Erasmus Student Network (ESN) and the European Students’ Union (ESU) have been playing their part to improve the Erasmus+ Programme in various ways, some of them being; #ErasmusUpgrade Manifesto and the Erasmusx10 campaign.

ESN and ESU took part in the Erasmusx10 campaign which has raised proposals amongst the European Commission. The proposals revolved around the current issue with the funding that goes into Erasmus+. ESN and ESU are set to improve the funding for “a more inclusive and accessible Erasmus”.

The initial proposal, set by the European Commission, stated there will be a two-fold increase in funding compared with the current Erasmus Programme. Adding to that, the European Parliament promised a tri-fold increase. Unfortunately, none of these proposals were met. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, recently declared the final proposal which did not sit well with ESN and ESU.

The final proposal is nowhere near the other two proposals – the budget is currently €21.2 billion which is 30% less than the original proposal made by the European Commission. The irony of it all is that the European Council stated they will “work towards stepping up mobility and exchanges, including through a substantially strengthened, inclusive and extended Erasmus+ Programme”.

This will seriously affect the growth of Erasmus+. ESN and ESU want the European Council and the Member States to reconsider their proposal.

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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.

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In this letter, President Michael Piccinino urged them to support the Erasmusx10 Campaign which aims for a 10-fold increase in funding for the benefit of more opportunities for youth. KNZ explains that the idea behind such a campaign emanated from the way in which several European Political Leaders started pushing for a significant uplift of the Erasmus Programme budget.

Erasmus10 Campaign is centred around the fact that Erasmus has changed the lives of millions of Europeans, imagine what change and investment in youth can be done with ten times the budget. KNZ President, Michael Piccinino explained that whilst KNZ is not officially part of the campaign, “the aim is to have more funds to reach more young people and it is important for Policy makers to show that they are serious about the future of Europe by investing in Youth which are the present and future of Europe.”

The letter can be read on: https://www.facebook.com/KNZMalta/

More information on the Erasmus10 Campaign can be found on: http://erasmusx10.eu/

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