“My very first intervention in the European Parliament was to raise the concerns of Maltese youths and students on Erasmus. Since then I have pushed the ideas of Maltese and Gozitans at EU level. I am glad that we have managed to triple the budget for the 2021-2027 period, a measure that will see more Maltese and Gozitan students, youths and sportspeople participate in exchange programs.”
MEP Francis Zammit Dimech made these remarks after the European Parliament adopted its proposal for the next Erasmus programme for the next 7 years.
Zammit Dimech had consulted with various organisations including KSU (Kunsill Studenti Universitarji), KNZ (Kunsill Nazzjonali Zghazagh), ESU (European Students Union) and sports organisations in both Malta and Gozo. In his first intervention at the European Parliament over a year ago Zammit Dimech had raised the concerns of youths and students with respect to bureaucracy and delays in the application phase and problems with recognition of studies conducted in other educational institutions. Zammit Dimech had also raised these concerns with the European Commissioner for Education, Youth and Sport. He had also invited Erasmus participants from Malta and Gozo to give feedback to the EU institutions during a special event held at the European Parliament and the European Commission on the 30th Anniversary of Erasmus. Zammit Dimech explained how the new provisions call for administrative support for applicants making it more user-friendly.
In the Committee of Education, Youth and Sport of which he is a member, Zammit Dimech had raised with the rapporteur the need to make Erasmus more inclusive and to ensure that persons from disadvantaged backgrounds are not excluded from the programme due to economical barriers. The increase in funding means that more young people will participate in this programme. In this regard Zammit Dimech explained how Malta’s national agency will be called to come up with measures to provide more financial support for mobility, adjust monthly grants and regularly review living and subsistence costs as needed.
Zammit Dimech had also pushed for more emphasis on sports. “I have visited several nurseries and sports organisation over the past months. We have some good practices but I have seen a clear desire by sports organisations to participate in Erasmus exchanges. This is why I have appealed for Erasmus to shift from a focus on academia only and give due importance to sport too”. Zammit Dimech added that Malta and Gozo experience a high rate of obesity and diabetes. We need to invest more in sport including at the grassroots level. The proposal of the European Parliament also pushes for this. In this regard the programme is now also providing budget to allow young athletes and sport coaches to participate in mobility schemes.
The programme is also good news for MCAST as Vocational education exchanges have also been considered as a priority.
The proposal has also envisaged funding for the DiscoverEU initiative to ensure that more young people can travel for free when turning 18. Meanwhile emphasis was made on the need to further develop the programme and include a learning component and proper dissemination of the experience.
The agreement needs to be negotiated and agreed with council. Zammit Dimech urged the Maltese government to use all its resources in Brussels to ensure that Council supports the European Parliament’s proposal during negotiations. Zammit Dimech recalled how several organisations including KNZ had insisted for the budget to increase. “We need a concerted effort to make this happen” he concluded.