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# 52011PC0788

**Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL establishing "ERASMUS FOR ALL"The Union Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport /\* COM/2011/0788 final - 2011/0371 (COD) \*/**

  

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.           CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

In June 2010 the European Council endorsed
Europe 2020, the reform agenda aiming to help Europe to recover from the crisis
and come out stronger through a coordinated, comprehensive strategy for a
smart, inclusive and sustainable growth.

Education and training are at the core of
Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, and of the
Integrated guidelines for the economic and employment policies of the Member
States[1]. Arguably none of the
Europe 2020 objectives and headline targets will be reached without a strong
investment in human capital. Five of the Europe 2020 flagships depend on the
modernization of education and training: Youth on the Move, Agenda for New
Skills and Jobs, as well as the Digital Agenda, Innovation Union and the
Platform Against Poverty.

In its Communication "A Budget for
Europe"[2], the Commission points
out that there is scope to increase Union support to education and training in
order to raise citizens' skills and help tackle the high levels of youth
unemployment in many Member States. The Commission also stresses that in its
external actions, it will concentrate on promoting and defending Union values
abroad, promote assistance to transitional and democratic processes and project
the external dimension of internal policies.

2.           RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE
INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

              Consultations

Wide-scale public and stakeholder consultations
took place from early 2010 to mid-2011 in education, training, youth and sport
fields.

As regards education, training and youth,
a strong convergence of viewpoints could be noticed among the different groups
of stakeholders consulted and the common elements of the contributions can be
summarised as follows:

·
A very positive assessment of the results
achieved by the Lifelong Learning, Youth in Action and Erasmus Mundus
programmes;

·
The need to develop a more integrated approach,
being between education sectors, with other youth-related programmes and between
the various existing Union higher education programmes, whether they are
intra-European (Erasmus), worldwide (Erasmus Mundus), regional (Tempus, Alfa,
Edulink) or bilateral (with the US and Canada for instance);

·
The need to establish stronger links between
policy developments and the programme's supported activities;

·
The importance of continuing to focus on
quality, especially in higher education in the Union and beyond;

·
The importance of maintaining Union instruments
to support both formal and non-formal learning for young people, and the need
to improve the recognition of learning outcomes;

·
A need for administrative simplification and for
streamlining of actions and priorities;

·
A need to improve the visibility of the
Programme.

As regards sport, the main points
stressed by the stakeholders can be summarised as follows:

·
Insufficient availability of sport and physical
activity at all levels of education;

·
Insufficient recognition of voluntary activity
in sport;

·
Doping as a major threat to fairness in sporting
competitions;

·
Lack of attention for the societal value of
sport as compared to its commercial aspects;

·
Commercial pressure endangering the original
spirit of sport based on fair play.

              Impact assessments
results

Four impact assessments examined the operation
of three existing programmes in education, training and youth field (namely
Lifelong Learning Programme, Youth in Action and Erasmus Mundus) and, in the
case of sport, preparatory actions voted by the Budgetary Authority.

Given the similarity of objectives, legal base
and Union competencies in these fields, each impact assessment considers
similar options: discontinuing the existing actions or programmes; continuing
them in their current form; substantially strengthening their policy focus; and
bringing together the Lifelong Learning, Youth in Action and Erasmus Mundus
programmes into a single, streamlined Programme.

The preferred option identified in each of the
four Impact Assessments is the merger into a single programme, which is in line
with the Communication of the Commission on the Multiannual Financial Framework
adopted on 29 June 2011. This option would be the most coherent and
cost-effective, for the main following reasons:

–
It responds to the need for increased Union investment
in Education and Training in these times of financial and economic crises, as a
growing economy depends on the supply of highly skilled workers and on the
mobilisation of the skills and competences of the unemployed;

–
It focuses on and develops those actions
identified in the current programmes as having the highest European added value
and the strongest multiplier effects, leading to tangible impact on European
education and training systems and thus considerably improved returns on
investment;

–
The concentration of efforts within the new
streamlined programme architecture will allow for greater synergies among
existing programmes and across different educational sectors, thus bolstering
the lifelong learning approach to education, increasing coherence and improving
access to potential beneficiaries through a streamlined set of key transversal
actions;

–
Beyond cooperation between education
institutions themselves, it puts a stronger focus on the crucial role of
education and human capital for innovation by promoting education-business
partnerships, targeting excellence in teaching and learning, employability and
entrepreneurship;

–
Finally, it entails a rationalisation and
simplification of delivery and management procedures, offering considerable
potential for reducing implementation costs as compared to the sum of the
implementation costs of the current programmes (i.e. Lifelong Learning, Youth
in Action and the cooperation programmes in Higher Education with third
countries).

              Simplification

Within the context of the Multiannual Financial
Framework (MFF), one of the priority of this Programme is to emphasise
streamlining, simplification and a performance-based allocation of funds. This
approach is applied in the Programme "Erasmus for All" by basing it on
the rules of the Financial Regulation.

The Programme will reduce the number of
activities supported. It will use more flat rate grants to increase efficiency;
successful examples such as the lump sum grants for Erasmus student mobility
will be widely used for mobility actions. National Agencies will no longer manage
individual mobility and thereby reducing the administrative workload.

The National Agencies will become the main
entry point for learning mobility activities, open to young people whether they
participate as student, trainee or volunteer. The user-friendliness will also
be enhanced for participating higher education institutions at international
level, by the integration of disparate international cooperation programmes.

3.           LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL

"Erasmus for All", the Single
Programme in the field of Education, Training, Youth and Sport is justified on
the grounds of the objectives laid down in Articles 165 and 166 of the Treaty
on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and on the subsidiarity principle.

Article 165 of TFEU calls for an action by the
European Union in order to "contribute to the development of quality
education by encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary,
by supporting and supplementing their action, while fully respecting the
responsibility of the Member States for the content of teaching and the
organisation of education systems and their cultural and linguistic
diversity."

Article 166 states that the "Union shall
implement a vocational training policy which shall support and supplement the
action of the Member States, while fully respecting the responsibility of the
Member States for the content and organisation of vocational training.

Both articles state that the Union and the
Member States shall foster cooperation with third countries and the competent
international organisations respectively in the sphere of education and sport
(Article 165 (3)) and vocational training (Article 166 (3)).

As stressed in the interim evaluations of the
Lifelong Learning, Youth in Action and Erasmus Mundus programmes, the European
added value of the programme is derived from the innovative and transnational
character of the activities undertaken and of the products and partnerships it
helps to develop across Europe. Encouraging successful cooperation between
Member States’ education and training systems as well as in the youth and sport
fields would help to identify and implement policies and practices that work
and encourage learning from each other.

While adopting implementing measures, in
particular that referring to the allocation of funds, the Regulation foresees
the application of the examination procedure according to provisions set out in
Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. Selection decisions will still be
sent to European Parliament and Committee for information.

The Regulation also introduces the delegating
powers based on Article 290 of the TFEU. The use of this new legal instrument
is limited to the amendment of the provisions relating to the performance
criteria and on the actions managed by the National Agencies.

