Brussels, 24/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - In adopting the report by Marielle de Sarnez (EPP-ED, France) on the Erasmus World programme (2004 - 2009), the European Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education is proposing to: - change "Erasmus World" to "Erasmus Mundus", due to concerns of pluri-lingualism and cultural diversity; - support partnerships between European universities and higher education establishments in third countries, in order to make Europe a more attractive place for higher studies; - grant a "EU Master" label to European postgraduate courses, called "Erasmus Mundus Masters"; - support mobility between the EU and third countries, the promotion of language skills and inter-cultural dialogue. Furthermore, the Parliamentary Committee, in an agreement with the Budgetary Committee, would like to see an increase of 300 million to the financial envelope proposed by the Committee (which was 200 million), on the condition that this does not prejudice existing programmes and does not exceed the financial perspectives.
The aims of the Erasmus World programme proposed by the Committee are to improve the quality of higher education, and to promote inter-cultural understanding through co-operation with third countries. It is open not only to Europeans, but also to candidates from the whole world (see EUROPE of 18 July and 15 November 2002).