EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 30.5.2017 COM(2017) 262 final 2017/0102(COD) Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL laying down the legal framework of the European Solidarity Corps and amending Regulations (EU) No 1288/2013, (EU) No 1293/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1305/2013, (EU) No 1306/2013 and Decision No 1313/2013/EU {SWD(2017) 166 final}

{SWD(2017) 167 final}

{SWD(2017) 168 final}



EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 1.CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL •Reasons for and objectives of the proposal The European Union is built on solidarity, a shared value which is strongly felt throughout European society. Solidarity defines the European project and provides the necessary unity to cope with current and future crises by holding a strong moral ground. Solidarity provides a clear compass to guide the European youth in their aspirations for a better Union. In the Rome Declaration, at the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, the leaders of 27 Member States and of the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission reaffirmed their commitment to enhance unity and solidarity in order to increase the strength and resilience of the European Union. The State of the Union address of 14 September 2016 emphasized the need to invest in young people and announced the idea of a European Solidarity Corps to create opportunities for young people across the European Union to make a meaningful contribution to society, show solidarity and to develop their skills, "thus getting not only work but also invaluable human experience". The Bratislava Summit of 16 September 2016 called for reinforced political momentum to support young Europeans and to establish new EU programmes to improve opportunities for them. The Commission Communication “A European Solidarity Corps” of 7 December 2016 launched the first phase of the European Solidarity Corps and reiterated the target of 100 000 young Europeans taking part in the European Solidarity Corps by 2020. During this initial phase, eight different EU programmes have been mobilised to offer volunteering, traineeship or job opportunities to young people across the EU. This proposal also responds to the call by the European Council in its Conclusions of 15 December 2016 to take work on the European Solidarity Corps forward, and it is one of the priority initiatives included in the Joint Declaration on the EU's legislative priorities for 2017, whereby the Presidents of the Parliament, Council and Commission committed to streamlining the efforts of their Institutions to ensure swift legislative progress on priority initiatives with a view to delivery before the end of 2017. This proposal provides the legal framework for the European Solidarity Corps to offer opportunities for young people to engage in solidarity activities, which will contribute to addressing unmet societal needs, while enhancing young people’s personal, educational, social, civic and professional development. In shaping this proposal, the Commission has taken into account the evidence and findings gathered through the ex-ante evaluation that accompanies it, as well as the views and suggestions collected through an extensive open consultation process, as further described in the relevant sections below. This preparatory work helped identify the following gaps that this proposal aims to address. There are many young people who want to engage in solidarity activities and, at the same time, there are many unmet needs in communities that could be better addressed thanks to the involvement of young people in solidarity activities. There is an untapped demand by many organisations for motivated young people to support them in their efforts; if supported, these organisations could offer even more to communities. There are however shortcomings in the matching of supply and demand and obstacles related to the availability of resources, to ensuring quality, as well as various legal aspects. The main challenges in this field can be summarised as follows: –in recent decades, our society has insufficiently invested in empowering young Europeans to effectively engage in solidarity activities, either as volunteers or through occupational activities. Following the global financial and economic crisis the EU economy is now back on a more stable footing, but the recovery is still unevenly distributed across society and regions and the challenge is particularly acute for the younger generation. Solidarity activities have the concrete potential to mobilise young people for positive causes and help them develop the knowledge, skills and competences which will be essential for their personal, socio-educational, professional and civic development. This is true for all young people, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Encouraging the involvement of those young people in solidarity activities is a specific issue that also needs to be considered in this context; –addressing solidarity and building social, economic and civic cohesion requires a rich tissue of dynamic organisations (private and public, profit and non-profit). In this context, there is a need to cater better for the needs of such organisations, especially those working at the grass-root level with the most disadvantaged communities. Organisations creating and offering solidarity placements need support, in terms of resources, ensuring appropriate training and preparation for volunteers, trainees or workers as well as to be active in a European context. Organisations also need clear and simple rules; –the landscape of solidarity opportunities – be it in an occupational or volunteering perspective – is quite fragmented across the EU. Where opportunities exist, there is often a lack of awareness. The fragmentation also leads to shortcomings when it comes to understanding, documenting and validating what young people learnt from engaging in a particular solidarity action. In the absence of measures to bring organisations and young people together around solidarity, there is a risk that an important potential for solidarity activities goes untapped, resulting in unnecessary welfare loss to organisations, young people and society as a whole. Against this background, the European Solidarity Corps aims at enhancing the engagement of young people and organisations in solidarity activities which are of high quality and accessible to all young people, as a means to contribute to strengthening cohesion and solidarity in Europe, supporting communities and responding to unmet societal needs. In order to reach this general objective, the European Solidarity Corps will provide young people with easily accessible opportunities to engage in volunteering, traineeships or jobs in solidarity-related sectors, as well as to devise and develop solidarity projects at their own initiative, which shall also contribute to improving their skills and competences for their personal, social and professional development, as well as their employability. The European Solidarity Corps will also support networking activities for European Solidarity Corps participants and organisations, aimed at fostering a European Solidarity Corps spirit and sense of belonging to a wider community committed to solidarity, as well as at encouraging the exchange of useful practices and experience. The European Solidarity Corps will further aim at ensuring that the solidarity activities offered to the young participants contribute to addressing concrete societal challenges and to strengthening communities, that they are of high quality and that the learning outcomes resulting from young people’s participation in those activities are properly validated. •Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area This proposal is part of the broader set of initiatives called "Investing in Europe's Youth" launched on 7 December 2016. It pushes ahead with the Europe-wide roll-out of all key EU youth policies, notably the European Youth Strategy, the Youth Guarantee, and the New Skills Agenda for Europe, all of which cover a wide range of actions in support of young people, from informal education and volunteering, to vocational training and employment. The goal is to improve opportunities for young people by substantially increasing their quality and their expected outcomes. The European Solidarity Corps will draw on the rich and long-standing tradition and experience of Member States in activities that serve the public interest, e.g. through volunteering. Some Member States operate national civic service programmes offering young people the possibility to engage, others facilitate activities undertaken by civil society. At EU level, the European Voluntary Service (EVS) has provided volunteering opportunities for young people for 20 years, and policies and programmes such as the Youth Guarantee and the “Your First Eures Job” are helping young people get into traineeships and jobs. The European Solidarity Corps will build on the strengths and experience of these initiatives, thus benefiting from building on a solid, existing basis while expanding it in order to offer new opportunities, wider visibility and greater impact. The European Solidarity Corps will offer new opportunities that are not supported under the current programmes, while simplifying access for both interested young people and organisations. The European Solidarity Corps will offer a single, easily accessible entry point through its Portal, and will aim at the widest possible outreach to participating organisations and to the young people involved. It will also develop and enhance training available before a placement, as well as relevant support and the validation of learning outcomes after a placement. In order to ensure continuity with respect to the volunteering activities supported at EU level, those activities that have been supported under the European Voluntary Service and that fall within the geographical scope of the European Solidarity Corps will be supported by the latter in the form of cross-border volunteering placements. In parallel, the other European Voluntary Service activities that do not fall under the geographical scope of the European Solidarity Corps will continue to be supported under the Programme established by Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013. With respect to the interpretation of related legislation at Union level, the proposal includes provisions in order to ensure that both the cross-border volunteering placements under the European Solidarity Corps and the volunteering activities that will continue to be supported under Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 will be considered equivalent to those carried out under the European Voluntary Service.