Experience of past programmes indicates that
the provisions in Articles 13(7) and 22(2) relating respectively to the
performance criteria and the provisions on the actions managed by the National
Agencies might need to be revised during the duration of the programme. The
lack of flexibility of the Lifelong Learning, Youth in Action and Erasmus
Mundus programmes and the lack of tools to adapt the programme to the changing
needs of our society have been criticised by the main stakeholders of the
fields concerned.

The opinion of Member States is taken into due
account through the systematic consultation of experts. The consultation will
be extended to experts appointed by the European Parliament as to ensure a
large level of representativeness. The Commission will also consult, whether
appropriate, relevant stakeholders in the fields concerned.

4.           BUDGETARY IMPLICATION

The Commission's proposal for a Multi-Annual
Financial Framework for the period 2014-2020 foresees EUR 17 299 000 000 (current
prices)for a Single programme on Education, Training, Youth and Sport and an
additional amount coming from heading 4 instruments, corresponding to EUR 1 812
100 000 (current prices).

Minimum allocation of funds per sector

In order to ensure that the funding levels
allocated to the main categories of stakeholders and beneficiaries will not be
reduced below the levels guaranteed by the Lifelong Learning, Youth in Action
and Erasmus Mundus programmes for the 2007-2013 period, the implementation of
the Programme shall not result in an allocation to main education sectors less
than:

–
Higher education: 25%

–
Vocational education and training and adult
learning: 17%, of which adult learning: 2%

–
School education: 7%

–
Youth: 7%

5.           SUMMARY OF THE REGULATION

The Regulation sets out the provisions for a
new single programme covering Education, Training, Youth and Sport, called
"Erasmus for all". Building on the broad recognition of the Erasmus
sectoral programme, the programme aims at supporting all education sectors
(namely Higher education, Vocational education and training and adult learning,
schools education and Youth), in a lifelong learning perspective.

The "Erasmus for all" programme focuses
on three types of key actions, namely the transnational and international
learning mobility of students, young people, teachers and staff; the cooperation
for innovation and good practices between education institutions, as well as
through cooperation with bodies active in the youth field and the support to
the policy agendas, as well as the support to capacity building in third countries,
including enlargement countries, with a particular focus on neighbouring
countries and the international policy dialogue.

In line with the
Communication on a Budget for Europe 2020, Erasmus for all will integrate
existing international programmes (Erasmus Mundus, Tempus, Edulink and Alfa)
and cooperation programmes with industrialised countries. To this end, the budget of the Programme will be complemented by
financial allocations coming from the different external cooperation
instruments. Funds will be made available on the basis of two multi-annual
allocations covering 4 and 3 years respectively to ensure stability and
predictability. These allocations should reflect the EU external action
priorities, including development objectives as appropriate. They can be
adjusted in case of major unforeseen circumstances or important political
changes to reflect major shifts in policy priorities.

Excellence in teaching and research in European
studies is covered through a specific article on "Jean Monnet". A
chapter is dedicated to sport focusing on the fight against doping, violence
and racism and fostering transnational activities to promote good governance of
sport organisations.

A new financial instrument – a loan guarantee
facility - is introduced to enable students to take their Masters degree in
another European country. Finance for such studies is currently difficult to
obtain because national grants and loans are frequently not portable across
national boundaries, or are not available for studies at Masters level, and
loans from private banks are prohibitively expensive. To overcome these
problems, the EU will provide a partial guarantee to financial institutions
(banks or student loan agencies) which agree to offer loans for Masters'
studies in other participating countries on favourable terms for the students.

In management terms, the programme will be
managed in accordance with the principle of the indirect management.
Responsibilities will be shared between Members States and the Commission.
National Agencies will be in charge of the main part of the funds, most of
those allocated to mobility actions and cooperation. The Commission will
delegate to an Executive Agency the management of larger cooperation projects,
policy support, the Eurydice network, as well as Jean Monnet activities and
Sport. The Commission may therefore use, on the basis of a cost-benefit
analysis, the existing executive agency for the implementation of "Erasmus
for All" programme for the period 2014-2020, as provided for in Council
Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 [3] of 19 December 2002
laying down the statute for the Executive Agencies to be entrusted with certain
tasks in the management of Community programmes.

2011/0371 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL

establishing "ERASMUS FOR ALL"
The Union Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport

(Text with EEA relevance)

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[4],

Having regard to the opinion of the
Committee of the Regions[5],

Acting in accordance with the ordinary
legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1)
The Communication from the Commission of 29 June
2011 "A Budget for Europe"[6] calls for a single
programme in the field of Education, Training, Youth and Sport, including the
international aspects of higher education, bringing together the Lifelong
Learning action programme established by Decision No 1720/2006/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2006[7],
and Youth in Action programme established by Decision No 1719/2006/EC of the
European parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2006[8],
Erasmus Mundus action programme established by Decision No 1298/2008/EC of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008[9],
ALFA III programme established by Regulation No 1905/2006/EC of 18 December
2006[10], TEMPUS and EDULINK
programmes in order to ensure greater efficiency, a stronger strategic focus
and synergies to be exploited between the various aspects of the single programme.
In addition Sport is proposed as part of this single Programme.

(2)
The interim evaluation reports of the existing
Lifelong Learning, Youth in Action and Erasmus Mundus Programmes and the public
consultation on the future of Union action in education, training and youth as
well as in higher education revealed a strong and in some respects growing need
for continuing cooperation and mobility in these fields at European level. The evaluation
reports emphasised the importance of creating closer links between Union Programmes
and policy developments in education, training and youth, expressed the wish
that Union action should be structured so as to respond better to the lifelong
learning paradigm, and pressed for a simpler, more user‑friendly and more
flexible approach to implementing such action and the end of the fragmentation
of international higher education cooperation programmes.

(3)
The widespread recognition among the general
public in Member States and participating third countries of the "Erasmus"
brand name as a synonym of Union learner mobility pleads for a more extensive
use of this brand by the main education sectors covered by the Programme.

(4)
The public consultation on the Union's strategic
choices for the implementation of the new EU competence in the field of sport
and the evaluation report of Preparatory Actions in the field of sport provided
useful indications regarding priority areas for Union action and illustrated
the added value that the Union can bring in supporting activities aimed at
generating, sharing and spreading experiences and knowledge about different
issues affecting sport at the European level.

(5)
The European Strategy for smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth (Europe 2020) is defining the Union's growth strategy for the
coming decade to support smart, sustainable and inclusive growth setting five
ambitious objectives to be reached by 2020, particularly in the field of
education to reduce early school leaving rates below 10% and to enable at least
40% of 30-34 years old to have completed higher education[11].
This also includes its flagships initiatives, in particular "Youth on the
Move"[12] and the Agenda for New
Skills and Jobs[13].

(6)
The Council of the European Union called on 12
May 2009 for a strategic framework for European
cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) setting up four
strategic objectives with a view to responding to the challenges that remain in
creating a knowledge-based Europe and making lifelong learning a reality for
all.

