COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS ERASMUS FOR ALL: The EU Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport
Date: 2011-11-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, EU programme, European cooperation, cooperation in the field of education, education, international cooperation, sport, student mobility, youth exchange scheme

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 23.11.2011 
COM(2011) 787 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

ERASMUS FOR ALL: The EU Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport

 
 
  
 
ERASMUS FOR ALL 

THE EU PROGRAMME FOR EDUCATION, TRAINING, YOUTH AND SPORT 

1. 

A NEW PROGRAMME TO ADDRESS NEW CHALLENGES 

This Communication complements the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament 
and  of  the  Council  establishing  ‘Erasmus  for  All’:  a  single  Programme  for  Education, 
Training, Youth and Sport for the 2014-2020 period. The Programme reflects the priorities of 
the  Europe  2020  strategy  and  its  flagship  initiatives.  It  represents  a  crucial  investment  in 
people, an investment that will benefit both individuals and society as a whole by contributing 
to growth and ensuring prosperity. 

Education  and  training  are  now  more  important  than  ever  for  innovation,  productivity  and 
growth,  especially  in  the  context  of  the  current  economic  and  financial  crisis,  and  yet  the 
potential of Europe’s human capital remains underexploited. More needs to be done to ensure 
that education and training systems deliver the knowledge and skills needed in an increasingly 
globalised labour market, helping young people while making lifelong learning a reality for 
all.  The  role  of  education  and  training  for  employment,  also  through  traineeships,  is 
particularly important for young people who are the hardest hit by the crisis. In addition, there 
are  still  many  gender  inequalities  in  education:  while  women  have  surpassed  men  in  both 
participation and attainment in higher education, the fields of study remain segregated, with 
women  notably  underrepresented  in  science  and  engineering;  boys  perform  less  well  on 
reading literacy and tend to leave school early more often than girls.  

A  concerted  effort  to  reach  the  EU  benchmark  of  less  than  15 %  of  low  achievers  in  basic 
skills by 2020 would lead to long-term aggregated economic gains for the EU1. Raising the 
ratio of people with higher education to 40 % would contribute to increasing GDP per capita 
in the EU by 4 %2. Ensuring education and training systems can deliver the skills needed on 
the labour market will contribute to reaching the Europe 2020 target for employment (75%). 

The  Programme’s  European  added  value  will  be:  to  help  citizens  acquire  more  and  better 
skills, enhance the quality of teaching in educational institutions both in the EU and beyond, 
support  Member  States  and  non-EU  partner  countries  in  modernising  their  education  and 
training  systems  and  making  them  more  innovative,  and  promote  youth  participation  in 
society as well as the construction of a European dimension to grassroots sports. At the same 
time, the budget constraints of the EU and its Member States require a focus on results and 
cost-effectiveness, a concentration of efforts to enhance systemic impact, and a reduction in 
administrative and operational costs. 

The  key  to  delivering  this  added  value  is  to  strengthen  the  links  and  synergy  between  the 
Programme and the main EU policy priorities and processes, particularly the implementation 
of the Europe 2020, Education and Training 2020 and Youth Strategies and the priorities of 
the EU external action. Spending priorities must be driven by common priorities and policy 

1 
2 

European Expert Network on Economics of Education (EENEE), policy brief, Sept. 2011. 
Polish Presidency report on sources of growth in Europe, entitled ‘Towards a European consensus on 
growth’, October 2011. 

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development;  in  this  respect,  the  recent  Communication  on  the  modernisation  of  higher 
education3  highlights  the  key  policy  issues  which  need  to  be  supported  to  enhance  the 
attainment levels, quality, attractiveness and internationalisation of higher education systems, 
as well as their relevance for innovation. 

2. 

BUILDING ON PAST ACHIEVEMENTS AND LESSONS LEARNT 

The evaluations show that the 2007-2013 EU programmes have already achieved significant 
systemic impact, far beyond the benefits to individual participants. International cooperation 
in  higher  education  has  shown  that  the  EU  has  become  a  world  reference  and  a  source  of 
inspiration  in  terms  of  higher  education  reforms.  Moreover,  they  have  been  instrumental  in 
promoting  the  use  of  innovative  approaches  inter  alia  to  curriculum  development  and 
transparency.  In  the  area  of  non-formal  learning,  EU  support  has  had  a  strong  impact  on 
individuals’  educational  and  professional  development  and  has  inspired  and  shaped  policy 
initiatives such as the European Voluntary Service. 

However, there is a complexity of multiple programmes and actions which must give way to 
a  simpler,  streamlined  architecture,  one  which  strikes  a  better  balance  between 
harmonisation  and  flexibility.  For  example,  the  Lifelong  Learning  Programme  has  six  sub-
programmes4, more than 50 objectives and over 60 actions. The Youth in Action Programme 
focuses on the mobility and (non-formal) learning of young people, while approximately 80 % 
of  the  Lifelong  Learning  Programme  funding  also  benefits  youth.  Some  actions  lack  the 
critical mass required for long-lasting impact, or have a high administrative cost. 

International  cooperation  in  higher  education  is  also  characterised  by  the  fragmentation 
between  different  EU  instruments  implementing  similar  objectives  and  actions.  The 
Commission  is  currently  funding  five  higher  education  cooperation  programmes  with 
different parts of the world:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

Erasmus  Mundus  focuses  mainly  on  mobility,  offering  scholarships  to  attend  high 
quality  joint  masters  courses  and  doctoral  programmes,  and  supporting  university 
consortia working with different parts of the world.  