In order to ensure efficient and effective implementation, the European Solidarity Corps will make maximum use of existing management arrangements already in place. This will allow focusing on maximising delivery and performance while minimising administrative burden. For this reason, the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps will be entrusted to existing structures, i.e. the European Commission, also through its Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), and the National Agencies designated for the management of the actions referred to in the Youth Chapter of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 establishing the Erasmus+ Programme. •Consistency with other Union policies The actions of the European Solidarity Corps will be consistent with and complementary to a variety of relevant EU policies and programmes, in particular, but not limited to, those relating to education and training, employment, gender equality, entrepreneurship (in particular social entrepreneurship), citizenship and democratic participation, environment and nature protection, climate action, disaster prevention, preparedness and recovery, agriculture and rural development, provision of food and non-food items, health and well-being, creativity and culture, physical education and sport, social assistance and welfare, reception and integration of third-country nationals, territorial cooperation and cohesion. In the first phase of the European Solidarity Corps launched in December 2016, eight different EU programmes have been mobilised to offer volunteering, traineeship or job opportunities to young people across the EU. These activities, whether implemented before or after the entry into force of the proposed Regulation, will continue to apply the rules and conditions set by the respective EU programmes that have financed them during the first phase of the European Solidarity Corps. For the second phase starting with the entry into force of the proposed Regulation, several EU programmes will be contributing to the European Solidarity Corps. Some of them will do so by means of contributions into the financial envelope of the European Solidarity Corps (as further explained in section 4); others may contribute to the objectives of the European Solidarity Corps by supporting activities within its scope. This contribution will be financed in accordance with the respective basic acts of the concerned programmes. 2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY •Legal basis The predominant purpose of this proposal is to provide opportunities for young people to engage in solidarity activities, including volunteering, traineeships, jobs, as well as projects developed by young people at their own initiative, which will have an important learning component to the benefit of young people’s personal, socio-educational and professional development. In line with this, the content of this proposal is focused on encouraging mobility, active engagement, non-formal education and vocational training of young people. This will also contribute to improving their employability and to facilitating transition to regular employment. With that regard, the proposal is based on Articles 165(4) and 166(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Article 165(4) allows Union action aimed at "encouraging the development of youth exchanges (…) and encouraging participation of young people in democratic life of Europe". Union action based on Article 166(4) represents an appropriate legal basis for an act such as this proposal that aims to "improve initial and continuing vocational training in order to facilitate vocational integration and reintegration into the labour market" and "facilitate access to vocational training and encourage mobility of instructors and trainees and particularly young people". •Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence) In light of the European scale of the proposed objectives – to mobilise young people for solidarity causes throughout the European Union – an action at EU level is appropriate. The EU has a role to play in supporting a Europe-wide approach to solidarity. EU action through the European Solidarity Corps will not replace similar actions by Member States, but will serve to complement and support them, in full respect of the subsidiarity principle. While there are traditions in all Member States for running programs and instruments that support activities that serve the public interest, in particular through volunteering, these are quite diverse, with some countries preferring state intervention, and others letting civil society be in the lead. There are also different concepts and connotations of solidarity activities and volunteering, and the types of activities are different in content and duration. Moreover, there are quite different perceptions of how social protection relates to volunteering, as well as various degrees of legal status, learning and recognition. All this leads to fragmentation at EU level, which means that young people across the EU have uneven access to the opportunities on offer. EU action through the European Solidarity Corps will contribute to addressing the need to overcome this fragmentation, as evidenced by the ex-ante evaluation that accompanies this proposal. At the same time, it will be an occasion to build on the lessons learnt from the variety of experiences across Member States, while boosting volunteering in those Member States where it is less prevalent today, as suggested by the stakeholders who were consulted during the preparation of this proposal. The European Solidarity Corps will complement the existing public and private policies, programmes and activities, both at national and European level. By applying a number of quality safeguards such as the European Solidarity Corps Charter, a quality label for participating organisations and the principles outlined in the Quality Framework for Traineeships, the European Solidarity Corps can help improve the quality of various placements for young people across the EU as well as the validation of their learning outcomes. Furthermore, the European Solidarity Corps will offer a single entry point to high quality volunteering and occupational solidarity placements for young people across the EU, whereas currently these are only accessible via a multitude of schemes. It will therefore ensure that all interested young people across the EU have equal opportunities to join and easier access to a broader variety of activities. Bringing the different types of placements under one brand can also contribute to improving awareness and visibility of the opportunities available to young people. The European Solidarity Corps will offer both placements that can be undertaken in a country other than the country of residence of the participants (cross-border) and placements that can be undertaken in the country of residence of the participants (in-country). This flexibility is in line with the proposals received from the consulted stakeholders. As far as cross-border placements are concerned, especially in view of the fragmentation in structures and programmes offering volunteering, traineeships as well as the diversity in understanding and concepts of the sector offering solidarity activities, individual Member State action cannot replace EU action. As far as in-country placements are concerned, the European Solidarity Corps can be expected to have an innovative character, while helping address local or national challenges from a broader European perspective. In particular, EU action can help overcome fragmentation in the offer of placements and ensure inclusiveness for all young people, including those who face obstacles to engage in international activities. It can also offer a European context and help find European solutions to specific challenges that are not confined to national borders. Last but not least, the use of existing structures that have proved their efficiency and effectiveness will ensure an efficient and effective implementation of the European Solidarity Corps as well synergies and complementarities with Member States' actions in favour of youth. •Proportionality The proposal addresses identified gaps in offering easily accessible opportunities for engagement in solidarity activities to young people and does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve its objectives. •Choice of the instrument The proposed instrument is a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

3.RESULTS OF STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS •Stakeholder consultations In preparing this proposal and its accompanying ex-ante evaluation, consultation took place at different levels including a broad range of stakeholders as well as individual citizens, public administrations, and other EU institutions and bodies (namely, the European Parliament, the Council, the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee). An 8-week online public consultation was carried out, 660 replies and 82 position papers were received. The consultation was made available in 23 official languages of the EU, and replies were accepted in all these languages. In addition, a large stakeholder forum with around 700 participants was held on 12 April 2017 and targeted consultations were organised with Member States and key stakeholders (including, voluntary organisations, solidarity organisations, youth representatives, Public Employment Services and EURES coordinators, Youth Guarantee coordinators, social partners, companies, programme beneficiaries and programme stakeholders, including national authorities and national agencies of the Erasmus+ Programme). A detailed overview of the consultation process is annexed to the ex-ante evaluation that accompanies this proposal. The main elements resulting from these consultations are summarised below. In summary, the stakeholders participating in the consultations expressed an overall appreciation of the visibility and political recognition given to young people’s engagement for solidarity. They welcomed the new opportunities for young people to make a change thanks to the European Solidarity Corps. They emphasised the potential of the European Solidarity Corps to foster integration, inter-European and inter-generational solidarity and to promote common values. Yet, they highlighted the need for additional funding to ensure an inclusive approach, allowing the participation of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and of small organisations as well as quality placements, while building upon already existing structures. More specifically, one of the key issues highlighted by stakeholders was the need for an inclusive approach. As a matter of fact, many stakeholders specifically mentioned the need for a specific focus on inclusiveness for all young people, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds and with fewer opportunities. Stakeholders emphasised that the European Solidarity Corps should have an even stronger focus on solidarity than the existing programmes with a clear definition of "solidarity activities". Stakeholders recognised that the activities in the scope of the European Solidarity Corps can contribute to the development of skills and competences, thus supporting non-formal and informal learning as well as youth employability. Organisations equally stressed a need to train volunteers and some of them also mentioned the need to issue a certificate for volunteers. Possible overlaps with existing programmes and lack of funding were among the main concerns expressed by stakeholders. Many requested a separate budget for the European Solidarity Corps. The majority of stakeholders stressed that in order to meet current and future needs, the European Solidarity Corps needed to be provided with sufficient additional funds on top of the available resources from existing programmes. The majority of stakeholders also requested a clear distinction between volunteering and occupational activities in order to avoid cheap labour or unpaid work, such as by replacing trainees and employees with volunteers. In terms of implementation, stakeholders underlined that it should be lean and effective in order to avoid unnecessary administrative burden for young people and organisations. They also stressed the importance to ensure high quality standards as well as to build on synergies and experience from existing, well-functioning schemes, such as the European Voluntary Service. Stakeholders highlighted the need to have a clear division of roles and competencies among implementing bodies, to clarify the rules for accreditation of organisations, to have a well-functioning matching tool between organisations and volunteers and a high quality support system for the participants as important factors to reach this goal. When it comes to the geographical scope, the majority of stakeholders argued to ensure consistency with the conditions of existing programmes. Stakeholders supported the proposed possibility to foster solidarity activities at the local level in addition to cross-border opportunities and they acknowledged that these may make participation easier for disadvantaged young people. However, several stakeholders stressed the need for cooperation and coordination with national governments and local communities in order to ensure complementarity with existing programmes. The proposal for the European Solidarity Corps largely reflects the views and recommendations collected during the consultations. In line with those, the European Solidarity Corps will offer new opportunities accessible to all young people with stronger emphasis on addressing solidarity needs and on encouraging the participation of disadvantaged young people, including by envisaging additional financial support when relevant. It will also place special emphasis on ensuring the relevance and quality of the activities to be supported. Quality and support measures, such as insurance, online linguistic support, general online training and specific training, a European Solidarity Corps certificate and post placement support will be offered to the participants. Quality will also apply to the organisations willing to offer placements under the European Solidarity Corps. To this end, and in line with the suggestions gathered during the consultations, a quality label will be introduced as a pre-condition for participation for all interested organisations. It will aim at checking their compliance with the principles and requirements of the European Solidarity Corps Charter, as regards their rights and responsibilities during all stages of the solidarity experience. In line with stakeholders' recommendations, the European Commission will strive to improve the user-friendliness and to reduce the administrative burden of the registration and application process for both young people and organisations. The development of the European Solidarity Corps Portal is already a step in this direction. The Portal and the matching tool provide a single entry point for solidarity activities throughout the European Union. With regard to the need to cater for additional funding as advocated by many stakeholders, the European Solidarity Corps will be funded from both additional resources and from contributions by several existing programmes, which are in line with the European Solidarity Corps objectives, thus maximising synergies and complementarities with existing schemes. Stakeholders also advocated for a clear distinction between volunteering and occupational activities. This will be catered for not only with respect to the definition of the activities to be supported, but also in relation to the financial support dedicated to these activities. In this respect, the legislative proposal introduces an indicative split for the financial support to solidarity placements and projects (80% for volunteering placements and solidarity projects on the one hand and 20% for traineeships and jobs on the other hand), which should also contribute to ensuring continuity in the activities supported by the programmes contributing to the European Solidarity Corps. In terms of geographical scope, the starting point for implementation of the European Solidarity Corps will be the EU Member States. However, the proposed Regulation provides for the possibility to open up to other countries on the basis of bilateral agreements with those countries. •Impact assessment An impact assessment has not been carried out given that the European Solidarity Corps has already been established by the Commission in its Communication in December 2016. The objective of the present Regulation represents a follow-up to that; this notwithstanding, given that it will involve significant spending, it is accompanied by an ex-ante evaluation to fulfil the requirements in the Financial Regulation. The ex-ante evaluation examined challenges at two levels: focusing on young people and their opportunities to engage in solidarity activities on the one hand, and on broader social, institutional and organisational needs on the other. The ex-ante evaluation indicated a need for the EU to address the following major challenges in the framework of a European initiative for youth in the field of solidarity: –there is a need to overcome fragmentation and provide more opportunities to encourage the engagement of young people and organisations in solidarity activities, namely by bringing volunteering and occupational experiences under one umbrella with a shared quality approach and developing a visible and broad validation of the learning experience gained, regardless of the context in which it took place. There is also a need to ensure easy and equal access through lean procedures, whilst foreseeing appropriate measures to encourage the inclusion of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds; –there is a need to ensure that the placements and activities offered by a European initiative for youth in the field of solidarity respond to unmet societal needs as well as shared quality standards and a common understanding of the acquisition of the knowledge, skills and competences to be validated across borders.

