Vraag-en-antwoord-sessie met Commissievoorzitter Barroso over Erasmusprogramma (en)

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso will take part in a question-and- answer session with Erasmus students from across the EU at the University of Oslo on Tuesday, 11 December.

Among other things, the discussion is expected to address the impact of Erasmus on increasing young people's skills and employability, the EU's response to the economic crisis and youth unemployment, as well as the challenges facing the Union in the next few years.

The Erasmus exchange programme, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, provides grants for more than 250 000 young people and teachers to study or train abroad each year. In addition to enhancing students' language skills and versatility, it also promotes cultural awareness, understanding and peace.

The discussion, which starts at noon, will be moderated by a Euronews journalist and broadcast via EUtube. Most of the invited students are studying at universities in Oslo; others will be travelling from Sweden and Germany. Norway has participated in the Erasmus programme since 1992 and more than 700 Erasmus students come to Oslo each year.

The Erasmus programme was launched in 1987 with just over 3 000 students and 11 countries taking part. That number has grown to nearly 3 million since and today 33 countries are involved in the scheme - the EU Member States, plus Norway, Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Turkey. This week the European Parliament is due to approve a budget deal for2013 which will provide around €500 million for the programme.