Tempus is a capacity-building programme for the modernisation of higher education, 
through cooperation projects between EU universities and their counterparts from the 
Western Balkans and neighbourhood countries;  

Alfa and Edulink have similar objectives covering Latin America and ACP countries.  

The  Commission  has  also  set  up  a  programme  for  cooperation  with  industrialised 
countries, which funds joint and double degree projects, joint mobility projects and 
policy activities.  

All  these  higher  education  programmes  have  similar  goals;  they  fund  comparable,  albeit 
slightly  different  types  of  action,  following  different  timetables,  and  with  different 
implementation  modalities  and  procedures.  Excessive  fragmentation  entails  the  risk  of 

3 
4 

COM(2011) 567 of 20.9.2011. 
Erasmus, Comenius, Leonardo, Grundtvig, Transversal programme, Jean Monnet. 

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overlaps,  complicates  access  of  potential  beneficiaries,  and  limits  the  scope  for  efficiency 
gains, critical mass and cost-effectiveness. 

With  a  new  focus  on  priorities  which  will  increase  EU  added  value  and  systemic  impact, 
actions supported will contribute to the efforts of achieving more jobs and growth in line with 
Europe 2020 objectives. Economies of scale can be significant if actions of a similar nature 
have  similar  implementing  rules  and  procedures,  simplifying  the  work  both  of  beneficiaries 
and  management  bodies.  Building  on  the  considerable  successes  of  the  2007-2013 
programmes5, Erasmus for All will address their weaknesses, as identified in the evaluations, 
and  enhance  synergies  with  other  sources  of  EU  funding.  In  particular,  while  the  new 
Programme will focus on various actions with a transnational character, the structural funds 
will  support  national  and  regional  efforts  in  inter  alia  modernising  education  establishment 
infrastructure, supporting the upgrading of skills and training as well as mobility of people in 
the  labour  market  and  increasing  access  to  under-represented  groups  into  education  and 
training. Marie-Curie actions6 under Horizon 2020 will support researchers' mobility. In order 
to fully exploit synergies with Horizon 2020, joint degrees at PhD level will be taken forward 
exclusively by Marie-Curie actions. 

Erasmus for All will: 

• 

• 

• 

increase coherence and strengthen the lifelong learning approach, by linking support 
to formal and non-formal learning throughout the education and training spectrum;  

broaden  the  scope  for  structured  partnerships,  both  between  different  sectors  of 
education and with business and other relevant actors;  

provide  flexibility  and  incentives,  so  that  budget  allocation  between  activities, 
beneficiaries and countries better reflects performance and impact. 

The  ‘Erasmus’  name  is  widely  recognised  among  the  general  public  in  EU  and  non-EU 
participating countries as a synonym of EU learner mobility but also European values such as 
multiculturalism  and  multilingualism.  Rather  than  preserve  an  increasingly  complex 
multiplicity  of  brand  names,  the  programme  will  be  named  ‘Erasmus  for  All’.  Public  and 
private  bodies  within  the  main  education  sectors  covered  by  the  Programme  may  use  this 
brand name. 

Furthermore,  for  the  purpose  of  communication  and  dissemination,  the  brand  name  will  be 
associated  with  the  main  education  sectors  as  follows:  ‘Erasmus  Higher  Education’, 
associated  with  all  types  of  higher  education  in  Europe  and  internationally;  ‘Erasmus 
Training’,  associated  with  vocational  education  and  training  as  well  as  adult  learning; 
‘Erasmus  Schools’,  associated  with  school  education;  and  ‘Erasmus  Youth  Participation’, 
associated with non-formal learning among young people. 

5 

6 

Lifelong Learning Programme (including Erasmus, Comenius, Leonardo, Grundtvig), Erasmus Mundus 
Tempus,  bilateral  cooperation  programmes  with  industrialised  countries,  Edulink,  Alfa  and  Youth  in 
Action as well as the Sport preparatory actions 2009-2011. 
Programme  whose  name  accounts  for  the  important  findings  of  the  Nobel  Prize  winner:  Marie 
Sklodowska Curie 

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3. 

ARCHITECTURE AND KEY ACTIONS OF THE PROGRAMME 

3.1. 

A streamlined architecture 

The  Lifelong  Learning  Programme,  international  higher  education  and  Youth  in  Action 
Programmes  share  the  same general objectives and support activities which can be  grouped 
into three broad categories: learning mobility; cooperation between education institutions or 
youth  organisations;  and  EU  or  international  policy  cooperation.  They  have  similar 
management  structures  (e.g.  calls  for  proposals  for  transnational  cooperation)  and  delivery 
methods (direct management by the Commission, or indirect through Executive and National 
Agencies).  Therefore,  in  order  to  ensure  greater  coherence,  synergy  and  simplification,  and 
allow  for  innovative  funding  mechanisms,  the  architecture  of  the  proposed  Programme  will 
support three types of key action, which are complementary and mutually reinforcing: 

– 

– 

– 

Learning  mobility  of  individuals:  Mobility  will  represent  a  significant  share  of  the 
increased  overall  budget.  This  increase,  together  with  a  focus  on  the  quality  of 
mobility  as  well  as  a  concentration  of  priorities  and  efforts,  should  increase  the 
critical mass and impact beyond the individuals and institutions involved. 

Cooperation  for  innovation  and  good  practices:  There  will  be  a  stronger  focus  on 
strengthening innovative partnerships between educational institutions and business. 
For  higher  education,  the  emphasis  will  be  on  capacity  building,  concentrating  on 
neighbourhood  countries  as  well  as  strategic  partnerships  with  developed  and 
emerging economies. 