The ex-ante evaluation focused on two options, namely: 1) to continue implementing the European Solidarity Corps through various existing programmes as it has been the case during the first phase launched in December 2016, whereby eight programmes have been funding solidarity actions, each one through its own legal basis, objectives and budget; 2) to develop a new self-standing initiative with strengthened focus on solidarity, which would build on the experience of existing programmes but would have its own clear set of objectives and ensure more clarity on the purpose and scope of the intervention. The possibility of using the legal base of one of the existing programmes was discarded due to the fact that this would have resulted in a programme with a complex set of overlapping objectives and limited visibility of solidarity actions in a broader frame. Furthermore, such approach would have led to disengagement of stakeholders from the other programmes. Thus, two options were identified, analysed and compared against the following criteria, which are in line with the stakeholders’ suggestions during the consultations: –Accessibility (visibility and clarity for organisations, young people and other stakeholders on how to participate and access funding for solidarity activities); –Quality (procedures and criteria ensuring quality and safety of placements); –Inclusiveness (measures to ensure the participation of disadvantaged young people); –Synergy (involvement of and synergies among organisations active in solidarity action regardless of their local, regional, national or European scope); –Efficiency and simplicity of management provisions and low administrative costs. Based on this multi-criteria analysis, option 2 (to develop a new self-standing initiative with strengthened focus on solidarity) resulted as the option that would deliver better results against all the considered criteria and was therefore retained as the preferred option. This option will provide a clear and single access point for organisations and young people and will make solidarity actions more visible. It will embed a more inclusive approach through a dedicated inclusion strategy. It will provide overall quality of placements and of preparedness of the young participants through a series of specific qualitative processes and criteria (such as quality label for organisations, training, insurance, etc.). It will bring new synergies between the activities and their recognition as it will put them in one common framework and will help create new networks between people and organisations with common aspirations for solidarity. Option 2 will also allow simultaneously decreasing management costs while reaching greater effects (more value for money). Different delivery mechanisms were considered with respect to the preferred Option: direct management, indirect management or a combination of both. The analysis concluded that the latter – a combination of direct and indirect management – would ensure the most cost-effective implementation in order to reach the envisaged target of mobilising 100 000 young people by 2020. The ex-ante evaluation also stressed that sufficient and consistent financial resources are essential in order to reach the envisaged target. The ex-ante evaluation also highlighted the expected positive social impact of the preferred option both at individual level (e.g. improved knowledge, skills and competences for their personal and professional development; increased sense of solidarity and citizenship for their social and civic development) and at societal level (e.g. addressed needs in communities with effects on social welfare and well-being; increased support to organisations committed to solidarity with positive effects on their engagement and on the opportunities offered to young people; contribution to other policy goals such as youth participation, civil protection, social inclusion, cohesion, regional development, environmental protection; improved image of youth on some national media). Promoting youth participation and social capital is also closely connected to economic growth. Increased participation and employability of young people can have positive consequences for employment and macro-economic growth. However, considering the relatively small size of the proposed intervention as well as the fact that its impact will be spread out throughout Europe and not concentrated on one particular Member State or sector, it was not possible to measure the real impact in economic terms. Similarly, it was not considered relevant to carry out an in-depth analysis of environmental impacts. The ex-ante evaluation acknowledged that, similarly to other mobility programmes, the European Solidarity Corps will in principle generate an increased demand for transport, which in turn can potentially lead to an increased emission of greenhouse gases. This impact was however considered negligible compared to the overall mobility fluxes in Europe. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that the European Solidarity Corps can, as a side-effect, play an important role in raising young people's awareness and mobilising them vis-à-vis environmental issues, as it has already been the case during the first phase, whereby the different contributing programmes have already supported a variety of projects that deal with environmental issues. This proposal is fully consistent with the preferred option. •Fundamental rights This proposal is fully in line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, which acknowledges that solidarity is one of the universal values on which the EU is founded. In particular, this proposal takes into full account the rights and prohibitions laid down in Articles 5 (Prohibition of slavery and forced labour), 14 (Right to education), 15 (Freedom to choose an occupation and right to engage in work), 21 (Non-discrimination), 24 (The rights of the child), 26 (Integration of persons with disabilities), 31 (Fair and just working conditions) and 32 (Prohibition of child labour and protection of young people at work) of the Charter. 4.BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS The Commission proposes to finance three fourths of the European Solidarity Corps budget by redeployments from existing programmes. The remaining amount will be covered by the mobilisation of the Global Margin for Commitments in 2018 and by available unallocated margins in 2019 and 2020. The prime reference amount under Heading 1a for the 2018-20 period is EUR 294.2 million, which includes redeployment under the same headings from the Erasmus+ programme (EUR 197.7 million) and the Employment and Social Innovation programme (EUR 10 million). The allocation in Heading 1a will be complemented by contributions from programmes in other headings within their existing financial allocation, in line with the aim of mainstreaming solidarity activities in different EU programmes and funds of the EU budget. The total amount proposed for the contribution from other headings is EUR 47.3 million and relies on the following contributing programmes: the European Social Fund (EUR 35 million), the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (EUR 6 million), the LIFE programme (EUR 4.5 million) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EUR 1.8 million). The detailed budgetary and financial impact of the proposal is indicated in the legislative financial statement accompanying the proposal.

