Erasmus+: More money available for young Europeans to gain experience abroad

Press release by Andrea Bocskor

Last week, the European Parliament plenary adopted by a large majority a report on the new Erasmus+ program for the 2021-27 seven-year financial framework. Andrea Bocskor, EPP Vice-Chair of the CULT Committee congratulated her Slovenian EPP colleague, Milan Zver, on the report and said: “It is important that the European Union continue to support a program that has been running for over thirty-two years and which is undoubtedly one of the most successful programs of the Union.”

Millions of young Europeans have already participated in Erasmus+. The program gives young people the opportunity to gain individual experience in the broader world, develop skills and abilities, learn languages and gain an upper hand in the labor market and everyday life. “Tripling the budget of the new Erasmus+ will allow more people to participate in different mobility programs. Our goal is to make the program simpler and more accessible and to support smaller-scale projects more effectively,” said Andrea Bocskor following the adoption of the report by the plenary.

“I am pleased to see that the new program focuses on language learning. Participants can now receive online language support, too, including national sign languages. Supporting multilingualism in addition to learning the major European languages should also mean studying endangered languages and the ones that belong to indigenous minorities. If the majority knows the neighboring languages, it can give a significant impetus to strengthen cross-border relationships and projects. I would encourage the submission of such applications,” Bocskor added.

“I welcome the new initiatives of the program, such as the European Universities Initiative, the Centers of Excellence for Vocational Trainings and DiscoverEU, all of which provide additional opportunities to participants. In recent years, the Hungarian Government has focused on talent management and has launched a number of successful programs to enhance the prestige of vocational education. I hope that in addition to embrace vocational training in the new Erasmus+ program, talent management will also play a more prominent role,” the Fidesz MEP concluded.

Background: Erasmus was launched in 1987 as a higher education exchange program with the aim of enabling students to experience living and studying in another country. Erasmus+, running since 2014, offers additional individual and institutional opportunities in fields such as volunteering, professional internships and international projects. Over the last thirty years, more than 9 million students have been involved in the Erasmus program. The EP proposal adopted last Thursday will be discussed further in the ordinary legislative procedure, the so-called ‘trialogues’ between the European Commission, the Council and the new European Parliament.