"Erasmus for all": CvdR dringt aan op sterke lokale en regionale participatie bij de uitvoering van het nieuwe programma (en) - Hoofdinhoud

The Committee of the Regions (CoR) has called for the EU's 2014-2020 education and youth programme to support all types of learning and age groups. The CoR argues that the programme should develop personal growth and not just focus on improving employability. By adopting Yoomi Renström's (PES/Sweden) opinion during the CoR Plenary Session held on 4 May, CoR members welcomed the programme's focus on European added value and cooperation and expressed their wish to make it an instrument that effectively promotes social inclusion.

"The correlation between weak school results and socio-economic deprivation is a recognised fact. If the EU wants to meet the education and employment goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy, efforts with vulnerable groups must be given more weight in the budget allocation for the new education programme. Local and regional authorities play a key role in identifying such groups and facilitating the provision of education for them", said Yoomi Renström, member of Ovanåker Municipal Council in Sweden.

The CoR fully supports the two objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy that are most relevant to the education programme, namely reducing the school drop-out rate to less than 10% and ensuring that at least 40% of young people obtain a degree. While stressing the need to place social inclusion at the heart of education and learning, the opinion welcomes the new programme's integrated approach and simplification efforts.

The main recommendations of the opinion include the following:

change the title of the programme to "Learning Europe" in order to better reflect the broader scope of the new programme;

ensure that the new programme reaches all target groups, such as youth or lifelong learners;

since the allocation of funds will be performance-based, establish clear and transparent qualitative and quantitative criteria which should avoid direct competition amongst different target groups and ensure that even smaller educational institutions can be financed;

perform regular monitoring of the programme to ensure that it serves its objectives;

ensure that the CoR is fully consulted, especially in matters concerning cross-border cooperation.

The CoR's opinion underlines the role of local and regional authorities in implementing both the EU's education programmes and other relevant European initiatives. It also emphasises that the new programme should pay due attention to regional partnerships, which align education actions with specific local and regional needs.

Background information:

The proposed "Erasmus for all" programme intends to support three types of action: learning opportunities for individuals, institutional cooperation between educational institutions, youth organisations, businesses, local and regional authorities and NGOs, and reforms in Member States to modernise education and training systems and promote innovation, entrepreneurship and employability. The new programme proposes a budgetary increase of approximately 70% compared to the current seven-year budget with an allocation of €19 billion for 2014-2020. Two-thirds of the funding would be spent on mobility grants to enhance knowledge and skills.

The programme brings together all the current EU and international schemes for education, training, youth and sport, replacing seven existing programmes: Lifelong Learning Programme (Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci, Comenius, Grundtvig), Youth in Action, Erasmus Mundus, Tempus, Alfa, Edulink and the bilateral cooperation programme with industrialised countries.

Committee of the Regions opinion on the "Erasmus for All" programme