5.OTHER ELEMENTS •Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements In line with the analysis carried out in the context of the ex-ante evaluation that accompanies this proposal, and in order to ensure efficient and effective implementation, synergies and to minimise administrative burden, the European Solidarity Corps will use the existing management and implementation arrangements already in place under the Erasmus+ programme. Building on the positive experience of the implementation of this programme as well as on its structures, the proposal provides for a clear division of programme management tasks between the Commission, the National Agencies established under the Erasmus+ Programme and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Since its founding in 2006, the EACEA has successfully implemented parts of the Erasmus+, Creative Europe, Europe for Citizens and EU Aid Volunteers programmes (and their predecessor programmes) to a high standard, as confirmed by a number of independent external evaluations. As required by Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 laying down the statute for executive agencies, a cost-benefit analysis prior to any delegation of programmes to the executive agencies has been carried out and demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of the use of the EACEA for certain tasks related to the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps. In parallel, the successful model of National Agencies under Erasmus+ has delivered demonstrable performance and efficiency, coupled with a high level of assurance and sound financial management. The monitoring and evaluation arrangements of the European Solidarity Corps will consist of permanent monitoring to assess progress and an evaluation to assess the existing evidence on the effectiveness of the results achieved. Monitoring arrangements will be based on an extensive analysis of the quantitative outputs and qualitative outcomes of the European Solidarity Corps. The quantitative outputs will be systematically collected through the IT systems put in place for the management of the actions of the European Solidarity Corps. The qualitative outcomes will be monitored through periodical surveys targeting both individuals and participating organisations. The reporting and assessment arrangements by all implementing bodies will ensure a comprehensive monitoring of the implementation of the proposal. In 2020, the Commission will publish a report taking stock of the progress made towards achieving the target of offering 100 000 young people opportunities under the European Solidarity Corps. The proposal will also be subject to an independent evaluation four years after its date of application to assess the qualitative outcomes of the supported actions, including their impact on the young people and organisations. The evaluation should take into account the existing evidence on the effectiveness and impact of the results of the European Solidarity Corps. The sources of verification will include the monitoring data, the information included in the work plans and reports from the implementing bodies, results arising from dissemination, evidence-based studies, surveys, etc. •Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal Chapter I – General provisions of the proposed Regulation sets out its subject-matter, the definitions of certain recurring terms, the general and specific objectives of the European Solidarity Corps activities as well as the coherence and complementarity of Union action. The European Solidarity Corps aims to enhance the engagement of young people and organisations in solidarity activities of high quality, accessible to all young people, as a means to contribute to strengthening cohesion and solidarity in Europe, supporting communities and responding to societal challenges. Chapter II – Actions of the European Solidarity Corps provides a description of the activities envisaged for the achievement of the objectives of the proposed Regulation. The Union's support measures include solidarity placements, projects and networking activities on the one hand and quality and support measures on the other. Chapter III – Financial provisions sets out the budgetary envelope of the European Solidarity Corps for the 2018-2020 period and the envisaged forms of Union funding. The prime reference amount includes redeployments from the Erasmus+ programme (EUR 197.7 million) and from the Employment and Social Innovation programme (EUR 10 million) as well as additional resources for the financial years 2018, 2019 and 2020. The financial envelope is complemented by contributions from different headings and several EU programmes. Chapter IV – Participation in the European Solidarity Corps specifies criteria for the participating countries, individuals and organisations. The participating countries are the EU Member States and possibly other countries on the basis of bilateral agreements. Young people aged 17-30 can register in the European Solidarity Corps Portal whereas participation can only start when they are between 18 and 30 years of age. A participating organisation that may make offers for solidarity placements or activities to registered individuals is any public or private entity, or an international organisation that carries out solidarity activities in the participating countries, provided that they have received a quality label certifying their adherence to the requirements of the European Solidarity Corps. Chapter V – Performance, results and dissemination includes provisions for the Commission and the participating countries to ensure regular monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the performance of the European Solidarity Corps as well as to ensure the dissemination of information, publicity and follow-up with regard to all actions supported by the European Solidarity Corps. Chapter VI – Management and audit system foresees the implementing bodies of the European Solidarity Corps. In management terms, the proposed implementation modality is a combination of indirect management (through national agencies at national level) and direct management (through the Commission at Union level, including the use of an executive agency on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis). The combination of management modes is based on the positive experience of the implementation of the Erasmus+ programme and builds on the existing structures of that programme. The proposal foresees that the national authorities and the national agencies designated for the management of the Youth actions under Erasmus+ will also act as national authorities and national agencies under the European Solidarity Corps in the relevant participating countries. For countries where a national authority and a national agency are not designated, they will be established in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013. National agencies will be in charge of the main part of the funds and will operate on the basis of a delegation agreement. Furthermore, for some tasks related to the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps, the Commission will use the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. In implementing this Regulation, the Commission will perform tasks implying policy choices, in particular setting objectives and priorities, adopting work programmes (including financing decisions), representing the Commission in the programme committee, etc. The executive agency will be responsible for implementing tasks, such as the launch and conclusion of grant and procurement procedures, project monitoring, financial control and accounting, the contribution to programme evaluation and various support tasks. Chapter VII – Control system foresees the necessary supervisory system meant to ensure that the protection of the financial interests of the Union is duly taken into account when actions financed under the European Solidarity Corps Regulation are implemented. Chapter VIII – Implementing provisions sets out the necessary provisions for the conferral of certain powers to the Commission to adopt work programmes by way of implementing acts. As regards the Committee required under Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 to assist the Commission in adopting implementing acts, the proposal nominates the Committee established by article 36 of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 establishing the Erasmus+ Programme. The Committee would work in different configurations (Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps) with the possibility for the Member States to nominate their delegates for the different configurations. Chapter IX – Amending and final provisions provides the necessary amendments to the basic acts of those programmes which redirect funds from their respective 2014-2020 financial envelopes to the European Solidarity Corps actions. The final provisions set out the date of entry into force of the proposed Regulation which shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States from 1 January 2018. 2017/0102 (COD) Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL laying down the legal framework of the European Solidarity Corps and amending Regulations (EU) No 1288/2013, (EU) No 1293/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1305/2013, (EU) No 1306/2013 and Decision No 1313/2013/EU