Support for policy reform: Policy reform will be targeted at: strengthening the tools 
and  impact  of  the  open  methods  of  coordination  in  education,  training  and  youth; 
implementing the Europe 2020 strategy and promoting the policy dialogue with third 
countries and international organisations. 

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International dimension 

There  are  currently  five  programmes  for  cooperation  with  third  countries  in  higher 
education. These will be streamlined into the three key actions of the Programme, again with 
a strong emphasis on mobility: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Support  for  high-quality  joint  degrees  and  scholarships  for  students  and  staff 
worldwide will be extended beyond the comparatively small number of universities 
which can participate at the moment. 

The  management  of  international  mobility  will  be  based  on  the  current  Erasmus 
system,  whereby  scholarships  are  awarded  on  the  basis  of  inter-institutional 
agreements. 

Funds will be allocated according to the thematic and geographical priorities of EU 
external action. 

Capacity-building  measures  for  the  modernisation  of  higher  education  systems  will 
also be streamlined; cooperation with neighbourhood countries will be reinforced by 
merging capacity building and mobility actions to ensure a systemic impact. Actions 
currently  funded  by  Alfa,  Edulink  and  the  former  Asialink  programmes  will  be 
delivered as capacity-building, development and modernisation support through joint 
projects with universities from the EU and from Latin America, Asia and Africa. 

Specific actions 

In  the  light  of  its  specific  efforts  to  promote  excellence  in  education  and  research  on  EU 
integration,  the  Jean  Monnet  Initiative  will  continue  as  a  separate  activity  within  the 
Programme and will share its delivery mechanisms. Similarly, in order to exploit the potential 
for simplification and streamlining of the Multiannual Financial Framework architecture, EU-
level  cooperation  in  the  field  of  Sport  will  be  treated  as  a  separate  activity  within  the 
Programme. 

3.2. 

Key Action 1: Learning mobility of individuals 

Mobility for transnational learning — studying at a partner institution, teaching, gaining work 
experience, undergoing training or participating in a volunteering or exchange project abroad 
— has clear added value  and  can  only be effectively promoted  at European  level. Learning 
mobility has the potential to: raise the level of key competences and skills of high importance 
to the labour market and society; reinforce participation of young people in democratic life; 
and  to  enhance  the  modernisation  and  internationalisation  of  education  institutions,  both  to 
the benefit for EU and third countries. Mobility will therefore be strengthened and remain the 
core element across the Programme, with a strong emphasis on mobility for students in higher 
education. 

With  the  Commission’s  proposed  budget,  the  Programme  could  provide  mobility 
opportunities  to  around  5  million  learners  over  the  seven-year  period.  Currently,  around 
400 000 EU mobilities are supported annually. This figure could be increased to 700 000 on 
average,  reaching  900 000  in  the  last  year,  including  learners  and  staff.  It  is  estimated  that 
international mobility to and from third countries will benefit around 135 000 people over the 
seven-year period. However, mobility is not an end in itself. There will be stronger EU added 

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value under the Programme, which will strengthen the outcomes and conditionality attached 
to  mobility,  and  require  that  mobility  be  set  within  a  coherent  institutional  development 
strategy. 

The main criterion for funding will be quality, demonstrated through educational content and 
teaching and learning methods, recognition of learning outcomes, linguistic and intercultural 
preparation, and improved arrangements within host organisations. 

Erasmus for All support for mobility will focus on four key activities: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Staff mobility, in particular for teachers, trainers, school leaders and youth workers. 

Mobility for higher education students (including joint/double degrees) and vocational 

education and training students. 

Erasmus  Master  for  master  degree  mobility  of  higher  education  students,  through  a 

new loan guarantee mechanism. 

Youth mobility, including volunteering and youth exchanges. 

Staff  mobility:  Research  is  unanimous  with  respect  to  the  key  role  of  teachers  and  school 
leaders in raising the performance of learners and education systems. To promote excellence 
in teaching, develop innovative and successful teaching/learning methods and foster quality in 
institutions, staff mobility will be significantly strengthened in all education sectors, including 
long-term school staff mobility. More opportunities are also foreseen for the learning mobility 
of  youth  workers,  given  their  role  as  multipliers  and  for  stepping  up  the  exchange  of  good 
practices among youth organisations. 

Staff mobility foreseen for the period 

1 000 000 beneficiaries 

Higher  education  students:  To  reflect  the  increasing  internationalisation  of  the  higher 
education  sector,  Erasmus  learning  mobility  activities  will  be  substantially  reinforced  and 
expanded  internationally,  including  to  neighbourhood  countries,  to  contribute  to  the 
benchmark of 20 % mobility of higher education graduates. This will allow European students 
to be mobile internationally and non-European students to spend time learning within the EU, 

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thus encouraging the circulation of talent and increasing the attractiveness of European higher 
education, to the mutual benefit of EU and non-EU higher education institutions and systems. 

Joint  degrees:  Building  on  the  success  of  Erasmus  Mundus,  which  has  been  implemented 
with  industrialised  countries,  the  Programme  will  strengthen  support  for  degree  mobility 
within  joint  high-quality  study  programmes,  implemented  by  EU  and  non-EU  universities. 
This action will be open to additional funding from interested partner countries. 

