42 Amendments of Massimiliano SMERIGLIO related to 2023/2002(INI)
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the effort required for the integration of disadvantaged learners is much greater than for the integration of learners with equal opportunities, and still requires a great deal of persuasion and much more extensive planning;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas the institutional approach to accreditation is a factor that facilitates access for disadvantaged, small and inexperienced organisations and institutions that have not previously participated in the programme; whereas this access is now made more difficult by the need to limit the maximum number of accreditations possible due to the high level of interest;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
Dc. whereas institutions working with and for educationally disadvantaged (adult) people are often not yet familiar with Erasmus+ learning mobilities and, in addition to the content-related work, are taking the necessary steps for organisational development and implementation of the requirements, while at the same time there is a generally known shortage of staff in the social sector;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D d (new)
Recital D d (new)
Dd. whereas the full integration of eTwinning, the digital component for school education within Erasmus+, into the programme structure was already targeted for 2021;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas Small-scale Partnerships are often the very first contact with the programme, especially for multipliers, as they offer very flexible possibilities to carry out all the desired activities;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas rising costs of living, high inflation rates and other challenges are putting additional pressure on the programme’s budget; in addition, the programme implementation will be increasingly hampered by the shortage of skilled workers in the social sector;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights that lifelong learning, better inclusion of people with fewer opportunities, and the removal of barriers to learning mobility, such as the lack of automatic recognition of qualifications and financial barriers, are key priorities while seeking to increase the diversity of the programme, both in terms of participants and measures;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the European Education and Culture Executive Agency and NAs; highlights the importance of goodimproving and maintaining a constructive and cooperative communication between these two parties;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Recalls that the fairness of equal access to the programme requires that the deadlines for the application and all further steps of planning, implementation and accounting are communicated as early and transparently as possible and adhered to as reliably as possible;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Suggests a kind of meta-evaluation of the entire programme application and implementation process with the aim of significantly and drastically simplifying the funding application and its respective forms, the programme implementation as well as the reporting and accounting for all parties involved without compromising the diversity of the programme; Building on this, the digital tools should be optimised so that, by the next programme period from 2028 at the latest, applications, planning, implementation and accounting can all be easily done online, taking full account of users' wishes for simplicity, user-friendliness, accessibility, reliability, speed, efficiency and data protection; believes that the maintenance and improvement of such online tools is a task that requires constant attention from the Commission and EACEA; rather than introducing radical new tools, priority should be given to the further development of existing ones;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. In particular, reporting should be simplified, and instead of asking the same thing over and over again, one should focus on the changes compared to the application and programme implementation, if these are there;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls, in the ongoing period of rebuilding the most resilient cross-border structures possible, to ensure that sufficient funds are available, especially for the smaller partnerships in all sectors of the programme, in order to facilitate the entry of smaller and less experienced persons or institutions into the programme and to offer them a real perspective for development; a more diverse programme structure should ultimately be more crisis-proof;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Urges for greater participation of disadvantaged learners in adult education mobility projects, and proposes information and promotional events, as well as measures to facilitate application and implementation, especially in this area; draws attention in this context to the explicitly intended synergy with the ESF+, which should be implemented much more uniformly and at a high level in all EU Member States;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Appreciates the steps being taken to increase the amount of green travel and the higher funding rates being paid for more environmentally friendly ways of travelling;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Considers it imperative to pay attention to the sustainability and effectiveness of the networks created by the European University Initiative and their positive impact on the European Education Area and, if necessary, to continue this on a selective and very limited basis with the help of ERASMUS+ once the regular funding has come to an end; the aim must always be for all those involved in a network to recognise the intrinsic value of the network during the regular funding period and to continue to maintain, use and develop it accordingly after the end of ERASMUS+ funding;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Recalls that the funded networks should serve as a model for similar initiatives emerging outside Erasmus+ funding, that the Commission and the Member States should create better framework conditions for such a development, and that the networks should be fully integrated into the European Higher Education Area and the European Education Area;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12c. Considers it urgently necessary, in view of the multi-layered and complex problems in all education sectors, to achieve an optimal balance in the promotion of all education sectors through the programme instead of focusing too strongly on the tertiary education sector;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 d (new)
Paragraph 12 d (new)
12d. Considers it overdue that vocational education and training be more strongly appreciated and valued as an equal alternative to high-school studies and sharply criticises that the educational aspect is unjustifiably shortened here by the overemphasis on "skillings"; also here, it is a matter of educating people holistically and not only qualifying them from the point of view of economic usability; accordingly, Centres of Excellence in VET should be able to focus comprehensively on education and be promoted as fully-fledged educational institutions where skills are a priority alongside other aspects of education;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 e (new)
Paragraph 12 e (new)
12e. Suggests that more support should be given to measures that serve to improve the permeability of education systems and, in doing so, to promote the elements of individual learning accounts and micro- credentials that have been introduced;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 f (new)
Paragraph 12 f (new)
12f. Suggests that the centralised “Jean Monnet for Schools” action be decentralised and made the responsibility of the National Agencies, as an overly complex procedure is disproportionate to the grants obtained and discourages schools from applying; bureaucratic discussions about the legal personality of schools and long-term recognition procedures with school authorities seem to overlook the need for support;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 g (new)
Paragraph 12 g (new)
