WRITTEN QUESTION P-3174/00

by Carlos Coelho (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(4 October 2000)

Subject: Socrates/Erasmus mobility grants

The Erasmus programme is intended to encourage student mobility, by enabling students to carry out part of their studies in another Member State, and thus develop the European dimension of education. By encouraging transnational mobility between universities, Erasmus contributes to greater transparency and the recognition of academic qualifications and diplomas within the Community.

I have been contacted by a Portuguese student who is in his fifth year of civil engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico, and applied for the Socrates II/Erasmus programme. He was accepted for the second semester of the current session at the Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby. He obtained a Socrates mobility grant of 1 230, which is supposed to cover his travel expenses as well. Given that his stays in Denmark will never last less than five months, and that the cost of the flight amounts to almost a third of the total grant, the student cannot move to Denmark unless further financial support is forthcoming.

Does the Commission agree that these mobility programmes are basically designed for the children of the better-off?

Or does the Commission think it might be possible to consider other, indirect forms of support, e.g. reduced ticket prices for travel, accommodation subsidies, etc., which would be supplementary to the Erasmus grant?

Furthermore, what measures does the Commission intend to adopt to strengthen the helpline network at both European and national levels, so as to provide more help for students in difficulties and minimise obstacles to their mobility?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(26 October 2000)

Erasmus student mobility grants are intended to contribute to the extra costs involved in study abroad, such as travel costs and a potential difference in the living costs as compared to the home country. The Erasmus grant is not a full grant and is thus not intended to cover all the costs that an Erasmus student will have during the period of study abroad.

The Commission disagrees with the claim that Erasmus student mobility is basically designed for the children of the better-off. The Commission adopted on 18 January 2000 a report on a survey into the socio-economic background of the Erasmus students(1) which clearly shows that the economic background of the Erasmus students by no means differs from the economic background of the student population as a whole. The external final evaluation of Socrates I reconfirms these findings.

Erasmus student mobility is a decentralised action and the Member States themselves outline their policy of grant allocation within the broad guidelines given by the Commission. The Commission has always encouraged the Member States to take the socio-economic background of students into account when deciding on the grant amounts. Some Member States apply this criterion, others do not. The Member States have also been strongly encouraged to complement the Community funding for Erasmus students, be it on a national, regional or institutional level. Again, the practices adopted by different Member States vary.

Providing support and help to mobile students is the responsibility of the universities involved in Erasmus student mobility in cooperation with their national agencies.

(1) COM(2000) 4 final.