Brussels, 11/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - One of the most important points to be taken from the upheavals in the southern Mediterranean is the emergence of Arab youth who demand to be taken seriously and whose expectations must be met. That is the substance of the message delivered by Socialist MEPs Vincent Peillon and Véronique Castex in Brussels on Tuesday 10 January. They had organised a conference at the European Parliament bringing together university heads, student organisations, political authorities, trade unions and professional organisations from both the southern and northern Mediterranean to promote Euro-Mediterranean Erasmus and Leonardo da Vinci programmes. At the conference, the Commission gave its full support to the initiative. Indeed it has already made moves in this direction, indicating that the number of grants under the Erasmus Mundus programme have already doubled. Improvements in terms of both quantity and quality are currently under discussion and will be developed in cooperation with the Parliament. (FB/transl.rt)