Joint degree mobility 

34 000 beneficiaries 

Erasmus  Master:  Masters  degrees  are  essential  for  raising  qualification  levels  in  higher 
education and for helping students acquire the advanced skills of  knowledge-intensive jobs. 
While  the  Bologna  reforms  have  created  more  opportunities,  there  is  far  too  little  degree 
mobility  taking  place  in  the  EU.  This  is  partly  because  national  student  support  schemes, 
where they exist, tend to be limited in scope and the support they provide cannot be taken to 
another Member State. Moreover, students usually do not have sufficient collateral against which 
to secure a loan, making the risk premium prohibitive — particularly when the borrower proposes 
to study abroad. The problem is particularly acute for students wishing to complete a full Masters 
degree programme in another Member State where tuition fees are likely to be high. In order to 
address this, Erasmus for All will establish a student loan guarantee scheme which will offer the 
possibility  for  Master  level  students  doing  a  full  degree  programme  in  another  EU  or  EEA 
country to access loans at favourable conditions. 

Erasmus  Master  students,  benefiting  from  the  loan 
guarantee scheme 

330 000 beneficiaries 

Vocational  education  and  training  students:  Opening  up  access  for  young  vocational 
education and training students to methods, practices and technologies used in other countries 
will help to improve their employability in a global economy: work-based learning is critical 
for employability at all education levels, particularly in the current context of extremely high 
youth unemployment, and the need to increase the quality and attractiveness of this sector in 
many European countries. For these reasons funding for the mobility of these students will be 
substantially increased. 

Transnational traineeships in enterprises have a high potential to enhance employability and 
will be considerably boosted for students both in vocational education and training and higher 
education.  The  aim  is  to  reinforce  the  link  between  education  and  business,  foster 
entrepreneurship and facilitate the transition from education to the world of work. Whenever 
possible, they will target areas of country or sector-based skills gaps. 

Higher  education  student  mobility,  within  EU  and 
beyond 

2 165 000 beneficiaries 

Vocational education and training student mobility 

735 000 beneficiaries 

TOTAL 

2 900 000 beneficiaries 

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- of which traineeships 

700 000 beneficiaries 

Non-formal  learning:  Non-formal  learning  complements  formal  learning  experiences.  In 
such a setting mobility has a strong influence on the personal development, social inclusion, 
active citizenship and employability of young people. The impact is particularly important for 
disadvantaged young people. Therefore, mobility of young people through youth  exchanges 
and volunteering will be increased 

Youth mobility 

540 000 beneficiaries 

3.3. 

Key Action 2: Cooperation for innovation and good practices 

Transnational  cooperation  projects  are  essential  to  encourage  transparency,  openness  and 
excellence,  and  to  facilitate  exchange  of  good  practices  between  institutions.  In  order  to 
contribute  to  the  governance  and  implementation  of  Europe  2020  and  open  method  of 
coordination  activities,  the  Programme  will  provide  strengthened  support  to  cooperation 
projects  aimed  at  developing,  transferring  and  implementing  innovative  education,  training 
and  youth  practices.  Finally,  the  new  programme  will  boost  international  cooperation  and 
capacity building in third countries. 

Erasmus for All support for cooperation will focus on four key activities: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

Strategic  partnerships  between  education  establishments/youth  organisations  and/or 

other relevant actors. 

Large-scale  partnerships  between  education  and  training  establishments  and 
business, in the form of Knowledge Alliances for higher education and Sector Skills 
Alliances. 

IT support platforms, including e-Twinning. 

Capacity building in third countries, with a strong focus on neighbourhood countries. 

Strategic partnerships: In response to the growing need for more innovative approaches in 
education,  strategic  partnerships  will  encompass  a  variety  of  cooperation  agreements, 
differing in financial scope, aiming to strengthen transnational cooperation between education 

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institutions/youth  organisations  and/or  other  actors.  The  Programme  will  link  mobility  and 
cooperation activities and enhance systemic impact (e.g. cooperation projects between schools 
could  cover  both  curriculum  development  and  staff  exchanges).  Similarly,  to  encourage  a 
European dimension in national volunteering schemes, support can be used to open up such 
schemes  to  transnational  mobility.  Building  on  the  lessons  learnt  from  the  2007-2013 
programmes  (Comenius  Regio,  Youth  in  Action),  partnerships  involving  regional  and  local 
authorities and linking actors from different sectors will be encouraged to foster innovative, 
more  integrated  lifelong  learning  approaches,  more  efficient  use  of  resources  and  higher 
quality mobility schemes. 

Strategic partnerships/institutions involved  

23 000 partnerships and 115 000 
institutions 

To  promote  innovation  and  employability  of  learners,  the  Programme  will  enhance 
cooperation with business, through large-scale transnational projects.  

Knowledge  Alliances:  The  Europe  2020  flagship  initiative  ‘Innovation  Union’  highlighted 
the critical importance of helping universities modernise and enhance quality and innovation, 
via  ‘Knowledge  Alliances’.  These  are  structured  partnerships  between  higher  education 
institutions  and  businesses,  which  develop  innovative  ways  of  producing  and  sharing 
knowledge,  foster  creativity  and  entrepreneurship  and  design  and  deliver  new  curricula  and 
qualifications. The Programme will respond to the very high level of interest in the business 
and  education  sectors  for  this  type  of  cooperation  to  generate  innovation  and  growth  in 
Europe.7 

Sector  Skills  Alliances:  Sectoral  projects  between  businesses  and  education  and  training 
providers  to  create  new  sector-specific  curricula,  to  develop  innovative  ways  of  vocational 
teaching and training and to put the EU wide recognition tools into practice. 

