The European Parliament adopted a legislative resolution approving the Council position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing Erasmus+: the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013.

The proposed regulation establishes Erasmus+ , the Union's action programme in the fields of education, training, youth and sport for the period of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2021-2027.

Programme’s objectives

The programme is a key instrument for (i) the establishment of a European education area; (ii) supporting the implementation of European strategic cooperation in the field of education and training; (iii) developing cooperation in the field of youth policy in the framework of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027, and (iv) developing the European dimension in sport.

The overall objective of the programme is to support, through lifelong learning, the educational, vocational and personal development of individuals in the fields of education and training, youth and sport, in Europe and beyond. It will thus contribute to sustainable growth, quality employment, social cohesion, the development of innovation and the strengthening of European identity and active citizenship.

The programme will only support actions and activities that have a potential European added value.

Key actions

The regulation sets out specific objectives for each of the programme's three fields of action (education and training, youth and sport). Each of these three areas is structured around three key actions: ‘learning mobility’ (key action 1), ‘cooperation between organisations and institutions’ (key action 2) and ‘support for policy development and cooperation’ (key action 3).

The Council's position integrates the three ‘new initiatives’ proposed by the Commission, namely European universities, centres of professional excellence and DiscoverEU, into the new programme. The programme also covers mobility of adult learners for education and training purposes, as well as activities in the field of vocational education and training (VET).

Budget

The financial envelope for the implementation of the programme for the period 2021-2027 is set at EUR 24 574 000 000 in current prices, plus an additional allocation of EUR 1 700 000 000 at 2018 prices.

The indicative breakdown of the amount is as follows:

- EUR 20 396 420 000 (83%) for actions in the field of education and training : actions in the field of higher education, vocational education and training, school education, adult education, Jean Monnet actions, as well as the flexibility margin that can be used to support all actions;

- EUR 2 531 122 000 (10.3%) for actions in the field of youth : actions in the field of sport, contribution to the running costs of the National Agencies and programme support.

In addition, the Commission commits to allocate an indicative amount of EUR 400 million in current prices to support the platforms of the Centres of Professional Excellence for the duration of the programme, provided that the interim evaluation of the programme confirms a positive assessment of the results of the action.

Inclusion strategy

The Commission should ensure, where appropriate, that financial support measures are put in place to facilitate the participation of people with fewer opportunities, in particular those whose participation is prevented for financial reasons. No later than six months after the date of entry into force of the Regulation, the Commission will develop a framework of inclusion measures to increase the participation rates of people with fewer opportunities.

Governance

The programme will be implemented through the work programmes. The work programmes will contain an indication of the amount allocated to each action and the distribution of funds between the Member States and the third countries associated with the programme for actions managed through the National Agencies. The Commission will adopt the work programmes by means of implementing acts.

An annex to the regulation contains a detailed description of the actions supported by the programme. The Commission may adopt delegated acts to amend the annex by adding to the description of the actions, if necessary, in order to adapt to developments in the fields concerned.

The indicators for reporting on the progress of the programme towards the overall objective of the programme and its specific objectives are set out in Annex II to the Regulation.

The European Parliament adopted by 527 votes to 30 with 48 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing ‘Erasmus’: the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013.

Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure amends the Commission's proposal as follows:

Continuity of the programme

Members proposed to keep the current name of the programme, namely "Erasmus +", now well known and reflects the fact that the Programme does not merely relate to the higher education sector, but covers a series of other former programmes. They also specified that the future programme should continue to support projects likely to bring European added value.

The programme should support the educational, professional and personal development of individuals in the fields of education, training, youth activities and sport through lifelong learning, thereby contributing to sustainable growth, quality employment, social cohesion and inclusion, in order to promote active citizenship and strengthen European identity.

Inclusion

Parliament wanted to give more importance to inclusion measures by creating a dedicated chapter on inclusion and requiring the Commission to draw up, by 31 March 2021 at the latest, a framework of inclusion measures and guidelines for their implementation.

A multiannual national inclusion strategy based on the framework shall be made public by 30 June 2021 and its implementation shall be monitored on a regular basis.

This intervention strategy shall be published by 30 June 2021 at the latest and its implementation would be regularly monitored. It would pay particular attention to the following aspects: (i) cooperation with the social partners, national and local authorities and civil society; (ii) support for local grassroots organisations working directly with target groups; (iii) field intervention and communication for target groups, including through the dissemination of user-friendly information; (iv) simplification of application procedures; (v) provision of advisory, training and support services specific to target groups.

The Commission and the Member States shall cooperate to ensure that adequate financial support measures, including pre-financing, where relevant, are put in place to support people with fewer opportunities for whom participation in the Programme is impeded for financial reasons, either because they suffer economic disadvantage or because the additional costs of Programme participation owing to their specific situation represent a significant obstacle.

Budget

While the European Commission is planning a financial envelope for the implementation of the programme for the period 2021-2027 of EUR 30 billion in current prices for the period 2021-2027, Members proposed that this envelope be set at EUR 41 097 000 000 000 in constant prices for 2018 (i.e. EUR 46 758 000 000 in current prices) allocated as follows:

- 83 % for actions in the field of education and training;

- 10.3 % for actions in the field of youth;

- 2 % for actions in the field of sport;

At least 3.2 % as a contribution to the operational costs of the national agencies.

The levels of financial support, such as grants, lump sums, flat rates and unit costs, shall be regularly reviewed and adjusted to the living and subsistence costs of the host country or region based on Eurostat figures.

