At the end of 2017 the European Commission will present the mid-term evaluation of the Erasmus+ programme (2014-2020) to the European Parliament and Council. At the same time, preparations for the development of the post-2020 EU education programme are getting underway. Substantial parts of the Erasmus+ programme activities are decentralised; they are implemented by National Agencies in the Erasmus+ programme countries. National Agencies are the link between the European Commission and the applicants and beneficiaries of the Erasmus+ programme.

Based on the previous experience, the National Agencies working in education and training, have developed a set of recommendations for the future programme generation. These were discussed with a group of staff from the European Parliament and the Permanent Representations of the EU member states in Brussels.

The National Agencies highlighted the following key points regarding the Erasmus+ programme:

What works:

• The single brand name Erasmus+ brings better visibility and should be maintained.
• Decentralised implementation of programme activities allows the programme to be close to citizens and to provide easily accessible information to potential participants.
• The international dimension, newly introduced in the Erasmus+ programme in 2014, has been well received by institutions and should be maintained / enhanced in the future.

Improvements to the current programme:

• The student loan system (Master loans) has not reached its intended scope; funding should be re-allocated to areas of the programme with high demand.
• IT tools require improvement with refard to user experience.
• Visibility of EU funding need to be improved at beneficiary level (suggestions included, for example, awarding an Erasmus certificate)

Desiderata for a future Erasmus+:

• Demand is currently much higher than available funding. A total budget increase of more than 40% for the 2021-2027 programm period is required to maintain funding at the level of 2020. Additional funds are needed to meet the high demand for the programme.
• Stability and consistency are necessary in the fundamental structure and rules of the programme.
• Decisions on a new programme need to be taken early on to allow time to prepare their implementation. Alternatively, new features of a new programme should be phased in gradually with a transition period.
• Thematic flexibility should allow the programme to respond to upcoming needs in the future.
• Besides supporting the inclusion of young people in the labour market, the programme should also promote European values, such as civic education, critical thinking and social participation.
• Real-time mobility should be supported by virtual mobility.
• The inclusion of disadvantaged groups should be improved.