12g. Warns that especially in the area of school education, due to the disproportionately larger number of school institutions, the idea of institutional accreditation through its quantitative limitation clearly contradicts the inclusion idea of the programme and calls on the Commission to resolve this contradiction;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that DiscoverEU, which was initiated by Parliament, has become a well- established, popular and easy-to-access informal learning activity; points out at the same time that the promised strengthening of the education element has yet to materialise;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Suggests thinking about ticket quotas for group trips, also in the sense of the desired "greening", provided that it is ensured that at least the majority of participants have just reached the age of 18 and that the remaining peers of the group do not deviate from this age by more than 2 years upwards or downwards (with the exception of necessary support staff, if applicable); insisting too rigidly that all peers in a group must be aged exactly 18 to qualify as a DiscoverEU group can be counterproductive;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Appreciates the swift reaction and enhanced flexibility of the programme to support Ukrainian students, teachers and educators; Points out, however, that the integration of migrants through education is such a major task that the Erasmus+ programme, in terms of its structure and focus, can at best cushion this task selectively, but cannot cope with it as such, and calls on the Commission and the Member States to address the issue of integration through education in a more comprehensive, fundamental and appropriate manner;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Regrets the fact that complicated processes considerably hinder the participation of small-scale organisations in the school and youth sectors as well as in adult education;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Suggests, in this context, that the current unsatisfactory request for funds for mobility in adult education should be met with a special degree of patience and support, and that unspent funds should first be used for cooperation in adult education, in the hope that this will increase the demand for mobility in this area in the medium term;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Deeply regrets the slow and incomplete development of the IT infrastructure and the improper functioning of IT tools such as the Beneficiary and Project Management modules, which increases the workload of all those involved in the programme’s implementation, discourages the participation of newcomers and undermines the programme’s ambition to widen participation; notes that similar issues exist with IT tools in other EU- funded programmes, including the European Solidarity Corps; notes that this continues to inhibit optimal programme implementation, increases the risk of flawed and incomplete programme documentation and monitoring, and thus also jeopardises the future evidence-based further development of the programme;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Is concerned that the lack of professionals and volunteers involved in programme implementation means that the available financial resources cannot be used optimally in line with needs and asks for more precise clarification as to whether funds have not been spent due to a lack of need or a lack of implementation possibilities; at the same time, shows itself flexible to implement instruments that specifically serve to reduce implementation obstacles due to a lack of professionals to a greater extent in the programme itself, as this serves to strengthen the sustainability of the programme and its structures;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Calls for centralised and decentralised actions to be better linked and to enhance the use of flexible funding instruments such as micro-grants; suggests that the positive experiences gained with the award of micro-grants during the pandemic should be used in a more targeted way and should be made a permanent opportunity as part of the programme;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Requests concrete measures to break down existing silos in the programme structure so that different educational areas and actors are not kept distinct fromso well balanced with each other that political control of well-defined learning areas remains possible, but these learning areas also cooperate more with each other and become noticeably more permeable to each other;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)
Paragraph 40 a (new)
40a. Calls the Commisssion and the EACEA to analyse systematically and continously in good cooperation wtih the NAs and and other competent authorities in the Member States on MFF programme implementation how synergies between different educational areas and actors can be further increased;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 b (new)
Paragraph 40 b (new)
40b. Regrets that at times the idea of the Seal of Excellence label does not have a tangible positive impact on the ERASMUS+ programme, yet and encourages to give more guidance and impetus to this instrument;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Calls for wider usemeaningful systematic embedding of virtual and blended learning and the building of infrastructure for digitalised learning opportunities; in any case, this should remain a complementary offer in order to reinforce the positive effects of the direct, personal encounters and live experiences promoted by the actions, as well as the accompanying enhancement of informal learning and social skills, and not to replace them, for example, by purely virtual encounters; considers it necessary in this context and in accordance with the conditions set out to enable virtual and blended learning in all programme areas; in particular, it is contrary to the priorities that digital offerings are not promoted at all in the area of youth and sport, which does not really support the digital transformation;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42 a (new)
Paragraph 42 a (new)
42a. requests to consider if the possibility of charging for digital learning components separately makes sense, particularly where they are used to prepare for an activity, in order to avoid the need for the provider of the activity to make above-average advance payments;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Asks for eTwinning to be integrated fully and seamlessly into Erasmus+the European School Education Platform and Erasmus+ under any waiver of special statuses and complex special settlement arrangements;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43a. Urges that teachers and learners in initial and continuing vocational education and training finally be provided with a dedicated online tool that is perfectly tailored to their needs; provisional accommodation in other tools has already proved insufficient, ineffective and inappropriate to the size and importance of this area of learning; special attention must be paid to the needs of trainers as well as to their limited time and ressources in private company structures, especially in SMEs;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 a (new)
Paragraph 47 a (new)
47a. Points out that cooperation with non-associated third countries is sometimes too difficult, and calls on the Commission to systematically ask the National Agencies what specific requests have been and are being made which cannot be met, and to make proposals for improvement with a view to strengthening the international dimension of the programme;
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 b (new)
Paragraph 47 b (new)
47b. Reaffirms its willingness to reinstate Switzerland as a full member of the ERASMUS+ programme from 2028 at the latest;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47 c (new)
Paragraph 47 c (new)
47c. Calls on the UK Government to reconsider its position on non- participation in the Erasmus+ programme;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Insists on NAs and beneficiaries, including young people, and Parliament to be actively involved in the co-creation process of the next generation of Erasmus+a continuous, dialogue-based development process, in which everyone is striving to improve and optimise the actual programme and the next generation of Erasmus+; suggests to explore where AI tools can be used to evaluate the programme and to provide even clearer insights into needs and possible developments, but by no means replacing the need for human decision- making;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49 a (new)
Paragraph 49 a (new)
49a. Welcomes in this context the interprogram group between DG Education and Culture and DG Research and Innovation, which has been established since one year, and would like to be informed about its results regarding the elimination of synergy problems between HORIZON and ERASMUS+ in a timely manner;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
Paragraph 52
52. Declares its determination to ensure a substantial increase in the Erasmus+ budget in the 2028-20334 programming period and commits itself to a tripling of the financial envelope, taking the requirements of the programme into account;