Simplification and complementarity

The amendments introduced by Members improve management and application processes and aim to facilitate mobility. They also strengthen provisions to improve cooperation and exchange of best practice between national agencies and to promote common standards for applications and evaluation. Lastly, they introduced indicators to measure simplification.

In order to maximize the effectiveness of EU funding and policy support, Parliament wants to foster synergies with other European funding programs. To enhance the impact of activities in developing countries, it is proposed to improve synergies between Erasmus and the Union's external action instruments, such as the Neighbourhood, Development and the International Cooperation Instrument and the Instrument for PreAccession Assistance.

Seal of excellence

Actions eligible under the programme, which fulfil certain cumulative and comparative conditions, may be awarded a label of excellence as a guarantee of their high quality, which may facilitate their application for funding from other sources or allow them to be selected for funding by the European Structural and Investment Funds, without a new application procedure.

Evaluation, mid-term review and revision

The Commission shall evaluate the results achieved through the inclusion measures as well as the efforts made to simplify the programme for beneficiaries.

The Commission shall, where necessary and on the basis of the mid-term review, put forward appropriate legislative proposals to amend this Regulation. The Commission shall appear before the competent committee of the European Parliament and the competent body of the Council to report on the mid-term review, including with respect to its decision on whether an amendment of this Regulation is required.

Work programmes

In order to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny, Members proposed that work programmes setting out strategic priorities and corresponding budgetary allocations should be adopted by means of delegated acts rather than implementing acts.

PURPOSE: to establish the Erasmus programme for education, training, youth and sport for the period 2021-2027.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: the Erasmus programme already enables millions of young Europeans to study, train or learn abroad while broadening their experience and awareness of Europe, and increasing their future chances on the labour market.

It is one of the Union's most visible achievements.

In its Communication adopted on 2 May 2018, the Commission proposed to put more emphasis on youth in the context of the next multiannual financial framework, notably by doubling the size of the Erasmus+ programme 2014-2020 .

The resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 14 September 2017 stressed that the future programme should aim to be accessible to all young people and that these higher ambitions should be reflected in an increase in the budget for the next programming period.

In a context of rapid and profound changes induced by technological revolution and globalisation, the Commission considers it essential to invest in learning mobility and exchanges within the framework of a significantly reinforced, inclusive and extended programme.

The ambition for the next programme goes hand in hand with the Commission's vision to work towards a European Education Area by 2025 empowering young people and promoting a European identity through youth, education and culture policies.

The programme is one of the funding instruments under the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework aiming at investing in people, social cohesion and values.

CONTENT: the proposed Regulation - presented for a Union of 27 Member States - seeks to establish the Erasmus programme for education, training, youth and sport for the period 2021-2027 which will succeed the Erasmus+ 2014-2020 programme established by Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and the Council. It lays down the objectives of the programme, the budget for the period 2021-2027, the forms of Union funding and the rules for providing such funding.

The programme aims to support learning mobility opportunities that contribute to the personal, educational, civic and professional development of individuals. It shall also support cooperation between stakeholders at organisational and policy level with a view to foster inclusion, excellence, creativity and innovation in education, training, youth and sport.

Objectives : in particular, the proposed new programme shall:

be accessible to a larger number of people : the programme shall support all categories of learners, whether they are in higher education, general education, vocational education or training, adult education, non-formal learning, youth and active participation activities. The goal is to triple the number of participants; a broader focus on people from all social backgrounds : the programme shall further facilitate the participation of people with fewer opportunities, including people with disabilities and migrants, as well as EU citizens living in remote areas. Mobility opportunities for students, people in vocational training, apprentices and young people should be extended; help Europeans to acquire new skills : the programme shall support activities to equip citizens with the necessary knowledge, skills and competences, including language skills, in a lifelong learning perspective. It shall pay greater attention to digital skills and future-oriented areas such as climate change, clean energy, artificial intelligence, robotics, data analysis, arts/design, etc. address a wider target group both within and beyond the EU : mobility and cooperation with third countries shall be enhanced through a combination of physical and virtual mobility and the use of more flexible learning mobility formats to meet the needs of certain target groups, such as adult learners. The programme shall also facilitate the participation of small scale and grassroots organisations; promote a European identity : the programme shall encourage youth participation in Europe’s democratic life by raising awareness about common European values, including fundamental rights, bringing together young people and decision-makers at local, national and EU level and contribute to the European integration process. A new initiative called DiscoverEU shall give young people the opportunity to discover other EU countries. The programme would also contribute to promoting common European values through sport, good governance and integrity in sport; strengthen the Union's relations with the rest of the world : intensify international mobility and cooperation with third countries - in particular enlargement, neighbourhood, industrialised and emerging countries - in order to support institutions and organisations in Europe in facing the challenges of globalisation.

Key actions : the proposal defines specific objectives for each of the three action areas of the programme (education and training, youth and sport). Each of these three areas would be structured around three key actions: ‘ learning mobility ’ (key action 1); ‘ cooperation among organisations and institutions ’ (key action 2) and ‘ support to policy development and cooperation ’ (key action 3).

In order to simplify requirements for beneficiaries, it is proposed to use simplified grants in the form of lump-sums, unit-costs and flat-rate funding should be used to the maximum possible extent. The future Erasmus monitoring and evaluation framework shall follow an approach based on continuous monitoring to assess the progress towards achieving the output and results targets of the programme.

Proposed budget : EUR 30 billion for the period 2021-2027, according to the following indicative breakdown:

EUR 24.94 billion for actions in the field of education and training; EUR 3.10 billion for actions in the youth field; EUR 550 million for actions in the field of sport; and at least EUR 960 million as a contribution to the operating costs of the national agencies.