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles 165(4) and 166(4) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee, Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions, Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, Whereas: (1)The European Union is built on solidarity, among its citizens and among its Member States. This common value guides its actions and provides the necessary unity to cope with current and future societal challenges, which young Europeans are willing to help address by expressing their solidarity in practice. (2)The State of the Union address of 14 September 2016 emphasized the need to invest in young people and announced the establishment of a European Solidarity Corps with a view to creating opportunities for young people across the Union to make a meaningful contribution to society, show solidarity and develop their skills, thus getting not only work but also invaluable human experience. (3)In its Communication “A European Solidarity Corps” of 7 December 2016, the Commission emphasised the need to strengthen the foundations for solidarity work across Europe, to provide young people with more and better opportunities for solidarity activities covering a broad range of areas, and to support national and local actors, in their efforts to cope with different challenges and crises. The Communication launched a first phase of the European Solidarity Corps whereby different Union programmes have been mobilised to offer volunteering, traineeship or job opportunities to young people across the EU. These activities, whether implemented before or after the entry into force of this Regulation, should continue to apply the rules and conditions set by the respective Union programmes that have financed them under the first phase of the European Solidarity Corps. (4)Young people should be provided with easily accessible opportunities to engage in solidarity activities, which could enable them to express their commitment to the benefit of communities while acquiring useful experience, skills and competences for their personal, educational, social, civic and professional development, thereby improving their employability. Those activities would also support the mobility of young volunteers, trainees and workers. (5)The solidarity activities offered to young people should be of high quality, in the sense that they should respond to unmet societal needs, contribute to strengthening communities, offer young people the opportunity to acquire valuable knowledge and competences, be financially accessible to young people, and be implemented in safe and healthy conditions. (6)The European Solidarity Corps would provide a single entry point for solidarity activities throughout the Union. Consistency and complementarity of that framework should be ensured with other relevant Union policies and programmes. The European Solidarity Corps should build on the strengths and synergies of existing programmes, notably the European Voluntary Service. It should also complement the efforts made by Member States to support young people and ease their school-to-work transition under the Youth Guarantee by providing them with additional opportunities to make a start on the labour market in the form of traineeships or jobs in solidarity-related areas within their respective Member State or across borders. Complementarity with existing Union level networks pertinent to the activities under the European Solidarity Corps, such as the European Network of Public Employment Services, EURES and the Eurodesk network, should also be ensured. Furthermore, complementarity between existing related schemes, in particular national solidarity schemes and mobility schemes for young people, and the European Solidarity Corps should be ensured, building on good practices where appropriate. (7)In order to maximise the impact of the European Solidarity Corps, provisions should be made to allow other Union programmes such as the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Europe for Citizens programme, the European Regional Development Fund and the Health Programme to contribute to the objectives of the European Solidarity Corps by supporting activities within its scope. This contribution should be financed in accordance with the respective basic acts of the concerned programmes. Once they have obtained a valid European Solidarity Corps quality label, the beneficiaries should be given access to the European Solidarity Corps portal and receive the quality and support measures provided according to the type of activity offered. (8)The European Solidarity Corps should open up new opportunities for young people to carry out volunteering, traineeship or job placements in solidarity-related areas as well as to devise and develop solidarity projects based on their own initiative. Those opportunities should contribute to enhancing their personal, educational, social, civic and professional development. The European Solidarity Corps should also support networking activities for European Solidarity Corps participants and organisations as well as measures to ensure the quality of the supported activities and to enhance the validation of their learning outcomes. (9)Voluntary activities constitute a rich experience in a non-formal and informal learning context which enhances young people's personal, socio-educational and professional development, active citizenship and employability. Voluntary activities should not have an adverse effect on potential or existing paid employment, nor should they be seen as a substitute for it. In order to ensure continuity with respect to the volunteering activities that are supported at Union level, the volunteering activities under the European Voluntary Service that fall within the geographical scope of the European Solidarity Corps should be supported by the latter in the form of cross-border volunteering placements. The other volunteering activities under the European Voluntary Service that do not fall under the geographical scope of the European Solidarity Corps should continue to be supported under the Programme established by Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport. With respect to the interpretation of related legislation at Union level, both the cross-border volunteering placements under the European Solidarity Corps and the volunteering activities that continue to be supported under Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 should be considered equivalent to those carried out under the European Voluntary Service. (10)Traineeships and jobs in solidarity-related areas can offer additional opportunities for young people to make a start on the labour market while contributing to addressing key societal challenges. This can help foster the employability and productivity of young people while easing their transition from education to employment, which is key to enhancing their chances on the labour market. The traineeship placements offered under the European Solidarity Corps should be remunerated by the participating organisation and follow the quality principles outlined in the Council Recommendation on establishing a Quality Framework for Traineeships of 10 March 2014. The traineeships and jobs offered should constitute a stepping stone for young people to enter the labour market and should therefore be accompanied by adequate post-placement support. The traineeship and job placements should be facilitated by relevant labour market actors, in particular public and private employment services, social partners and Chambers of Commerce. As participating organisations, they should be able to apply for funding via the competent implementing structure of the European Solidarity Corps in view of intermediating between the young participants and employers offering traineeship and job placements in solidarity sectors. (11)Young people’s spirit of initiative is an important asset for society and for the labour market. The European Solidarity Corps should contribute to fostering this aspect by offering young people the opportunity to devise and implement their own projects aimed at addressing specific challenges to the benefit of their local communities. Those projects should be an opportunity to try out ideas and support young people to be themselves drivers of solidarity actions. They could also serve as a springboard for further engagement in solidarity activities and could be a first step towards encouraging European Solidarity Corps participants to engage in self-employment or setting up associations, NGOs or other bodies active in the solidarity, non-profit and youth sectors. (12)Young people and organisations participating in the European Solidarity Corps should feel that they belong to a community of individuals and entities committed to enhancing solidarity across Europe. At the same time, participating organisations need support to strengthen their capacities to offer good quality placements to an increasing number of participants. The European Solidarity Corps should support networking activities aimed at strengthening young people and participating organisations’ engagement in this community, at fostering a European Solidarity Corps spirit, as well as at encouraging the exchange of useful practices and experience. Those activities should also contribute to raising awareness about the European Solidarity Corps among public and private actors as well as to collect feedback from participants and participating organisations on the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps.

(13)Particular attention should be paid to ensuring the quality of the placements and other opportunities offered under the European Solidarity Corps, in particular by offering training, language support, insurance, administrative and post-placement support to participants as well as the validation of the knowledge, skills and competences acquired through their European Solidarity Corps experience. (14)To ensure the impact of European Solidarity Corps placements on the personal, educational, social, civic and professional development of the participants, the knowledge, skills and competences that are the learning outcomes of the placement should be properly identified and documented, in accordance with national circumstances and specificities, as recommended in the Council Recommendation of 20 December 2012 on the validation of non-formal and informal learning. (15)A quality label should be put in place to ensure compliance of the participating organisations with the principles and requirements of the European Solidarity Corps Charter, as regards their rights and responsibilities during all stages of the solidarity experience. Obtaining a quality label should be a precondition for participation but should not automatically lead to funding under the European Solidarity Corps. (16)A European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre should assist the implementing bodies, the participating organisations and the young people taking part in the European Solidarity Corps in order to raise the quality of the implementation and of the activities of the European Solidarity Corps as well as to enhance the identification and validation of competences acquired through these activities. (17)A European Solidarity Corps Portal should continuously be developed in order to ensure easy access to the European Solidarity Corps and to provide a one-stop shop for both interested individuals and organisations as regards, inter alia, registration, identification and matching of profiles and opportunities, networking and virtual exchanges, online training, language and post-placement support as well as other useful functionalities, which may arise in the future. (18)This Regulation lays down a financial envelope for the period 2018-2020 which is to constitute the prime reference amount, within the meaning of Point 17 of the Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, for the European Parliament and the Council during the annual budgetary procedure. The prime reference amount includes redeployments from the Erasmus+ programme (EUR 197.7 million) and from the Employment and Social Innovation programme (EUR 10 million) for the financial years 2018, 2019 and 2020, and it is complemented by contributions from several Union programmes under different headings, such as the European Social Fund, the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, the LIFE programme and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. (19)In order to ensure continuity in the activities supported by the programmes contributing to the European Solidarity Corps, the financial support to solidarity placements and projects should indicatively follow an 80%-20% split between volunteering placements and solidarity projects on the one hand and traineeship and job placements on the other hand. (20)In order to maximise the impact of the European Solidarity Corps, provisions should be made to allow participating countries to make additional national funding available in accordance with the rules of the European Solidarity Corps. (21)In order to simplify requirements for beneficiaries, lump-sums, unit-costs or flat-rate funding should be used to the maximum possible extent. (22)In addition to the Member States, the European Solidarity Corps should also be open to the participation of other countries on the basis of bilateral agreements. This participation should be based, where relevant, on additional appropriations to be made available in accordance with the procedures to be agreed with the concerned countries. (23)The European Solidarity Corps should target young people aged 18-30. Participation in the activities offered by the European Solidarity Corps should require prior registration in the European Solidarity Corps Portal. (24)Special attention should be paid to ensuring that the activities supported by the European Solidarity Corps are accessible to all young people, notably the most disadvantaged ones. Special measures should therefore be put in place to promote social inclusion, the participation of disadvantaged young people, as well as to take into account the constraints imposed by the remoteness of the outermost regions of the Union and the Overseas Countries and Territories. Similarly, the participating countries should endeavour to adopt all appropriate measures to remove legal and administrative obstacles to the proper functioning of the European Solidarity Corps. This includes resolving, where possible, and without prejudice to the Schengen acquis and Union law on the entry and residence of third-country nationals, administrative issues that create difficulties in obtaining visas and residence permits. (25)Any entity willing to participate in the European Solidarity Corps, whether funded by the European Solidarity Corps budget, by another Union programme or by a different funding source, should receive a quality label provided that the appropriate conditions are fulfilled. The process that leads to the attribution of a quality label should be carried out on a continuous basis by the implementing structures of the European Solidarity Corps. The attributed quality label should be reassessed periodically and could be revoked if, in the context of the checks to be performed, the conditions that led to its attribution were found to be no longer fulfilled. (26)An entity willing to apply for funding to offer placements under the European Solidarity Corps should have first received a quality label as a precondition. This requirement should not apply to natural persons seeking financial support on behalf of an informal group of European Solidarity Corps participants for their solidarity projects. (27)Effective performance management, including monitoring and evaluation, requires the development of specific, measurable and realistic indicators which can be measured over time and which reflect the logic of the intervention. (28)Appropriate outreach, publicity and dissemination of the opportunities and results of the actions supported by the European Solidarity Corps should be ensured at European, national and local level. The outreach, publicity and dissemination activities should rely on all the implementing bodies of the European Solidarity Corps, including, when relevant, with the support of other key stakeholders. (29)In order to ensure greater efficiency in communication to the public at large and stronger synergies between the communication activities undertaken at the initiative of the Commission, the resources allocated to communication under this Regulation should also contribute to covering the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, provided that these are related to the general objective of this Regulation. (30)In order to ensure efficient and effective implementation of this Regulation, the European Solidarity Corps should make maximum use of existing management arrangements already in place. The implementation of the European Solidarity Corps should therefore be entrusted to existing structures, i.e. the Commission, the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency and the National Agencies designated for the management of the actions referred to in Chapter III of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013. (31)In order to ensure financially sound implementation and close monitoring of the European Solidarity Corps at national level, it is important to use the existing National Authorities designated for the management of the actions referred to in Chapter III of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013. (32)In order to ensure sound financial management and legal certainty in each participating country, each National Authority should designate an independent audit body. Where feasible, and in order to maximise efficiency, the independent audit body could be the same as the one designated for the actions referred to in Chapter III of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013.

