Europees Parlement bereikt akkoord over Erasmus+ (en)

"Erasmus i+", is set to be the EU's next programme for education, training, youth and sport, following an agreement confirmed by Parliament negotiators and the Council on Wednesday. The overall budget for the new programme is subject to approval of the EU's overall multi-annual financial framework (MFF) for that period.

"From the beginning Parliament aimed for a user-friendly programme and we have clearly achieved that", said Doris Pack i (EPP, DE), Parliament's lead negotiator.

"This programme is close to my heart. In future, students who unfortunately missed out on Erasmus scholarships will have the possibility to get loans under favourable terms to study for a one or two-year Master's degree in another EU country."

"The name "Erasmus+" shows that the new programme will cover far more than just student mobility. We have strengthened activities for youth and for the first time, there will be a separate funding line for sports", she added.

Background

The new programme has three main pillars: Education and training, Youth, and Sport. Of the total financial envelope, 77.5% will be allocated to the "education and training" sector, and an additional 3.5% will go to a new Loan Guarantee Facility. The youth sector will receive 10%, the sport sector 1.8%. All three institutions agree that there should be a substantial increase in the programme's budget, but the final figures depend on the outcome of the MFF negotiations.

The next step is for the Culture and Education committee to give its formal approval to the outcome of the negotiations. Then the final text will go to plenary - probably in October.