(7)
Pursuant to Articles 8 and 10 of the Treaty on
the Functioning of the European Union, as well as the articles 21 and 23 of the
Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Programme shall promote equality between
women and men and to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic
origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.

(8)
The programme should include a strong
international dimension particularly as regards higher education, not only to
enhance the quality of European higher education in pursuit of the broader
ET2020 objectives and the attractiveness of the Union
as a study destination, but also to promote understanding between people
and contribution to the sustainable development of higher education in the third
countries.

(9)
The renewed framework of cooperation in the
youth field (2010-2018)[14] should consider all
young people as a resource in society and upholds their right to participate in
the development of policies affecting them by means of a continuous structured
dialogue between decision-makers and young people and youth organisations at
all levels.

(10)
To support mobility, equity and study excellence,
the Union should establish a European loan guarantee facility to enable
students, regardless of their social background, to take their Masters degree
in another participating country. This facility should be available to
financial institutions which agree to offer loans for Masters' studies in other
participating countries on favourable terms for the students.

(11)
Member States should endeavour to adopt all
appropriate measures to remove legal and administrative obstacles to the proper
functioning of the Programme. This also implies that visas for participants
should be handed out without delays, in order to ensure that no participant
misses out on either a part of or the entire study, training programme or
exchange, and to avoid cancellations of mobility actions and projects. In line
with Article 19 of the Council Directive 2004/114/EC of 13 December 2004 on the
conditions of admission of third country nationals for the purposes of studies,
pupils exchange, unremunerated training or voluntary service[15],
Member States are encouraged to establish fast-track admission procedures.

(12)
The Communication 'Supporting growth and jobs –
an agenda for the modernisation of Europe's higher education systems' sets out
a framework within which the European Union, Member States and higher education
institutions can cooperate to boost the number of graduates, improve the
quality of education and maximise the contribution that higher education and
research can make to helping our economies and societies emerge stronger from
the crisis.

(13)
The Bologna Declaration, signed by the Ministers
for Education of 29 European countries on 19 June 1999, established an
intergovernmental process aimed at creating a "European Area of Higher
Education", which requires support at Union level.

(14)
The renewed Copenhagen Process (2011-2020)
defined an ambitious and global vision for Vocational Education and Training policy
in Europe, and requested support from Union Educational Programmes to the
agreed priorities, including international mobility and reforms implemented by
the Member States.

(15)
It is necessary to strengthen the intensity and
volume of European cooperation between schools, and of the mobility of school
staff and learners in order to address the priorities set out in the Agenda for
European cooperation on schools for the 21st century[16],
namely to improve the quality of school education in the Union in the fields of
competence development and in order to improve equity and inclusion within
school systems and institutions, as well as to reinforce the teaching
profession and school leadership[17]. In this context,
particular importance should be given to the strategic targets on reducing
early school leaving, improving performance in basic skills, improving
participation and quality in early childhood education and care[18],
as well as to targets on reinforcing the professional competences of school
teachers and school leaders[19], and improving the
educational chances of children with a migrant background and those at socio
economic disadvantage[20].

(16)
The renewed European Agenda for Adult Learning
included in Council Resolution of [….][21] aims at
enabling all adults to develop and enhance their skills and competences
throughout their lives, giving particular attention to improving provision for
the high number of low-skilled Europeans targeted in Europe 2020.

(17)
The action of the European Youth Forum, the
National Academic Recognition Centres (NARIC), the Eurydice, Euroguidance and
Eurodesk networks, as well as of the eTwinning National Support Services, the
Europass National Centres, and the National Information Offices in the
neighbourhood countries is essential in order to achieve the objectives of the
programme, notably by providing the Commission with regular and updated
information regarding the various fields of their activity and through the
dissemination of the Programme results in the Union and in the third
participating countries.

(18)
Cooperation between the Programme and
international organisations in the field of education, training, youth and
sport, in particular with the Council of Europe, needs to be strengthened.

(19)
The programme should contribute to develop
excellence in European integration studies world-wide, it should in particular support institutions that have a
European governance structure, cover the whole spectrum of policy fields that
are of interest for the Union, are non profit organisations and provide
recognised academic degrees.

(20)
The Communication from the Commission on
"Developing the European Dimension in Sport"[22]
of 18 January 2011 sets out the Commission's ideas for Union-level action in
the field of sport after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and proposes
a list of concrete actions for the Commission and Member States in three broad
chapters: the societal role of sport, the economic dimension of sport and the
organisation of sport.

(21)
Improved transparency of qualifications and
competences and extended acceptance of Union tools should facilitate mobility
throughout Europe for lifelong learning purposes, therefore contributing to the
development of quality education and training, and will facilitate mobility for
occupational purposes, between countries as well as across sectors. Opening up
access for young students (including vocational and education training
students) to methods, practices and technologies used in other countries will
help to improve their employability in a global economy; it can also help
making jobs with an international profile more attractive.

(22)
For this purpose, it is recommended to extend
the use of the single framework for the transparency of qualifications and
competences (Europass) under Decision No2241/2004/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 15 December 2004[23], the European
Qualifications Framework (EQF) under Recommendation of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 23 April 2008[24], the European Credit
system for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) under Recommendation of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009[25]
and the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS).

(23)
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 shall also
contribute to covering the corporate communication of the political priorities
of the European Union provided that these are related to the general objectives
of this Regulation.

(24)
It is necessary to ensure the European added
value of all actions carried out within in the framework of the Programme, and
complementarity to activities of Member States in compliance with Article
167(4) of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union and other
activities, in particular in the field of culture, research, industrial and cohesion
policy, enlargement policy and external relations.

(25)
Effective performance management, including
evaluation and monitoring, requires development of specific performance
indicators which can be measured over time, which are both realistic and
reflect the logic of the intervention and are relevant to the appropriate
hierarchy of objectives and activities.

(26)
This Regulation lays down, for the entire
duration of the Programme, a financial envelope representing the prime
reference, within the meaning of point (17) of the Interinstitutional Agreement
of XX/YY/201Z between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission
on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, for the
budgetary authority during the annual budgetary procedure.

(27)
The need of establishing criteria of performance
on which the allocation of budget between Member States for the actions managed
by the National Agencies should be based. .

(28)
The candidate countries for accession to the
Union and the EFTA countries which are members of the EEA may participate in the
Union Programmes on the basis of Framework Agreements, Association Council
Decisions or similar agreements.

(29)
The Swiss Confederation may participate in the
Union Programmes in accordance with the agreement to be signed between the
Union and that country.

(30)
The European Commission and the High Representative
of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security policy, in their joint
Communication on a new response to a changing Neighbourhood[26]
outlined, inter alia, the aim to further facilitate Neighbourhood countries’
participation in Union mobility and capacity building actions in higher
education and the opening of the future education programme to Neighbouring
countries.

(31)
The financial interests of the European 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. While Union external assistance has increasing
financing need, the economic and budgetary situation of the Union limits the
resources available for such assistance. The Commission should therefore seek
for the most efficient use of available resources in particular through the use
of financial instruments with leverage effect.