(33)The financial interests of the Union should be protected through proportionate measures throughout the expenditure cycle, including the prevention, detection and investigation of irregularities, the recovery of funds lost, wrongly paid or incorrectly used and, where appropriate, penalties. (34)In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by the Member States of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers. (35)In compliance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the European Union, the Commission should adopt work programmes and inform the European Parliament and the Council thereof. The work programme should set out the measures needed for their implementation in line with the general and specific objectives of the European Solidarity Corps, the selection and award criteria for grants, as well as all other elements required. Work programmes and any amendments to them should be adopted by implementing acts in accordance with the examination procedure. (36)Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to establish a European Solidarity Corps, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of its scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives. (37)For reasons of efficiency and effectiveness, the committee established under Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 should also assist the Commission in the implementation of this Regulation. With respect to the European Solidarity Corps, that committee should convene in a specific configuration and its mandate should be aligned in order to fulfil this new role. It should be for the participating countries to appoint the relevant representatives for those meetings, taking into account the volunteering and occupational dimensions of the European Solidarity Corps. (38)Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 should be amended in order to take into account the changes to the European Voluntary Service resulting from the new volunteering activities supported in the framework of the European Solidarity Corps. (39)The financial envelope of the European Solidarity Corps under Heading 1a of the Multiannual Financial Framework also builds on funds redeployed from the Erasmus+ programme. These funds should mainly come from appropriations aimed at financing European Voluntary Service activities that would fall under the scope of the volunteering placements supported under this Regulation. In addition, some appropriations of the Student Loan Guarantee Facility, which are unlikely to be absorbed under Erasmus+, should be redeployed with a view to providing adequate co-financing to the operating costs of national agencies and be brought more in line with the absorption capacity of this action. (40)The financial envelope of the European Solidarity Corps under Heading 1a of the Multiannual Financial Framework should additionally be supplemented by financial contributions from other programmes and headings, which require the amendment of Regulations (EU) No 1293/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1305/2013, (EU) No 1306/2013 as well as of Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council. (41)This Regulation should apply from 1 January 2018. In order to allow for the prompt application of the measures provided for in this Regulation, this Regulation should enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1 Subject-matter This Regulation lays down the legal framework for the European Solidarity Corps, which shall offer young people opportunities to engage in solidarity activities. Article 2 Definitions For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply: (1)“solidarity activity” means an activity aimed at addressing unmet societal needs to the benefit of a community while also fostering the individual’s personal, educational, social, civic and professional development, which may take the form of placements, projects or networking activities, developed in relation to different areas, such as education and training, employment, gender equality, entrepreneurship, in particular social entrepreneurship, citizenship and democratic participation, environment and nature protection, climate action, disaster prevention, preparedness and recovery, agriculture and rural development, provision of food and non-food items, health and wellbeing, creativity and culture, physical education and sport, social assistance and welfare, reception and integration of third-country nationals, territorial cooperation and cohesion;

(2)“participant” means a young person who has registered in the European Solidarity Corps Portal and takes part in a solidarity activity under the European Solidarity Corps offered by a participating organisation; (3)“disadvantaged young people” means individuals who need additional support because of disability, educational difficulties, economic obstacles, cultural differences, health problems, social obstacles, geographical obstacles; (4)“participating organisation” means any public or private entity that has been attributed the European Solidarity Corps quality label, which offers a placement to a participant in the European Solidarity Corps or implements other activities in the framework of the European Solidarity Corps; (5)“solidarity placement” means a volunteering activity, traineeship or job in a solidarity-related area, which is organised by a participating organisation and which contributes to addressing key societal challenges while enhancing the personal, educational, social, civic and professional development and the employability of the European Solidarity Corps participant who undertakes it, either in a country other than the country of residence (cross-border) or in the country of residence of the participant (in-country); (6)“volunteering” means a full-time unpaid voluntary service for a period of up to twelve months, which provides young people with the opportunity to contribute to the daily work of organisations active in solidarity-related fields, to the ultimate benefit of the communities within which the activities are carried out, including a solid learning and training dimension in order to enable the young volunteer(s) to gain skills and competences, which will be useful for their personal, educational, social and professional development, and which will also contribute to improving their employability; (7)“volunteering teams’ placements” means placements allowing teams of European Solidarity Corps participants from different participating countries to volunteer together for a common objective, by carrying out manual or intellectual tasks, on a worthwhile community service project for a period between two weeks and two months; (8)“traineeship” means a period of work practice from two to twelve months, remunerated by the organisation hosting the European Solidarity Corps participant, based on a written traineeship agreement, which includes a learning and training component, and undertaken in order to gain practical and professional experience with a view to improving employability and facilitating transition to regular employment; (9)"job" means a period of work from two to twelve months, remunerated by the participating organisation employing the European Solidarity Corps participant, carried out in a participating country and based on an employment contract in accordance with the national regulatory framework of that participating country; (10)“solidarity project” means a local initiative for a period from two to twelve months, which is set up and carried out by groups of at least five European Solidarity Corps participants, with a view to addressing key challenges within their local community while linking them to a broader European perspective; (11)“quality label” means the certification attributed to a public or private entity or an international organisation willing to provide placements under the European Solidarity Corps following a procedure aimed at ensuring compliance with the principles and requirements of the European Solidarity Corps Charter; (12)“European Solidarity Corps Charter” means the document that sets out the respective rights and responsibilities that all the entities willing to join the European Solidarity Corps must agree to adhere to; (13)“European Solidarity Corps Resource Center” means the additional functions performed by a designated national agency to support the development and implementation of activities under the European Solidarity Corps as well as the identification of the competences acquired by the participants through their placements and projects; (14)"European Solidarity Corps Portal" means a web-based tool that provides relevant online services to the European Solidarity Corps participants and participating organisations, including providing information about the European Solidarity Corps, registering participants, searching for participants for placements, advertising and searching for placements, searching for potential project partners, managing contacts and offers for placements and projects, training, communication and networking activities, informing and notifying about opportunities, as well as other relevant developments related to the European Solidarity Corps. Article 3 General objective The objective of the European Solidarity Corps is to enhance the engagement of young people and organisations in accessible and high quality solidarity activities as a means to contribute to strengthening cohesion and solidarity in Europe, supporting communities and responding to societal challenges. Article 4 Specific objectives The European Solidarity Corps shall pursue the following specific objectives: (a)to provide young people, with the support of participating organisations, with easily accessible opportunities for engagement in solidarity activities while improving their skills and competences for personal, educational, social, civic and professional development, as well as their employability and facilitating transition into the labour market, including by supporting the mobility of young volunteers, trainees and workers;