Knowledge Alliances and Sector Skills Alliances/ 
institutions and enterprises involved 

400 alliances and 4 000 institutions 

IT support platforms and virtual mobility: In response to the need for alternative forms of 
mobility,  the  Programme  will  assign  a  greater  role  to  IT  support  platforms.  Such  platforms 
can, at very low extra cost, deliver peer learning and exchange of good practices to a greatly 
enlarged group of potential beneficiaries. Open educational resources such as e-courses and 
virtual  mobility  are  also  increasingly  important  for  the  international  attractiveness  of 
educational institutions. The e-Twinning initiative in school cooperation will be significantly 
strengthened  and  inspire  similar  initiatives  for  vocational  education  and  training,  adult 
learning and youth. It will be opened up to neighbourhood countries. 

7 

Horizon  2020  programmes  and  schemes,  including  the  European  Institute  of  Innovation  and 
Technology (EIT), and the Knowledge Alliances under Erasmus for All, share a common, overarching 
goal:  increase  Europe's  innovation  capacity.  However,  they  contribute  to  addressing  Europe's 
innovation  gap  in  a  complementary  manner:  Horizon  2020,  by  promoting  stronger  links  between 
research and innovation (without covering education activities); the EIT, through the full integration of 
the so-called Knowledge Triangle (research, innovation and education); and the Knowledge Alliances 
through enhanced cooperation between education and innovation. 

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Information Technology platforms  

3 platforms 

International cooperation and capacity building: Cooperation with third countries will be 
fully  integrated  into  the  key  actions  of  the  Programme,  in  line  with  EU  external  policy 
priorities, building on the experience of the 2007-2013 programmes, particularly Tempus and 
Erasmus  Mundus.  It  will  aim  at  improving  the  quality,  relevance  and  governance  of  higher 
education, through bottom-up projects implemented by international consortia. In response to 
the  strong  political  call  to  reinforce  support  to  the  EU’s  neighbourhood  countries,  the 
Programme will support the capacity building of institutions and the modernisation of higher 
education  systems  through  cooperation  and  structural  measures.  It  will  closely  link  these 
activities  to  student  and  staff  mobility.  The  Programme  will  also  contribute  to  modernising 
systems and building local capacities in Asia, Latin America and ACP countries, as well as 
supporting cooperation projects in the non-formal learning field. 

Higher education capacity building cooperation projects 

1 000 projects 

3.4. 

Key Action 3: Support for policy reform 

Evidence-based  policy  making,  strong  country  analysis  and  multilateral  surveillance  are  all 
critical  for  the  achievement  of  Europe’s  strategic  priorities.  Mutual  learning  at  EU  and 
international level has proven its worth in terms of the effectiveness of education investments 
and  in  helping  Member  States  implement  new  policies  and  reforms.  The  various  EU 
transparency  tools  created  under  the  Lifelong  Learning  Programme  have  had  an  immense 
impact.  More  than  10  million  people  are  already  using  the  ‘Europass’  online  CV  in  their 
search for a job. 

Erasmus for All support for policy reform will focus on three key activities: 

– 

– 

– 

Support  to  open  methods  of  coordination  (ET  2020,  EU  youth  strategy)  and  the 

European Semester (Europe 2020). 

EU tools: valorisation and implementation. 

Policy dialogue (stakeholders, third countries, international organisations). 

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The Programme will strengthen support to activities which help steer the EU agenda for 
education, training and youth, in particular through the open methods of coordination: the 
development of indicators, statistics and benchmarks and the monitoring of trends and policy 
developments;  peer  learning  and  reviews;  policy  analysis;  and  comparative  studies.  The 
Programme  will  increase  support  for  the  national  implementation  of  EU  transparency  tools 
(e.g. EQF, ECTS, ECVET)8 and EU wide networks. It will support the implementation of the 
‘U-Multirank’ performance-based ranking and information tool for profiling higher education 
institutions, aiming to improve the transparency of the higher education sector radically, with 
first results in 2013. 

The Programme will also support specific policy agendas for thematic priorities, including the 
Modernisation Agenda for Higher Education, the Bologna process (higher education) and the 
Copenhagen process (vocational education and training), the Agenda for Schools of the 21st 
Century,  the  European  Agenda  for  Adult  learning  and  the  structured  dialogue  with  young 
people,  including  operating  support  to  the  European  Youth  Forum  and  to  partnerships  with 
representative youth NGOs. It will also support and intensify the implementation of the eight 
key competences for lifelong learning set out in the 2008 European framework9. 

Support for policy reform will aim to achieve the specific objectives of the ET2020 strategy, 
and to reach the Europe 2020 targets in the field of education and human capital. Through the 
open  method  of  coordination,  the  Programme  will  concentrate  on  the  main  policy  themes 
which contribute to these key EU objectives: promoting the use of ICT in schools10, as well as 
at  all  levels  of  formal  education;  raising  the  literacy  levels  of  young  and  adult  Europeans; 
reducing  early  school  leaving;  promoting  excellence  and  stronger  links  between  education, 
research  and  innovation;  intensifying  language  learning  alongside  transversal  competences 
such as learning to learn and entrepreneurship. 

Policy dialogue will be intensified with third countries as well as with neighbouring countries, 
but  also  with  strategic  partners  in  the  emerging  and  developed  countries,  in  line  with  EU 
external policy priorities. 

3.5. 

Jean Monnet Initiative 

Launched in 1989, the programme is now present in 62 countries throughout the world and 
around  740  universities  offer  Jean  Monnet  courses  as  part  of  their  curricula.  Between  1990 
and 2009, the Jean Monnet Initiative has helped to set up approximately 3,500 projects in the 
field  of  European  integration  studies,  including  141  Jean  Monnet  European  Centres  of 
Excellence,  775  Chairs  and  2,007  permanent  courses  and  European  modules.  Based  on 
experience and good practices from the Initiative, the Programme will stimulate teaching and 
research  on  European  integration  in  the  EU  Member  States  and  worldwide  (notably  in 
candidate  and  neighbourhood  countries).  A  diversification  of  studies  will  be  encouraged,  as 
will  a  more  balanced  geographical  scope  and  the  participation  of  a  new  generation  of 
teachers. 