(32)
In its Communication "A Budget for Europe
2020" of 29 June 2011 the Commission has underlined its commitment to
simplifying Union funding. The creation of a single programme on Education,
Training, Youth and Sport should provide for significant simplification,
rationalisation and synergies in the management of the programme. The
implementation should be further simplified by the use of lump sum, unit cost or flat rate funding, as well as reducing formal
requirements for beneficiaries and Member States.

(33)
In order to ensure quick response to changed
needs during the whole duration of the Programme, the power to adopt acts in
accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of provisions relating to
the performance criteria and on the actions managed by the National Agencies.
It is of particular importance that the Commission carries out appropriate
consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level. The
Commission, when preparing and drawing-up delegated acts, should ensure a
simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the
European Parliament and Council.

(34)
In order to ensure uniform conditions for the
implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on
the Commission.

(35)
The implementing powers relating to work
programme should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the
rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States
of the Commission's exercise of implementing powers[27].

(36)
It is appropriate to ensure a correct closure of
the Programme, in particular regarding the continuation of multi-annual
arrangements for its management, such as the financing of technical and
administrative assistance. As from 1 January 2014, the technical and
administrative assistance should ensure, if necessary, the management of
actions not yet finalised under the predecessor programmes by end of 2013.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 1

Scope of
the Programme

1.
This Regulation establishes a Programme for Union
action in the field of Education, Training, Youth and Sport called
"Erasmus for All" (hereinafter referred to as "the
Programme").

2.
The Programme shall be implemented for the
period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020.

3.
The Programme covers education at all levels, in
a lifelong learning perspective, in particular Higher education, Vocational
Education and Training and Adult learning, School Education and Youth.

4.
It includes an international dimension in accordance with Article 21 of the Treaty of the
European Union and will also support activities in the
field of sport.

Article 2

Definitions

For the
purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

1.           "lifelong
learning" means all general education, vocational education and training,
non-formal education and informal learning undertaken throughout life,
resulting in an improvement in knowledge, skills and competences within a
personal, civic, social and/or employment-related perspective, including the
provision of counselling and guidance services;

2.           "non formal
setting" means a learning context that is often planned and organised, but
not part of the formal education and training system.

3.           "learning
mobility" means moving physically to a country other than the country of
residence, in order to undertake study, training or other learning, including
traineeships and non-formal learning, or teaching or participating in a
transnational professional development activity. It may include preparatory
training in the host language. Learning mobility also covers youth exchanges
and transnational professional development activities involving youth workers;

4.           "Cooperation for
innovation and good practices" means transnational cooperation projects
involving organisations active in the fields of education, training and/or
youth and may include other organisations.

5.           "Support for policy reform"
means any type of activity aimed at supporting and facilitating the
modernization of education and training systems through the process of policy
cooperation between Member States, in particular the Open methods of
Coordination;

6.           "virtual mobility"
stands for a set of information and communications technology supported
activities, organized at institutional level, that realize or facilitate
international, collaborative experiences in a context of teaching and/or
learning;

7.           "staff" means
persons who, either on a professional or voluntary basis, are involved in education,
training or youth non-formal learning. It may include teachers, trainers,
school leaders, youth workers and non-educational staff;

8.           "youth worker"
means a professional or a volunteer involved in non-formal learning;

9.           "young people"
means individuals aged between thirteen and thirty;

10.         "higher education
institution" means:

(a)
any type of higher education institution, in
accordance with national legislation or practice, which offers recognised
degrees or other recognised tertiary level qualifications, whatever such
establishments may be called;

(b)
any institution, in accordance with national
legislation or practice, which offers vocational education or training at
tertiary level;

11.         "school" means all
types of institutions providing general (pre-school, primary or secondary),
vocational and technical education;

12.         "academic institution"
means any educational institution
dedicated to education and research;

13.         "vocational
training" means any form of initial vocational education or training,
including technical and vocational teaching and apprenticeships, which
contributes to the achievement of a vocational qualification recognised by the
competent authorities in the Member State in which it is obtained, as well as
continuing vocational education or training undertaken by a person during his
or her working life;

14.         "adult learning"
means all forms of non-vocational adult learning, whether of a formal,
non-formal or informal nature;

15.         "joint degrees"
means an integrated study programme offered by at least two higher education
institutions resulting in a single degree certificate issued and signed by all
the participating institutions jointly and recognised officially in the
countries where the participating institutions are located;

16.         "double degree/multiple
degree" means a study programme offered by at least two (double) or more
(multiple) higher education institutions whereby the student receives upon
completion a separate degree certificate from each of the participating
institution;

17.         "youth activity"
means an out-of-school activity (such as youth exchange, volunteering) carried
out by a young person, either individually or in group, characterized by a
non-formal learning approach;

18.         "partnership"
means an agreement between a group of institutions or organisations in
different Member States to carry out joint European activities in the field of
education, training and youth or establishing a formal or informal network in a
relevant field. As regards sport, it means an agreement with one or more third
parties such as professional sport organisations or sponsors in different
Member States in order to attract additional sources of support for achieving
the desired outcomes of the Programme.

19.         "enterprise"
means all undertakings engaged in economic activity in the public or private
sector whatever their size, legal status or the economic sector in which they
operate, including the social economy;

20.         "skills" means
the ability to apply knowledge and use know-how to complete tasks and solve
problems;

21.         "competence"
means the proven ability to use knowledge, skills and attitudes with
responsibility and autonomy in learning, social and professional contexts.

22.         "key competences"
means the basic set of knowledge, skills and attitudes which all individuals
need for personal fulfilment and development, active citizenship, social
inclusion and employment;

23.         "results" means
any data, knowledge and information whatever their form or nature, whether or
not they can be protected, which are generated in the action as well as any
attached rights, including intellectual property rights;

24.         "dissemination of
results" means the public disclosure of the results of the Programme and
its predecessors by any appropriate means designed to ensure that the results
are appropriately recognised, demonstrated and implemented on a wide scale;

25.         "Open Method of
Coordination" means intergovernmental method providing a framework for
cooperation between the Member States, whose national policies can thus be
directed towards certain common objectives. Within the scope of this programme,
the OMC applies to education, training and youth;

26.         "EU transparency
tools" means instruments that help stakeholders to understand, appreciate
and as appropriate recognise learning outcomes and qualifications throughout
the Union;

27.         "neighbourhood
countries" means the countries and territories listed in the Annex to the
Regulation XX/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of X YY 2012[28]
establishing a European Neighbourhood Instrument: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco,
Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine. In addition, as for
the activities supported in the youth field, Russia is also considered a
neighbourhood country;

28.         "dual career"
means the combination of high-level sports training with general education or
work.

Article 3

European added
value

1.           The Programme shall only
support those actions and activities presenting a potential European added
value and contributing to the achievement of the general objective as referred
to in Article 4.