(b)to ensure that the solidarity activities that are offered to the European Solidarity Corps participants contribute to addressing concrete, unmet societal needs and strengthening communities, are of high quality and properly validated. Article 5 Coherence and complementarity of Union action 1.The actions of the European Solidarity Corps shall be consistent with and complementary to the relevant policies and programmes relating to the areas mentioned in Article 2(1) as well as existing Union level networks pertinent to the activities of the European Solidarity Corps. 2.The Commission and the participating countries shall cooperate to achieve efficiency and effectiveness, by ensuring coherence between national programmes and schemes related to solidarity, education, vocational training and youth on the one hand and actions under the European Solidarity Corps on the other hand. Those actions shall build on relevant good practices and existing programmes. 3.Other Union programmes may also contribute to the objectives of the European Solidarity Corps by supporting activities within its scope. This contribution shall be financed in accordance with their respective basic acts. CHAPTER II ACTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY CORPS Article 6 Actions of the European Solidarity Corps The European Solidarity Corps shall pursue its objectives through the following types of actions: (a)solidarity placements, projects and networking activities (b)quality and support measures. Article 7 Solidarity placements, projects and networking activities 1.This Action shall support: (a)solidarity placements in the form of volunteering, traineeships or jobs, including individual cross-border and in-country placements as well as volunteering teams’ placements; (b)solidarity projects at the initiative of European Solidarity Corps participants; (c)networking activities for individuals and organisations participating in the European Solidarity Corps. 2.The cross-border volunteering placements referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 shall be considered equivalent to those carried out under the European Voluntary Service and references to the European Voluntary Service in the Union legislation shall be read as also referring to the European Solidarity Corps as regards those placements.

Article 8 Quality and support measures This Action shall support: (a)measures aimed at ensuring the quality of solidarity placements, including training, language support, administrative support for participants and participating organisations, insurance, post-placement support as well as the development of a certificate that identifies and documents the knowledge, skills and competences acquired during the placement; (b)the development and maintenance of a quality label for entities willing to provide placements for the European Solidarity Corps in order to ensure compliance with the principles and requirements of the European Solidarity Corps Charter; (c)the activities of a European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre to support and raise the quality of the implementation of the actions of the European Solidarity Corps and enhance the validation of their outcomes; (d)the establishment, maintenance and updating of the European Solidarity Corps Portal and other relevant online services as well as the necessary IT support systems and web-based tools. CHAPTER III FINANCIAL PROVISIONS Article 9 Budget 1.The overall budget available for the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps is set at EUR 341 500 000 in current prices, for the period from 1 January 2018 until 31 December 2020. 2.The amount referred to in paragraph 1 includes a financial envelope of EUR 294 200 000 in current prices supplemented by contributions from: (a)the European Social Fund, contributing with EUR 35 000 000 in current prices; (b)the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, contributing with EUR 6 000 000 in current prices; (c)the LIFE programme, contributing with EUR 4 500 000 in current prices; (d)the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, contributing with EUR 1 800 000 in current prices. 3.The financial support to solidarity placements and projects referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of Article 7(1) shall indicatively be 80% for volunteering placements and solidarity projects; and 20% for traineeship and job placements. 4.The financial allocation may also cover expenses pertaining to preparatory, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities which are required for the management of the European Solidarity Corps and the achievement of its objectives, in particular, studies, meetings of experts and information and communication actions, expenses linked to the establishment, maintenance and updating of the European Solidarity Corps Portal and the necessary IT support systems, and all other technical and administrative assistance expenses incurred by the Commission for the management of the European Solidarity Corps. 5.If necessary, appropriations may be entered in the budget beyond 2020 to cover similar expenses, in order to enable the management of actions not yet completed by 31 December 2020.

6.A participating country may make national funding available to beneficiaries to be managed in accordance with the rules of the European Solidarity Corps and, to this end, use the decentralised structures of the European Solidarity Corps, as long as it ensures the complementary pro rata funding of these structures. Article 10 Forms of Union funding 1.European Solidarity Corps funding may be provided in one or more of the forms laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, in particular grants, procurement and prizes. 2.The Commission may implement the European Solidarity Corps indirectly in accordance with Article 58(1)(c) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. CHAPTER IV PARTICIPATION IN THE EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY CORPS Article 11 Participating countries 1.The Member States shall participate in the European Solidarity Corps. 2.The European Solidarity Corps shall be open for the participation of other countries on the basis of bilateral agreements. Cooperation shall be based, where relevant, on additional appropriations to be made available in accordance with the procedures to be agreed with those countries. Article 12 Participation of individuals 1.Young people aged 17 to 30 years willing to participate in the European Solidarity Corps shall register in the European Solidarity Corps Portal. However, at the moment of commencing a placement or a project a registered young person shall be at least 18 years of age and not older than 30. 2.When implementing this Regulation, the Commission and the participating countries shall ensure that particular efforts are made to promote social inclusion, in particular for the participation of disadvantaged young people. Article 13 Participating organisations 1.The European Solidarity Corps shall be open to the participation of public or private entities, or international organisations, provided that they have received a European Solidarity Corps quality label. 2.An application from an eligible entity to become a European Solidarity Corps participating organisation shall be assessed by the competent implementing body of the European Solidarity Corps in order to ascertain that its activities adhere to the requirements of the European Solidarity Corps. 3.As a result of the assessment the entity may be attributed the European Solidarity Corps quality label. The obtained label shall be re-assessed periodically and may be revoked.

4.Any entity which has received the European Solidarity Corps quality label shall be given access to the European Solidarity Corps Portal and shall be allowed to make offers for solidarity activities to registered individuals. 5.The European Solidarity Corps quality label shall not automatically lead to funding under the European Solidarity Corps. 6.The solidarity activities and related quality and support measures offered by a participating organisation may receive funding under the European Solidarity Corps or under another Union programme autonomously contributing to the objectives of the European Solidarity Corps or from other funding sources which do not depend on the Union budget. Article 14 Access to the European Solidarity Corps funding Any public or private entity established in a participating country as well as international organisations carrying out solidarity activities in the participating countries may apply for funding under the European Solidarity Corps. In the case of the activities referred to in point (a) of Article 7(1), a quality label shall be obtained by the participating organisation as a pre-condition for receiving funding under the European Solidarity Corps. In the case of the solidarity projects referred to in point (b) of Article 7(1), natural persons may also apply for funding on behalf of informal groups of European Solidarity Corps participants. CHAPTER V PERFORMANCE, RESULTS AND DISSEMINATION Article 15 Monitoring and evaluation of performance and results 1.The Commission, in cooperation with the participating countries, shall regularly monitor the performance of the European Solidarity Corps towards achieving its objectives. 2.Progress on the specific objectives shall be measured by using indicators, such as: (a)number of participants in volunteering placements (in-country and cross-border); (b)number of participants in traineeship placements (in-country and cross-border); (c)number of participants in job placements (in-country and cross-border); (d)number of participants in solidarity projects; (e)number of organisations holding a European Solidarity Corps quality label. At the latest six months after the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall establish a detailed programme for monitoring the outputs, results and impacts of this Regulation. 3.In 2020 the Commission shall publish a report taking stock of the progress made towards achieving its results, including the target of offering 100 000 young people opportunities under the European Solidarity Corps by 2020 (covering all the placements and projects referred to in points (a) and (b) of Article 7(1)). 4.Four years after the date of application of this Regulation the Commission shall carry out an independent evaluation of this Regulation and present a report on the main findings to the European Parliament, the Council, the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee.

