, and in the introduction of possible improvements in order to ensure the programme's further success and added value;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Indicates that disadvantaged groups are only specifically targeted in the youth sector; suggests the extension of the Inclusion and Diversity Strategy to all programme sectors in order to promote social inclusion and the participation of people with special needs or with fewer opportunities in the Erasmus+ programme;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Advocates allowing mobile students to combine studies abroad with a study-related placement within the programme, thereby providing additional financial assistance abroad, decreasing social selectivity, increasing the number of mobile students, upgrading students´ skills and enhancing the connections between higher education and the work environment;