2.           The European added value of
the actions and activities of the Programme shall be ensured in particular
through:

(a)
Their transnational character, in particular transnational
mobility and cooperation aiming at long-term systemic impact;

(b)
Their complementarity and synergy with other national,
international and other Union programmes and policies, allowing for economies
of scale and critical mass;

(c)
Their contribution to the effective use of Union
tools for recognition of qualifications and transparency.

Article 4

General
objective of the Programme

1.           The Programme aims to
contribute to the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy and of the Education
and Training strategic framework 2020 (ET2020), including the corresponding
benchmarks established in those instruments, to renewed framework for European
Cooperation in the Youth field (2010-2018), to the sustainable development of third
countries in the field of higher education and to developing the European
dimension in sport.

2.           It particularly aims to
contribute to reach the following Europe 2020 headline targets:

(a)
Reduction of early school leaving rates;

(b)
Increase of 30-34 years old students having
completed third level of education.

CHAPTER II

Education, Training and Youth

Article 5

Specific
objectives

The Programme shall pursue the following
specific objectives in the areas of education, training and youth:

(a)
To improve the level of key competences and
skills regarding in particular their relevance for the labour market and
society, as well as the participation of young people in democratic life in
Europe, notably through increased learning mobility opportunities for young
people, learners, staff and youth workers, and through strengthened cooperation
between education youth and the world of labour market;

–
Related indicators:

–
% of participants who have increased their key
competences and/or their skills relevant for their employability;

–
% of young participants declaring being better
prepared to participate in social and political life

(b)
To foster quality improvements, innovation
excellence and internationalisation at the level of educational institutions,
as well as in youth work, notably through enhanced transnational cooperation
between education and training providers/youth organisations and other
stakeholders;

–
Related indicator: % of organisations that have
participated in the Programme and that have developed/adopted innovative
methods

(c)
To promote the emergence of a European lifelong
learning area, trigger policy reforms at national level, support the
modernisation of education and training systems, including non-formal learning,
and support European cooperation in the youth field, notably through enhanced
policy cooperation, better use of recognition and transparency tools and the
dissemination of good practices;

–
Related indicator: Number of Member States
making use of the results of the Open Methods of Coordination in their national
policy developments

(d)
To enhance the international dimension of
education, training and youth notably in higher education by increasing the
attractiveness of the Union higher education institutions and supporting the
Union external action, including its development objectives through the promotion of mobility and
cooperation between EU and third country higher education institutions and
targeted capacity building in third countries.

–
Related indicator: Number of non EU higher
education institutions involved in the mobility and cooperation actions

(e)
To improve the teaching and learning of
languages and promote linguistic diversity;

–
Related indicator: % of participants who have
increased their language skills

(f)
To promote excellence in teaching and research
activities in European integration through the Jean Monnet activities worldwide
as referred to in Article 10.

–
Related indicator: Number of students receiving
training through Jean Monnet activities

Article 6

Actions of
the Programme

1.           In the field of education,
training and youth, the Programme shall pursue its objectives through the three
following types of actions:

(a)
Learning mobility of individuals,

(b)
Cooperation for innovation and good practices,

(c)
Support for policy reform.

2.           The specific Jean Monnet
activities are described in Article 10.

Article 7

Learning
mobility of individuals

1.           Learning mobility of
individuals action shall support:

(a)     transnational mobility of higher education
and vocational training students as well as of young people involved in
non-formal activities between the participating countries as referred in Article
18. This mobility may take the form of studying at a partner institution, traineeships
abroad or participating in youth activities, notably volunteering. Degree
mobility at Masters level shall be supported through the student loan guarantee
facility as referred to in Article 14 (3).

(b)     Transnational mobility of staff, within
the participating countries as referred in Article 18. This
mobility may take the form of teaching or taking part in professional
development activities abroad.

2.           This action will also
support the transnational mobility of students, young people and staff to and
from third countries as regards higher education including mobility organized
on the basis of joint, double or multiple degrees of high quality or joint
calls, as well as non-formal learning.

Article 8

Cooperation
for innovation and good practices

1.           Cooperation for innovation
and good practices action shall support:

(a)
transnational strategic partnerships between
organisations involved in education, training and/or youth activities or other
relevant sectors developing and implementing joint initiatives and promoting
exchanges of experience and know-how;

(b)
transnational partnerships between enterprises
and education institutions in the form of:

–
Knowledge Alliances between higher education
institutions and enterprises promoting creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship
by offering relevant learning opportunities, including developing new curricula;

–
Sector Skills Alliances between education and
training providers and enterprises promoting employability, creating new
sector-specific curricula, developing innovative ways of vocational teaching
and training and putting the Union wide recognition tools in practice.

(c)
IT support platforms, including e-Twinning, covering
educational sectors and youth allowing peer learning, virtual mobility and
exchanges of best practices and opening access for participants fromneighbourhood
countries.

2.           This action shall also
support development, capacity building, regional integration, knowledge
exchanges and modernisation processes through partnerships between Union and third
countries' higher education institutions as well as in the youth sector,
notably for peer learning and joint educational projects, promoting regional
cooperation, in particular with neighbourhood countries.

Article 9

Support for
policy reform

1.           Support for policy reform action
shall include the activities initiated at Union level related to:

(a)
the activities related to the implementation of
the Union policy agenda on education, training and youth (Open Methods of
Coordination), as well as the Bologna and Copenhagen processes and the
structured dialogue with young people;

(b)
the implementation in participating countries of
Union transparency tools, in particular Europass, the European Qualifications
Framework (EQF), European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), European
Credit system for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) and the support to
EU-wide networks;

(c)
the policy dialogue with relevant European
stakeholders in the area of education, training and youth;

(d)
the European Youth Forum, the National Academic
Recognition Centres (NARIC), the Eurydice, Euroguidance and Eurodesk networks,
as well as the eTwinning National Support Centres, the Europass National
Centres, and the National Information Offices in the neighbourhood countries
and acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates not fully
participating in the programme.

2.           This action shall also
support policy dialogue with third countries and international organizations.

Article 10

Jean Monnet
activities

The Jean Monnet activities
shall aim to:

(a)
promote teaching and research on European
integration world-wide among specialist academics, learners and citizens,
notably through the creation of Jean Monnet Chairs and other
academic activities, as well as by providing aid for other knowledge-building
activities at higher education institutions;

(b)
support the activities of academic institutions
or associations active in the field of European integration studies and support
a Jean Monnet label for excellence.

(c)
support the following European academic
institutions pursuing an aim of European interest;

(i)      the European University Institute of
Florence;

(ii)      the College of Europe (Bruges and
Natolin campuses);

(d)
promote policy debate and exchanges between the
academic world and policy-makers on Union policy priorities.

CHAPTER III

Sport

Article 11

Specific
objectives

In line with
the general objective, the Programme shall pursue the following specific
objectives in the area of sport:

(a)
to tackle transnational threats to sport such as
doping, match fixing, violence, racism and intolerance;

–
Related indicator: % of participants who use the
results of cross-border projects to fight against threats to sport.

(b)
to support good governance in sport and dual
careers of athletes;

–
Related indicator: % of participants who use the
results of cross-border projects to improve good governance and dual careers.

