European Parliament: Interparliamentary Committee Meeting (ICM) on Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps and Creative Europe

Hélder Sousa Silva, the CULT Committee’s rapporteur on Erasmus+, emphasised that, as part of its position on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the European Parliament had earmarked additional budgetary resources and prioritised Erasmus+ and AgoraEU beyond the general 10 % increase in funding. This sends a clear signal that education, culture, youth, sport and media will in future be regarded as strategic investments and key EU priorities. However, given the expanded programme objectives, additional sources of funding and greater synergies with other EU programmes are required.  

Sousa Silva also referred to extensive consultations with more than 150 organisations prior to the drafting of the report and called on national parliamentarians to advocate for  for sufficient funding for Erasmus+ as well as for use of synergies with other programmes in their contacts with the national ministries, who are part of negotiations on the side of the Council of the EU. 

The representatives of the national parliaments supported a higher budget whilst also calling for greater inclusion, accessibility, and transparency in the programmes. 

Speaking on behalf of the Cypriot Presidency, Kika Kattami stated that on 12 May the Council had adopted a Partial General Approach for negotiations with the Parliament and supported further investment in people, innovation and lifelong learning.  

Diana Jablonska (DG EAC) took up the discussion and defended, in particular, the newly proposed scholarships in strategic areas as a means of retaining European talent and supporting students who would otherwise be unable to afford to study. At the same time, she emphasised the need for a balanced relationship between these scholarships and traditional mobility support.