8 

9 

10 

EQF:  European  Qualifications  Framework;  ECTS:  European  Credit  Transfer  and  Accumulation 
System; ECVET: European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training  
Recommendation of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of 18.12.2006 on Key  competences 
for lifelong learning. 
Support  will  be  given  fully  in  line  with  Action  68  of  the  Digital  Agenda  which  encourages  Member 
States to mainstream eLearning in national policies for the modernisation of education and training. 

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In  the  light  of  their  internationally  recognised  academic  excellence  in  a  large  number  of 
disciplines relevant to European integration, the Programme will continue to provide specific 
support  to  the  College  of  Europe  (in  Bruges  and  Natolin),  with  a  view  to  extending  its 
activities  to  the  neighbourhood  countries  and  to  the  European  University  Institute,  so  as  to 
develop  its  capacity  to  promote  good  governance  of  EU  policies.  Both  institutions  will  be 
invited to reinforce their mutual cooperation. Other academic institutions active in the field of 
European integration will have access to the Programme in line with the added value of their 
activities. 

For institutions interested in securing recognition of the quality of their European integration 
studies programmes, the Commission will create a Jean Monnet label of excellence. The Jean 
Monnet Professors’ network also serves as a think tank to support EU governance and policy-
making.  The  dialogue  between  the  academic  world  and  policy-makers  will  consequently  be 
strengthened. 

3.6. 

Sport Action 

With  a  view  to  developing  the  European  dimension  in  sport,  the  Programme  will  provide 
support for the following activities: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

transnational collaborative projects; 

non-commercial European sporting events of major importance; 

strengthening of the evidence base for policy making in the field of sport; 

capacity building in sport; 

dialogue with relevant European stakeholders. 

The  Programme  will  focus  on:  strengthening  good  governance  and  the  knowledge  base  for 
sport  in  the  EU;  promoting  health-enhancing  physical  activity;  exploiting  the  potential  of 
sport  to  foster  social  inclusion,  promoting  dual  careers  through  education  and  training  of 
athletes; and tackling transnational threats such as doping match fixing, violence, racism and 
intolerance. 

The Programme beneficiaries will be public bodies or civil society organisations active in the 
area of grassroots sport. The supported projects and networks will mainly serve to implement 
and  monitor  guidelines  and  recommendations  adopted  by  Member  States  and/or  sports 
organisations in areas such as good governance, dual careers, and participation levels in sports 
and physical activity. 

4. 

BUDGET AND IMPLEMENTATION 

Evaluations  of  the  current  programmes  stress  that  the  most  effective  and  efficient  way  to 
deliver  results  is  through  the  system  of  EU  and  National  Agencies.  Financial  audits  of  the 
agencies and the Court of Auditors assessment show that there have been extremely low error 
rates  in  management  practice  (below  2 %).  The  Programme  will  therefore  build  on  the 
existing core system while strengthening delivery mechanisms to lower administrative and 
management costs. 

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4.1. 

Budget 

Table 1 and graph 1 illustrate the proposed share of funding among the main actions. On the 
basis of experience and in view of the enhanced emphasis on mobility, around two thirds of 
the  budget  will  be  allocated  to  learning  mobility.  While  cooperation  and  policy  reform  are 
critically important in terms of policy impact, they will naturally have more limited budgetary 
implications  because  of  the  nature  of  the  activities.  For  its  international  component,  the 
Programme is in line with the priorities of the EU’s external policy. Flexibility will be built 
into the annual budget allocation, so as to respond to events in the international context. 

TABLE 1: INDICATIVE BUDGET ALLOCATION BY TYPE OF ACTION FOR 
EDUCATION, TRAINING AND YOUTH (excluding Jean Monnet, sport and 
administrative expenditure) 

Key Actions and activities 

Approximate % of total 

Focus of activities 

Key Action 1: Learning mobility of 
individuals 

Key Action 2: Cooperation for 
innovation and good practices 

Key Action 3: Support for policy 
reform 

Operating grants to National 
Agencies 

66% 

26% 

5% 

3% 

Staff, higher education and 
vocational education and training 
students, joint masters degrees, 
Erasmus Master (student loan 
guarantee facility), youth 

Strategic partnerships, knowledge 
alliances, sector skills alliances and 
IT platforms 

Support to Europe 2020 
governance and the open method of 
coordination 

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GRAPH 1: BUDGET ALLOCATION BY TYPE OF ACTION FOR THE 
PROGRAMME 

2% 2% 1%

3%

4%

Key Action 1: Learning mobility of
individuals (63%)

Key Action 2: Cooperation for
innovation and good practices
(25%)

Key Action 3:Support for policy
reform (4%) 

Operational grants to National
Agencies (3%)

25%

Administrative expenditure (2%)

Jean Monnet Initiative (2%)

Sport Action (1%)

63%

While  its  architecture  will  be  organised  according  to  the  three  key  actions,  access  to  the 
Programme will be open to the main sectors currently benefiting from the Lifelong Learning 
Programme and Youth in Action Programme. Table 2 and graph 2 illustrates a simulation of 
the possible distribution of funding by sector, based on the priorities and specific activities 
set out above, as compared to the 2007-2013 situation. It is important to note, however, that 
the  figures  should  be  taken  as  tentative  estimates.  In  the  course  of  the  Programme's 
implementation it will be possible to identify and report on the uptake of the budget by main 
sectors of education, training and youth11. The simulation illustrates that the budget proposed 
for the Programme would allow all the different educational sectors and the youth non-formal 
learning sector to increase funding levels. 