Article 16 Communication and dissemination 1.The Commission, in cooperation with the participating countries, shall ensure the dissemination of information, publicity and follow-up with regard to all actions supported in the framework of the European Solidarity Corps. 2.The national agencies referred to in Article 20 shall develop a consistent policy with regard to effective outreach as well as dissemination and exploitation of results of activities supported under the actions they manage, shall assist the Commission in the general task of disseminating information concerning the European Solidarity Corps, including information in respect of actions managed at national and Union level, and their results, and shall inform relevant target groups about the initiatives undertaken in their country. 3.Communication activities shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union, provided that they are related to the general objective of this Regulation. CHAPTER VI MANAGEMENT AND AUDIT SYSTEM Article 17 Implementing bodies This Regulation shall be implemented in a consistent manner by: (a)the Commission at Union level; (b)the national agencies at national level in the participating countries. Article 18 National authority In each country participating in the European Solidarity Corps, the national authorities designated for the management of actions referred to in Chapter III of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 shall also act as national authorities in the framework of the European Solidarity Corps. Paragraphs 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 of Article 27 of that Regulation shall apply to the European Solidarity Corps by analogy. For countries referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 11 of this Regulation, where a national authority is not identified for that country, it shall be designated in accordance with paragraphs 2 to 6 and 8 to 15 of Article 27 of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013. Article 19 Independent audit body 1.The national authority shall designate an independent audit body. The independent audit body shall issue an audit opinion on the yearly management declaration referred to in Article 60(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. 2.The independent audit body shall (a)have the necessary professional competence to carry out public sector audits;

(b)ensure that its audits take account of internationally accepted audit standards; (c)not be in a position of conflict of interest with regard to the legal entity of which the national agency referred to in Article 20 forms part and be independent, in terms of its functions, of the legal entity of which the national agency forms part. 3.The independent audit body shall give the Commission and its representatives, as well as the Court of Auditors, full access to all documents and reports in support of the audit opinion that it issues on the national agency's yearly management declaration. Article 20 National agency 1.In each country participating in the European Solidarity Corps, the national agencies designated for the management of the actions referred to in Chapter III of the Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 in their respective countries shall also act as national agencies in the framework of the European Solidarity Corps. Paragraphs 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Article 28 of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 shall apply to the European Solidarity Corps by analogy. 2.Without prejudice to Article 28(3) of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013, the national agency shall also be responsible for managing all stages of the project lifecycle of those actions of the European Solidarity Corps listed in the implementing acts referred to in Article 24, in accordance with point (c)(v) and (vi) of Article 58(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 and with Article 44 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012. 3.For countries referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 11 of this Regulation, where a national agency is not designated for that country, it shall be established in accordance with paragraphs 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Article 28 of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013. Article 21 European Commission 1.The rules applying to the relationship between the Commission and a national agency shall be laid down in a written document which shall: (a)stipulate the internal control standards for national agencies and the rules for the management of the Union funds for grant support by the national agencies; (b)include the national agency work programme comprising the management tasks of the national agency to which Union support is provided; (c)specify the reporting requirements for the national agency. 2.The Commission shall each year make the following funds available to the national agency: (a)funds for grant support in the participating country concerned for the actions of the European Solidarity Corps the management of which is entrusted to the national agency; (b)a financial contribution in support of the management tasks of the national agency defined according to the modalities described in point (b) of Article 29(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013. 3.The Commission shall lay down the requirements for the national agency work programme. The Commission shall not make European Solidarity Corps funds available to the national agency before having formally approved the national agency's work programme. 4.On the basis of the compliance requirements for national agencies referred to in Article 27(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013, the Commission shall review the national management and control systems, the national agency's management declaration and the opinion of the independent audit body thereon, taking due account of the information provided by the national authority on its monitoring and supervision activities with regard to the European Solidarity Corps.

5.After assessing the yearly management declaration and the opinion of the independent audit body thereon, the Commission shall address its opinion and observations to the national agency and the national authority. 6.In the event that the Commission cannot accept the yearly management declaration or the independent audit opinion thereon, or in the event of unsatisfactory implementation by the national agency of the Commission's observations, the Commission may implement any precautionary and corrective measures necessary to safeguard the Union's financial interests in accordance with Article 60(4) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. 7.The Commission shall organise regular meetings with the network of national agencies in order to ensure coherent implementation of the European Solidarity Corps across all participating countries. CHAPTER VII CONTROL SYSTEM Article 22 Principles of the control system 1.The Commission shall take appropriate measures ensuring that, when actions financed under this Regulation are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of measures to prevent fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective controls and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties. 2.The Commission shall be responsible for the supervisory controls with regard to the European Solidarity Corps actions managed by the national agencies. It shall set the minimum requirements for the controls by the national agency and the independent audit body. 3.National agencies shall be responsible for the primary controls of grant beneficiaries for the actions of the European Solidarity Corps which are entrusted to them. Those controls shall give reasonable assurance that the grants awarded are used as intended and in compliance with the applicable Union rules. 4.With regard to the funds transferred to the national agencies, the Commission shall ensure proper coordination of its controls with the national authorities and the national agencies, on the basis of the single audit principle and following a risk-based analysis. This provision shall not apply to investigations carried out by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). Article 23 Protection of the financial interests of the Union 1.The Commission or its representatives and the Court of Auditors shall have the power to conduct audits, on the basis of documents and on the spot, in relation to all grant beneficiaries, contractors, subcontractors and other third parties who have received Union funds. They may also conduct audits and carry out controls in relation to the national agencies. 2.OLAF may carry out on-the-spot controls and inspections of economic operators concerned directly or indirectly by such funding in accordance with the procedure laid down in Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96, with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant agreement or grant decision or a contract concerning Union funding. 3.Without prejudice to paragraphs 1 and 2, cooperation agreements with third countries and international organisations, and grant agreements, grant decisions and contracts resulting from the implementation of this Regulation, shall expressly empower the Commission, the Court of Auditors and OLAF to conduct such audits and carry out on-the-spot controls and inspections. CHAPTER VIII IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS Article 24 Implementation of the European Solidarity Corps

1.In order to implement this Regulation, the Commission shall adopt work programmes by way of implementing acts. Each work programme shall ensure that the general and specific objectives set out in Articles 3 and 4 are implemented in a consistent manner and shall outline the expected results, the method of implementation and its total amount. The work programmes shall also contain a description of the actions to be financed, an indication of the amount allocated to each action, an indication of the distribution of funds between the participating countries for the actions to be managed through the national agencies and an indicative implementation timetable. 2.Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 25(2). Article 25 Committee procedure 1.The Commission shall be assisted by the committee established by Article 36 of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. 2.Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply. CHAPTER IX AMENDING AND FINAL PROVISIONS Article 26 Amendment to Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 is amended as follows: 1.Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 is replaced by the following: “1. Learning mobility of individuals shall support: (a) the mobility of young people in non-formal and informal learning activities between the Programme countries; such mobility may take the form of youth exchanges and volunteering, as well as innovative activities building on existing provisions for mobility; (b) the mobility of persons active in youth work or youth organisations and youth leaders; such mobility may take the form of training and networking activities. 2. This action shall also support the mobility of young people, including volunteering, as well as the mobility of persons active in youth work or youth organisations and youth leaders, to and from partner countries, in particular neighbourhood countries. 3. The volunteering activities referred to in paragraphs 1(a) and 2 shall be considered equivalent to those carried out under the European Voluntary Service and references to the European Voluntary Service in the Union legislation shall be read as also referring to those volunteering activities.” 2.In Article 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 are replaced by the following: "1. The financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme as from 1 January 2014 is set at EUR 14 576 824 000 in current prices. 2. The amount referred to in paragraph 1 shall be allocated to the actions of the Programme as follows, with a margin of flexibility not exceeding 5 % of each of the allocated amounts:

(a) at least 80,7 % to education and training, from which the following minimum allocations shall be assigned: (i) 44,3 % to higher education, representing 35,7 % of the total budget; (ii) 21,4 % to vocational education and training, representing 17,3 % of the total budget; (iii) 14,6 % to school education, representing 11,8 % of the total budget; (iv) 4,9 % to adult learning, representing 3,9 % of the total budget; (b) 8,8 % to youth; (c) up to 1,5 % to the Student Loan Guarantee Facility; (d) 1,9 % to Jean Monnet; (e) 1,8 % to sport, of which no more than 10 % to the activity mentioned under point (b) of Article 17(1); (f) 3,5 % as operating grants to national agencies; (g) 1,8 % to cover administrative expenditure. 3. Of the allocations referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 2, at least 63 % shall be allocated to learning mobility of individuals, at least 27 % to cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices and at least 4,2 % to support for policy reform." Article 27 Amendment to Regulation (EU) No 1293/2013 In Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 1293/2013, the following paragraph is added: "3. A maximum of EUR 3 000 000 in current prices from the sub-programme for Environment corresponding to the priority area Environment Governance and Information and of EUR 1 500 000 in current prices from the sub-programme for Climate Action corresponding to the priority area Climate Governance and Information shall be allocated to finance projects within the meaning of Article 17(4) implemented by the European Solidarity Corps in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/XXX, which contribute to one or more of the priority areas within the meaning of Articles 9 and 13. This allocation shall be implemented solely in accordance with the Regulation (EU) 2017/XXX, to the exclusion of the specific requirements of Regulation (EU) No 1293/2013. " Article 28 Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 is amended as follows: 1.Article 58(1) is amended as follows