(c)
to promote social inclusion, equal opportunities
and health-enhancing physical activity through increased participation in
sport.

–
Related indicator: % of participants who use the
results of cross-border projects to enhance social inclusion, equal
opportunities and participation rates.

Article 12

Activities

1.           The objectives of
cooperation in Sport shall be pursued through the following transnational
activities:

(a)
support to transnational collaborative projects;

(b)
support to non-commercial European sport events involving
several European countries;

(c)
support the strengthening of the evidence base
for policy making ;

(d)
support to capacity building of sport
organisations;

(e)
dialogue with relevant European stakeholders.

2.           The
sport activities supported shall, where appropriate, leverage supplementary
funding through partnership with third parties such as private undertakings.

CHAPTER IV

Financial Provisions

Article 13

Budget

1.           The financial envelope for
the implementation of this Programme as from 1 January 2014 is set at EUR 17 299
000 000.

The following amounts shall be allocated to the
Actions of the Programme

a)       EUR 16 741 738 000 for actions in the
field of education, training and youth, as referred to under Article 6(1);

b)       EUR 318 435 000 for the Jean Monnet
activities, as referred to under Article 10;

c)       EUR 238 827 000 for actions relating
to Sport, as referred to in Chapter III.

2.           In addition to the
financial envelope as indicated in paragraph 1, and in
order to promote the international dimension of higher education, an indicative
amount of EUR 1 812 100 000[29] from the different external
instruments (Development Cooperation Instrument, European
Neighbourhood Instrument, Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance, Partnership
Instrument and the European development Fund),, will be allocated to actions of
learning mobility to or from countries other than those as referred to in Article
18(1) and to cooperation and policy dialogue with
authorities/institutions/organisations from these countries. The provisions of this
Regulation will apply to the use of those funds.

The funding will be made available
through 2 multi annual allocations only covering the first 4 years and the
remaining 3 years respectively. This funding will be reflected in the
multiannual indicative programming of these instruments, in line with the
identified needs and priorities of the countries concerned. The allocations can
be revised in case of major unforeseen circumstances or important political
changes in line with the EU external priorities. Cooperation with non participating
countries may be based, where relevant, on additional appropriations from
partner countries to be made available in accordance with procedures to be
agreed with these countries.

3.           In accordance with the
expected value added of the three types of actions as referred to in Article 6(1),
and with the principles of critical mass, concentration, efficiency and
performance, the amount indicated in Article 13(1.a) will be indicatively allocated
as follows:

–
[65%] of this amount is allocated to learning
mobility of individuals;

–
[26%] of this amount is allocated to cooperation
for innovation and good practices;

–
[4%] of this amount is allocated to support for
policy reform.

–
[3%] of this amount will cover operating grants
to National Agencies

–
[2%] of this amount will cover administrative
expenditures.

4.           The financial allocation
for the Programme may also cover expenses pertaining to preparatory,
monitoring, control, audit and evaluation activities which are required for the
management of the programme and the achievement of its objectives; in
particular, studies, meetings of experts, information and communication
actions, including corporate communication of the political priorities of the
European Union as far as they are related to the general objectives of this Regulation,
expenses linked to IT focusing on information processing and exchange, together
with all other technical and administrative assistance expenses incurred by the
Commission for the management of the Programme.

5.           The financial allocation
may also cover the technical and administrative assistance expenses necessary
to ensure the transition between the Programme and the measures adopted under
Decision No 1720/2006/EC establishing the Lifelong Learning Programme, Decision
No 1719/2006/EC establishing the Youth in Action programme and Decision No
1298/2008/EC establishing the Erasmus Mundus Programme. If necessary,
appropriations could 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.           The funds for the learning
mobility of individuals referred to in Article 6(1.a) that are to be managed by
a National Agency shall be allocated on the basis of population and cost of
living in the Member State, distance between capitals of Member States and performance.
The parameter of performance accounts for 25% of the total funds according to the
criteria as referred to in paragraphs 7 and 8.

7.           Allocation of funds based
on performance applies in order to promote an efficient and effective use of
resources. The criteria used to measure performance shall be based on the most
recent data available. Those criteria are:

(a)
the level of annual realised outputs that relate
to the agreed outcomes and results;

(b)
the level of annual payments realised.

These
criteria may be subjected to revision during the duration of the Programme in accordance
with the procedure as referred to in Article 28 relating to delegated acts.

8.           The allocation of funds
for the year 2014 shall be based on latest available data of outputs and budget
take-up of the Lifelong Learning Programme, Youth in Action and Erasmus Mundus
programmes implemented until 1 January 2014.

9.           The Programme may provide
support through specific innovative funding modalities, in particular those set
out in Article 14(3).

Article 14

Specific
funding modalities

1.           The Commission shall
implement the Union financial support in accordance with Regulation XX/2012
[the Financial Regulation].

2.           The Commission may launch
joint calls with third countries or their organisations and agencies to jointly
fund projects. Projects may be evaluated and selected through joint evaluation
and selection procedures to be agreed upon by the funding agencies involved, in
compliance with the principles set out in Regulation XX/2012[30]
[Financial Regulation].

3.           The Commission shall
provide the funding for guarantees for loans to students resident in a
participating country as defined in Article 18(1) undertaking a full Masters
degree in another participating country, to 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. The financial
instrument shall comply with the provisions regarding financial instruments in
the Financial Regulation and in the Delegated Act replacing the Implementing
Rules. In accordance with Article 18(2) of the Regulation (EC, Euratom) No
1605/2002, revenues and repayments generated by the guarantees should be
assigned to the financial instrument. This financial instrument, including
market needs and take-up, will be subject to the monitoring and evaluation as
referred to in Article 15(2).

4.           Public bodies, as well as
schools, higher education institutions and organisations in the fields of
education, training, youth and sport that have received over 50% of their
annual revenue from public sources over the last two years shall be considered
as having the necessary financial, professional and administrative capacity to
carry out activities under the Programme. They shall not be required to present
further documentation to demonstrate this.

5.           Grants for learning
mobility awarded to individuals shall be exempted from any taxes and social
levies. The same exemption shall apply to intermediary bodies awarding such financial
support to the individuals concerned.

6.           The amount referred to in
Article [127(1)] of the Financial Regulation shall not apply to financial
support for learning mobility awarded to individuals.

CHAPTER V

Performance results and dissemination

Article 15

Monitoring
and evaluation of performance and results

1.           The Commission, in
cooperation with the Member States, shall regularly monitor the performance and
results of the Programme against its objectives, particularly regarding:

(a)
The European added value as referred to in
Article 3;

(b)
The distribution of funds associated with the main
educational sectors, aiming to ensure, by the end of the Programme, an
allocation of funding which guarantees significant systemic impact.

2.           In addition to the
continuing monitoring, the Commission shall establish an evaluation report no
later than end 2017 in order to assess the effectiveness in achieving the
objectives, the efficiency of the Programme and its European added value, in
view of a decision on the renewal, modification or suspension of the Programme.
The evaluation shall address the scope for simplification, its internal and
external coherence, the continued relevance of all objectives, as well as the
contribution of the measures to the Union priorities of smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth. It shall also take into account evaluation results on the
long-term impact of the predecessor programmes (Lifelong Learning, Youth in Action,
Erasmus Mundus and other international higher education programmes).

