Specific call for proposals — EAC/S06/13 — Erasmus Charter for Higher Education 2014-20
Date: 2013-03-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: educational exchange, higher education, invitation to tender








C_2013085EN.01000901.xml










23.3.2013   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 85/9





SPECIFIC CALL FOR PROPOSALS — EAC/S06/13
Erasmus Charter for Higher Education 2014-20
2013/C 85/07

Reserve Clause

The 2014-20 EU programme for education, training, youth and sport proposed by the European Commission on 23 November 2011 (1) (hereafter the Programme) has not yet been adopted by the European legislators. However, the Commission has decided to publish this call for proposals now in order to allow for a smooth implementation of the Programme as soon as its legal basis has been adopted by the European legislators and in order to make it possible for the potential beneficiaries of Union grants to start preparing their proposals in good time.
This call for proposals does not legally bind the Commission. In case of a substantial modification of the legal basis by the European legislators, the present call might be cancelled and other calls for proposals with different content and appropriate deadlines for reply may be launched.
More generally, any action flowing from this call for proposals is subject to the following conditions, whose implementation is beyond the Commission's control:






—


the adoption by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union of the final text of the legal basis establishing the Programme,










—


the adoption of the 2014 and subsequent annual work programmes and the general implementation guidelines, criteria and procedures of selection, after referral of the committee of the Programme, and










—


the adoption of the 2014 and subsequent budgets of the European Union by the budgetary authority.




1.   Objectives and description

The proposed 2014-20 EU programme for education, training, youth and sport is based on Articles 165 and 166 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and on the subsidiarity principle.
The Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) provides the general quality framework for European and international cooperation activities a higher education institution (HEI) may carry out within the Programme. The award of an Erasmus Charter for Higher Education is a prerequisite for all HEIs located in one of the countries listed below and wanting to apply and participate in learning mobility of individuals and/or cooperation for innovation and good practices under the Programme. For HEIs located in other countries, the ECHE is not required, and the quality framework will be established through inter-institutional agreements between HEIs. The Charter is awarded for the full duration of the Programme. Implementation of the Charter will be monitored and violation of any of its principles and commitments may lead to its withdrawal by the European Commission.
2.   Eligible applicants

HEIs established in one of the following countries are eligible to apply for an Erasmus Charter for Higher Education:






—


the Member States of the European Union,










—


Croatia (2),










—


the EFTA-EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and the Swiss Confederation (3).




To be eligible, applicants must be recognised as HEIs by the respective national authorities of the above countries.
3.   Deadline for the submission of applications and indicative date of publishing selection results

The deadline for submitting applications for the Higher Education Charter is 15 May 2013.
The indicative date of publishing selection results is 29 November 2013.
4.   Selection procedure

Prior to the publication of this call, national agencies of the Lifelong Learning Programme have checked the past performance of their respective HEIs currently holding an Erasmus University Charter. In particular, they assessed them against the following two criteria:






1.


whether the HEI had participated in an Erasmus mobility activity from the academic year 2007-08 to 2010-11 or in an Erasmus centralised project;










2.


whether the HEI was complying with the Erasmus University Charter fundamental principles.




Applications of HEIs which comply with both above criteria will not be assessed by independent experts but will be used for monitoring purposes.
Applications of HEIs which fail to comply with the above criteria will be assessed by independent experts similarly to all HEIs that do not hold an Erasmus University Charter.
5.   Full details

The information about the Programme can be found at the following Internet address:
http://ec.europa.eu/education/erasmus-for-all/index_en.htm
Applications must be submitted according to the guidelines provided by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency and available at the address:
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/funding/2014/call_he_charter_en.php


(1)  COM(2011) 788.

(2)  Croatia is expected to become a Member of the European Union as of 1 July 2013.

(3)  The ECHE can be awarded to a HEI of one of these countries provided that the country has signed an agreement with the European Union on its participation in learning mobility of individuals and cooperation for innovation and good practices under the Programme as of 2014.