11 

The current and future budget situations are not fully and directly comparable. Estimates are based on 
the  main  types  of  action  supported  under  the  2007-2013  and  2014-2020  programmes.  Some 
expenditures  currently  counted  as  part  of  a  sector’s  budget  are  excluded,  since  they  will  be  common 
(e.g. operating grants to National Agencies and policy support activities). Performance-based allocation 
cannot be estimated accurately in advance. 

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TABLE 2: POSSIBLE FUNDING LEVELS BY SECTOR 2014-2020, COMPARED TO 
THE 2007-2013 PROGRAMMES (€ Million, EU-27) 

Erasmus for All  

2007-2013 
programmes* 

Average year 
2014-2020 

% Increase 

Concentration 

Erasmus Higher 
Education (including 
tertiary VET) 

Erasmus Higher 
Education -
International 
dimension (heading 4 
funding) 

585 

1100 – 1150 

85 %-95 % 

220** 

259 

17% 

Students, staff, joint 
programmes, masters, strategic 
partnerships, knowledge 
alliances 

Students, staff, capacity building 
in particular in neighbourhood 
countries 

Erasmus Training 
(VET and adult 
learning) 

330 of which 60 
for adult learning 

500 – 540 of which 
around 110 for adult 
learning  

50 % — 60 % 
overall, around 80 % 
for adult learning 

Students, staff, strategic 
partnerships, sector skills 
alliances, IT platforms  

 Erasmus Schools 

180 

250 – 275 

40 % -55 % 

Staff, strategic partnerships, IT 
platforms  

 Erasmus Youth 
Participation 

Operating grant (NAs) 

Policy support 

Jean Monnet 

Sport 

150 

55 

75 

30 

NA 

190 – 210 

25 % — 40 %  

Young people, staff, strategic 
partnerships, IT platforms  

63 

92 

45 

34 

15 % 

20 % 

50 % 

 NA 

* Regroups activities funded in 2010 covering EU27 indexed 2017. 

**  This  is  an  indicative  estimation  of  the  level  of  funding  allocated  to  international  cooperation  in  the  area  of  Higher 
Education. 

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GRAPH 2: POSSIBLE YEARLY FUNDING EVOLUTION 2014-2020 COMPARED 
TO 2007-2013 

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0

2007-2013

2014-2020

Erasmus
Higher
Education

Erasmus
Higher
Education
International
dimension

Erasmus
Training

Erasmus
Schools

Erasmus
Youth
Participation

Operating
grant for
National
Agencies

Policy
Support

Jean Monnet
Initiative

   Sport
Action

A number of separate policy priorities and activities will be mainstreamed into the three types 
of  key  actions.  Multilingualism  will  be  supported  through  the  mobility  of  learners  and 
language  teachers,  cooperation  to  develop  innovative  tools  and  methods  for  language 
education and policy support  for the  reform of  language teaching  and linguistic diversity in 
education systems. 

A number of activities will become streamlined, better-targeted priorities, with new activities 
to  reflect  new  challenges  (e.g.  a  significant  increase  in  staff  mobility  to  support  quality  in 
vocational  education  and  training  institutions).  Schools  will  be  encouraged  to  engage  in 
transnational partnerships and cooperation agreements with their peers in other EU countries, 
so as to enhance the impact of EU support and promote synergies between different forms of 
cooperation, such as virtual mobility, pupil and staff mobility and pedagogical projects. 

Conversely,  some  activities  will  be  reduced  or  discontinued  in  view  of  their  more  limited 
systemic  impact,  their  excessive  cost,  or  the  existence  of  other  sources  of  EU  funding 
supporting  similar  activities.  These  include  study  visits,  preparatory  visits  and  adult 
workshops;  Erasmus  intensive  programmes  (to  be  incorporated  in  more  wide-ranging 
activities  aimed  at  intense  cooperation  among  higher  education  institutions);  continuing 
training  of  adults  in  the  labour  market  (to  be  channelled  through  other  EU  funding,  in 
particular the European Social Fund). 

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Minimum allocation of funds per sector: The implementation of the programme will cater 
for  adequate  allocations  for  each  of  the  five  main  broad  sectors  in  order  to  avoid  that  the 
funding allocated to the main categories of stakeholder and beneficiary is reduced below the 
levels guaranteed by the programmes for the 2007-2013 period. The corresponding indicative 
allocations expressed in percentage of the total budget (Heading 1) would be: 25 % for higher 
education; 17 % for vocational education and training and adult learning (of which 2 % for 
adult learning); 7 % for schools; and 7 % for youth. These allocations have been drawn from 
the  current  situation  to  ensure  continuity  in  the  minimum  guarantee  given  to  the  main 
education  sectors.  These  minima  leave  a  considerable  margin,  from  which  all  sectors  are 
likely  to  benefit.  By  way  of  illustration,  in  the  Lifelong  Learning  Programme  all  education 
sectors absorb funds in excess of their minimum guaranteed amount. 

4.2. 

Implementation 

The  Programme  and  its  management  provisions  in  particular  will  emphasise  streamlining, 
simplification and a performance-based allocation of funds. At the same time, implementation 
will  take  into  account  the  need  for  flexibility  and  differentiation  to  counterbalance  the 
streamlining efforts.  