3.           Without prejudice to the
requirements set out in Chapter VII and the obligations of National Agencies as
referred to in Article 22, Member States shall submit to the Commission, by 31
March 2017 and 30 June 2019 respectively, reports on the implementation and the
impact of the Programme.

Article 16

Communication
and dissemination

1.           The Commission in
cooperation with Member States shall ensure the dissemination of information,
publicity and follow-up with regard to actions supported under the Programme,
as well as the dissemination of the results of the previous Lifelong Learning,
Erasmus Mundus and Youth in Action Programmes.

2.           Beneficiaries of the
supported projects through actions and activities as referred to in Articles 6,
10 and 12 should ensure a proper communication and dissemination of the results
and impacts obtained.

3.           The National Agencies as
referred to in Article 22 shall develop a consistent policy in view of an
effective dissemination and exploitation of results of activities supported
under the actions they manage within the programme and assist the Commission in
the general task of disseminating information on the Programme and its results.

4.           The public and private
bodies within the main education sectors covered by the Programme shall use the
brand name "Erasmus" for the purpose of communication and dissemination
of information relating to the programme; the brand name shall 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 and adult learning

–
"Erasmus Schools", associated with
school education

–
"Erasmus Youth Participation",
associated with youth non formal learning.

5.           Communication activities
shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political
priorities of the Union provided that they are related to the general
objectives of this Regulation.

CHAPTER VI

Access to the Programme

Article 17

Access

1.           Any public and private body
active in the areas of education, training, youth and grassroots sport may
apply within this Programme.

2.           When implementing the
Programme, the Commission and the Member States shall ensure particular efforts
to facilitate the participation of people with difficulties for educational, social,
gender, physical, psychological, geographical, economic and cultural reasons.

Article 18

Country
participation

1.           The Programme is open to
the participation of the following countries (hereinafter referred to as the
‘participating countries’):

(a)
the Member States;

(b)
the acceding countries,
candidate countries and potential candidates benefiting from a pre-accession
strategy, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and
conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes
established in the respective Framework Agreements, Association Council
Decisions or similar agreements;

(c)
the EFTA States that are party to the EEA
Agreement, in accordance with the provisions of that Agreement;

(d)
the Swiss Confederation, provided that a
bilateral agreement foreseeing its participation is concluded with that
country;

2.           The participating countries
listed in paragraph 1 shall be subject to all the obligations and shall fulfil
all the tasks set out in this Regulation in relation to Member States.

3.           The Programme shall support
the cooperation with partners from third countries, notably partners from neighbourhood
countries, in actions and activities as referred to in Articles 6 and 10.

CHAPTER VII

Management and audit system

Article 19

Complementarity

The Commission,
in cooperation with Member States, shall ensure overall consistency and
complementarity with:

(a)
the relevant Union policies, in particular those
in the fields of culture and the media, employment, health, research and
innovation, enterprise, justice, consumer, development and cohesion policy;

(b)
the other Union relevant funding sources in the
field of education, training and youth policies, in particular the European
Social Fund and the other financial instruments relating to employment and
social inclusion, the European Regional Development Fund, the Research and
Innovation Programmes, as well as the financial instruments relating to justice
and citizenship, health, external cooperation Programmes and the pre-accession
instruments.

Article 20

Implementing
bodies

The Programme shall be implemented by the
following bodies:

(a)
The Commission at Union level;

(b)
The National Agencies at national level to be
implemented in the participating countries as referred to in Article 18(1).

Article 21

National
Authority

1.           Within one month of the
entry into force of this Regulation, the Member States shall notify the
Commission by way of a formal notification transmitted
by their Permanent Representation of the person(s)
legally authorized to act on their behalf as the “National Authority” for the
purpose of this Regulation. In case of replacement of
the National Authority in the course of the Programme lifetime, the Member
State shall notify the Commission thereof immediately according to the same
procedure.

2.           The Member States shall take
all appropriate measures to remove legal and administrative obstacles to the
proper functioning of the Programme, including the administration of visas..

3.           Within three months of the
entry into force of this Regulation, the National Authority shall designate a
single coordinating body called hereafter "National Agency". The
National Authority shall provide the Commission with an appropriate ex ante
Compliance Assessment that the National Agency complies with the provisions of
Article 55(1)(b)(vi) and Article 57(1), (2) and (3) of the Regulation No
XX/2012, , and Article X of its Delegated Regulation NoXX/2012, as well as with
the Union requirements for internal control standards for National Agencies and
rules for their management of Programme funds for grant support.

4.           The National Authority
shall designate an independent audit body as referred to in Article 24.

5.           The National Authority
shall monitor and supervise the management of the Programme at national level. It
shall inform and consult the Commission in due time prior to taking any
decision that may have an impact on the management of the Programme, in
particular regarding its National Agency.

6.           The National Authority
shall base its ex-ante Compliance Assessment on its own controls and audits,
and/or on controls and audits undertaken by the independent audit body referred
to in Article 24.

7.           In the case that the
National Agency designated for the Programme is the same as the National Agency
designated for the predecessor Lifelong Learning or Youth in Action Programme,
the scope of the controls and audits for the ex-ante Compliance Assessment may
be limited to the requirements that are new and specific for the Programme.

8.           In
case the Commission rejects the designation of the National Agency based on its
evaluation of the ex-ante Compliance Assessment, the National Authority shall ensure
that the necessary remedial actions are taken for the body designated as
National Agency to comply with the minimum requirements set by the Commission
or designate another body as National Agency.

9.           The National Authority
shall provide adequate co-financing for the operations
of their National Agency to ensure that the Programme is managed in respect of
the applicable Union rules.

10.         Based on the yearly
management declaration of assurance of the National Agency, the independent
audit opinion thereon and the Commission's analysis of the National Agency's
compliance and performance, the National Authority shall inform the Commission
by 30 October of each year on its monitoring and supervision activities on the
Programme.

11.         The National authority
shall take responsibility for the proper management of the Union funds
transferred by the Commission to the National Agency for grant support to be
awarded under the Programme.

12.         In the event of any
irregularity, negligence or fraud attributable to the National Agency, as well
as in the case of serious shortcomings or underperformance of the National Agency,
and where this gives rise to claims by the Commission on the National Agency,
the National Authority shall be liable towards the Commission for the funds not
recovered.

13.         In the events and cases
referred to paragraph 12, the National Authority may revoke the National Agency
either on its own initiative or upon request from the Commission. In case the
National authority wishes to revoke the National Agency for other justified
reasons, it shall notify the Commission of the revocation at least six months
before the envisaged date of termination of the mandate of the National Agency.
In such case, the National Authority and the Commission shall formally agree on
specific and timed transition measures.

