Brussels, 13/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou was delighted with the agreement reached between the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament on the amending budget for 2012. This was ratified on 12 December by MEPs during the plenary session (see EUROPE 10750) and is expected to ensure that the “Education and Lifelong Learning” programme will obtain the funds it is short of so that the year's activities can be completed appropriately (€180 million). This will enable it to make good the shortfall in the Erasmus student mobility programme and it will obtain the €90 million it has been seeking. Above all, the funds planned for the 2013 budget will not be used. Commissioner Vassiliou declared that, “I am very happy that the member states and the parliamentarians reached an agreement which is a big boost for Erasmus students and other beneficiaries of our programmes. It is a positive signal that Europe is committed to investing in education and skills”. The national agencies in charge of the practical day-to-day operations of Erasmus in the member states will therefore receive, as requested, the funds needed to finance the 2012-2013 academic year grants. For next year, the agreement on the 2013 budget includes the allocation of €1.012 billion for the “Education and Lifelong Learning” programme, of which €500 million will go to the Erasmus programme alone. Nonetheless, the overall budget 2013 (€132.8 billion) has been reduced by €5 billion and the Commission considers that as from next autumn, a shortfall of funds will again be causing problems, particularly for Erasmus. (IL/transl.fl)