To simplify and streamline, the Programme will reduce the number of activities supported in 
the 2007-2013 programmes from 75 to 1112 (4 mobility activities, 4 cooperation activities, 3 
policy  support  activities).  It  will  use  more  flat-rate  grants  to  increase  efficiency.  Successful 
examples, such as the flat rate grants for Erasmus student mobility, will be widely used for 
mobility actions. With the National Agencies no longer managing individual applications for 
mobility, the administrative workload will be reduced. 

The reduction by 85% in the number of activities compared to the present situation will allow 
an  efficiency  gain  estimated  at  30%  of  the  system  through  streamlining  the  programme's 
architecture and focus on systemic impact. The gain stems from the reduction of the inherent 
complexity  of  a  programme  based  on  much  fewer  objectives,  concentration  on  key  actions, 
mainstreaming of horizontal activities and discontinuation of overlapping, less efficient or too 
small actions.  

A  further  10%  productivity  gain  could  be  expected  from  the  adoption  of  common  tools 
following  the  merge  of  the  programmes  and  the  establishment  of  a  single  coordinating 
National  Agency  per  country.  The  gain  would  stem  from  the  commonality  of  overhead 
expenditure and the economies of scale linked to it: a single IT system to manage the funds 
entrusted to National Agencies, one set of rules, reduced number of financial transactions, etc. 
Already  today  administrative  costs  of  Agencies  are  much  lower  for  the  larger  Lifelong 
Learning Programme than for the smaller Youth in Action Programme (4.5% against 8%). 

Thus,  the  aim  will  be,  through  the  cumulative  effect  of  simplification,  to  reach  a 
productivity  increase  of  up  to  40 %.  Overall  the  combined  effect  would  raise  the  amount 
managed per person (full time equivalent) from € 6 to 10 million. 

Controls  will  be  based  on  the  single  audit  principle:  Each  Member  State,  through  the 
designated national authority, will monitor and supervise at national level the activities related 
to  the  programme;  the  National  Agency  will  be  responsible  to  control  the  programme 

12 

Excluding Jean Monnet initiative and Sport. 

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beneficiaries and the Commission, to avoid overlaps, will oversee and coordinate the control 
system  and  set  minimum  requirements.  The  controls  will  be  largely  risk  based.  These 
measures are starting to be implemented already in the current programmes.  

The  resulting  simplified  and  streamlined  architecture  would  be  easily  scalable  with  low 
marginal  costs  and  an  increase  of  the  budget  in  the  order  of  70%,  as  proposed  by  the 
Commission's  Multiannual Financial Framework  Communication, could be accommodated 
with the current level of resources. 

The  Erasmus  Master  (masters  student  loan  guarantee  scheme),  will  be  delivered  through  a 
trustee, with a mandate to implement it on the basis of fiduciary agreements setting out the 
detailed rules and requirements governing the implementation of the financial instrument as 
well as the respective obligations of the parties. 

Implementing provisions will boost fund allocations based on performance and EU added- 
value on the basis of qualitative and, wherever possible, quantitative criteria. For key action 1 
(mobility), 25 % of the funds allocated to National Agencies will be distributed on the basis of 
quantifiable  principles  such  as  budget  implementation,  number  of  individuals  on  the  move 
and the implementation of the National Agencies work programmes. This is the same share as 
the performance-based allocation already applicable in Erasmus. The proposal is to build on 
that experience. The remaining budget will be allocated to National Agencies essentially on 
the  basis  of  the  size  of  the  population.  Qualitative  criteria  to  increase  EU  added  value  will 
apply in particular to key actions 2 (cooperation) and 3 (policy reform), such as the level of 
institutional and resource commitment of the stakeholders entering a partnership, or the link 
between  open  method  of  coordination  activities  and  the  challenges  as  identified  in  Europe 
2020 governance. 

Whilst ensuring stability in funding levels, thus avoiding a stop-and-go approach, the budget 
allocation  for  the  international  dimension  of  the  Programme  will  follow  the  geographic, 
development and policy priorities established for EU external action. Planning and reporting 
systems  will  be  put  in  place  to  ensure  and  track  mobility  flows  to  and  from  the  different 
regions outside the EU. 

In setting out this Communication and the proposal for the new Programme, the Commission 
has consulted widely: with education institutions’ leaders, teachers, researchers and students, 
with  businesses  and  social  partners,  with  governments  and  international  bodies,  as  well  as 
with stakeholders active in the youth field.  

5. 

ERASMUS FOR ALL: INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE 

The EU faces one of the most challenging times since its origin. There will be no sustainable 
solution to the crisis without a manifest pledge to achieve both excellence and equity through 
education, promote mobility, and shape a European identity based on the multiculturalism and 
diversity that characterises the European model. 

The sole way forward is to invest in Europe's people. The new Erasmus for All Programme 
aims at giving the chance to millions of persons, across Europe but also worldwide, to benefit 
from a unique international experience. Through the integration of education, training, youth 
and  sport,  the  Programme  will  create  a  streamlined  structure  to  allow  for  more  people  to 
benefit  and  to  increase  its  reach  and  impact.  By  capitalising  in  one  Europe's  soundest 

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successes,  the  Erasmus  programme,  the  new  "Erasmus  for  All"  will  promote  international 
mobility  by  bringing  Erasmus  to  schools,  vocational  education  and  training,  master  level 
degrees and specific youth areas such as volunteering. 

The pivotal role of the EU as a catalyst to generate economic dynamism and political stability 
can  only  be  ensured  if  private,  public,  national  and  international  actors  clearly  state  their 
unequivocal commitment to build the future on the basis of education and training. 

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