On Wednesday 24 September, European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) examined the proposed Erasmus+ programme for the period 2028-2034. Presented in July by the European Commission (see EUROPE 13683/5), the proposal foresees the merger of Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps for the EU’s next long-term budget (2028-2034), with a budget increased to €41 billion compared to the current €26.5 billion.
According to Michael Teutsch, acting director of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC), the aim is as much to “help meet the major challenges of competitiveness and skills” as to defend “European values and democratic participation”.
The aim of merging with the European Solidarity Corps is to “provide a single offer for young people”, combining mobility, voluntary work and lifelong learning.
For Nela Riehl (Greens/EFA, German), who chaired the session, “this merger between the Corps and Erasmus+ is an exciting new chapter”. However, she pointed out that a “governance problem” related to managing and implementing the programme needed to be resolved.
Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (EPP, Polish), who welcomed the future programme’s flexibility, expressed concern, however, about a weakening of solidarity, particularly in monitoring young people without jobs or training.
Hannes Heide (S&D, Austrian) felt that “Erasmus+ remains underfunded” despite the announced increase and added that, even with an increase, “we won’t really be able to implement twice as much as we would like to“.
Marcos Ros Sempere (S&D, Spanish) also pointed out that, without funding for the real costs of mobility, Erasmus+ is likely to remain “inaccessible to all those who cannot travel”. Brigitte Van den Berg (Renew Europe, Dutch) called for more resources for vocational training, criticising the fact that equal budgetary treatment with universities does not guarantee real equality, due to the higher number of students involved.
The Commission clarified that, while the increase shown is 50% compared to the current period, the actual increase is more like 30%, once inflation is taken into account. Michael Teutsch added that Erasmus+ should rely on other European funding, such as regional funds or Horizon Europe, to broaden its impact. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)