Brussels, 20/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Students' Union (ESU) has welcomed the adoption, by a very large majority, of the new education and youth programme Erasmus+ by the members of the European Parliament on 19 November. “We believe that the big majority of votes that were cast in favour of the proposal show an important level of commitment from the European Parliament to higher education and student mobility throughout Europe”, said ESU President Rok Primozic. The students also welcome the increase in the budget, against a backdrop of general austerity, which will make it possible to support initiatives which are central to the development of higher education, but regret that student loans have been kept in place.
The ESU feels that the new programme comprises many constructive steps forward and, more specifically, welcomes the new approach to students living with disability and those from less privileged backgrounds, which will allow a larger proportion of students overall to be mobile. They also welcome the extension of the programme to new states which are not members of the EU, such as the Western Balkans and those in the Eastern Partnership, which will also benefit from European funds. However, the ESU regrets that the proposal for a European master loan guarantee facility has not been withdrawn. “The budget that is allocated to the loan scheme and the amount of marketing that will be used to support this initiative is questionable, to say the least. It will set a highly negative precedent for the funding of mobility and education programmes, not to mention a possible brain drain across regions in Europe”, Primozic stressed.
The European Civil Society Platform on Lifelong Learning, EUCIS-LLL, also welcomed the adoption of Erasmus+ by the EP and the upstream work carried out by the MEPs. It also welcomes the great deal of attention paid to the opinions expressed by civil society throughout the adoption process: “The committee for culture and education took the time necessary for the elaboration of a text of great quality, through a highly inclusive process involving a broad array of stakeholders and taking their concerns into account”, said the EUCIS-LLL. In particular, the association applauds the fact that sub-programmes and their brand names have been upheld as well as the recognition of non-formal and informal education. Welcoming the increase of the budget earmarked for Erasmus+, EUCIS-LLL however goes on to warn that situations similar to the one which arose at the end of 2012, with a gap in the budget allocated to the lifelong education and training programmes, must not be repeated in the future, as the MEPs themselves underlined. (IL/transl.fl)