14.         In case of revocation, the
National Authority shall implement the necessary controls regarding the Union
funds entrusted to the revoked National Agency and ensure an uninhibited
transfer of these funds as well as of all documents and management tools
required for the Programme management to the new National Agency. The National
Authority shall provide the revoked National Agency with the necessary
financial support to continue implementing its contractual obligations
vis-à-vis the Programme beneficiaries and the Commission until the transfer of
these obligations to a new National Agency.

Article 22

National
Agency

1.           The National Agency shall:

(a)
have legal personality or be part of an entity
having legal personality, and be governed by the law of the Member State
concerned. A ministry may not be designated as National Agency;

(b)
have the adequate management capacity, staff and
infrastructure to fulfil its tasks satisfactorily, ensuring an efficient and
effective management of the Programme and sound financial management of Union
funds;

(c)
have the operational and legal means to apply
the administrative, contractual and financial management rules laid down at
Union level;

(d)
offer adequate financial guarantees, issued
preferably by a public authority, corresponding to the level of Union funds it
will be called upon to manage;

(e)
be designated for the duration of the Programme.

2.           The National Agency shall be
responsible of certain Programme actions managed at
national level, in conformity with the Articles 55(1)(b)(vi) of Regulation
N°XXX/2012 [future Financial Regulation] and of Article X of its Delegated
Regulation N°XXX/2012 [future Implementing Rules]. Those actions are:

(a)
all Programme actions within the key action
"Learning Mobility of Individuals", with the exception of the
mobility organized on the basis of joint or double/multiple degrees and the Union
loan guarantee scheme;

(b)
the Programme action "Strategic
Partnerships" within the key action "Cooperation for innovation and
good practice";

(c)
the management of grassroots activities in the
key action "Support to Policy Reform".

3.           The National Agency shall
be in charge of managing all stages of the project lifecycle of the Programme
actions referred to in paragraph 2, with the possible exception of the
selection and award decision for the Strategic Partnerships referred to in the
same paragraph.

4.           The
National Agency shall issue grant support to beneficiaries either by way of a
grant agreement or a grant decision, as specified by the Commission for the
Programme action concerned.

5.           The National Agency shall
report to the Commission and to its National Authority on a yearly basis in
accordance with the provisions set in Article 57(5) of the Financial Regulation
N°XX/2012. The National Agency shall be in charge of implementing the
observations issued by the Commission following its analysis of the National
Agency's management declaration of assurance, as well as of the independent
audit opinion thereon.

6.           The
National Agency may not delegate to a third party any task of Programme or
budget implementation conferred on it without prior written authorization from
the National Authority and the Commission. The National Agency shall retain
sole responsibility for the tasks delegated to a third party.

7.           In
case of replacement of a National Agency, the revoked National Agency remains
legally responsible for implementing its contractual obligations vis-à-vis the
Programme beneficiaries and the Commission until the transfer of these
obligations to a new National Agency.

8.           The
National Agency shall be in charge of managing and winding up the financial
agreements relating to the predecessor Lifelong Learning and Youth in Action
Programmes (2007-2013) that will be still open at the beginning of the
Programme.

Article 23

European Commission

1.           Within
two months of receipt of the ex-ante Compliance Assessment as referred to in
Article 21(3) from the National Authority, the Commission shall accept,
conditionally accept or reject the designation of the National Agency. The
Commission shall not enter into a contractual relationship with the National Agency
until the acceptance of the ex-ante Compliance Assessment. In case of a conditional
acceptance, the Commission may apply proportionate precautionary measures to
its contractual relationship with the National Agency.

2.           The
Commission shall formalise the legal responsibilities with regard to financial
agreements relating to the predecessor Lifelong Learning and Youth in Action
Programmes (2007-2013) and still open at the start of the Programme upon its
acceptance of the ex-ante Compliance Assessment on the National Agency
designated for the Programme.

3.           The
document governing the contractual relationship between the Commission and the
National Agency 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 EU support is
provided;

(c)
specify the reporting requirements for the
National Agency.

4.           The
Commission shall make the following Programme funds available to the National
Agency on a yearly basis:

(a)
funds for grant support in the Member State to the actions of the Programme the
management of which is entrusted to the National Agency;

(b)
a financial contribution in support of the Programme
management tasks of the National Agency. This will be provided in the form of a
flat-rate contribution to the operational costs of the National Agency. It will
be established on the basis of the amount of Union funds for grant support
entrusted to the National Agency.

5.           The
Commission shall set the requirements for the National Agency work programme.
The Commission shall not make Programme funds available to the National Agency
until after formal approval of the relevant National Agency work programme by
the Commission.

6.           On
the basis of the compliance requirements for National Agencies referred to in
Article 21(3), the Commission shall review the national management and control
system, in particular through the assessment of the ex-ante Compliance Assessment
of the National Authority, of the yearly management declaration of assurance of
the National Agency and of the opinion of the independent audit body thereon,
taking due account of the yearly information from the National Authority on its
monitoring and supervision activities on the Programme.

7.           Upon
its assessment of the yearly management declaration of assurance and of the
opinion of the independent audit body thereon, the Commission shall address its
opinion and observations thereon to the National Agency and the National
Authority.

8.           In
the event that the Commission cannot accept the National Agency's management
declaration of assurance or the independent audit opinion thereon, or in the
case of an unsatisfactory implementation of the Commission's observations by
the National Agency, the Commission may implement any precautionary and
corrective measures necessary to safeguard the Union financial interests in accordance with Article 57 (4) of the
Financial Regulation N°XX/2012

9.           The
Commission shall organize regular meetings with the network of National
Agencies in order to ensure a coherent implementation of the Programme across
all participating countries.

10.         The
Commission may request from the National Authorities to designate the
institutions or organizations, or the types of such institutions and
organizations, to be considered eligible to participate in specific Programme
actions in their respective territories.

Article 24

Audit body

1.           The
independent audit shall issue an audit opinion on the yearly management
declaration of assurance referred to in Article 57(5)(d) and (e) of the
Financial Regulation N°XX/2012.

2.           The independent audit body
shall:

(a)
Have the necessary professional competences for
undertaking public sector audits;

(b)
Ensure that audit activity takes 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 is part. It shall
notably be functionally independent with regard to the legal entity of which
the National Agency is part and shall not execute any other controls or audits
on or for the legal entity.

3.           The independent audit body
shall provide 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 yearly management declaration of assurance of the
National Agency.

CHAPTER VIII

Control system

Article 25

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 European Union are protected by the application
of preventive measures against 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 deterrent penalties.

2.           The Commission shall be
responsible for the supervisory controls with regard to the Programme 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.           The National Agency shall
be responsible for the primary controls of grant beneficiaries for the
Programme actions as referred to in Article 22(2). These 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
Programme funds transferred to the National Agencies, the Commission will 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 does not apply to OLAF investigations.

Article 26

Protection
of the financial interests of the European Union

1.           The Commission or its
representatives and the Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the
basis of documents and on-the-spot, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors,
subcontractors and other third parties who have received Union funds. They may
also conduct audits and controls of the National Agencies.

2.           The European Anti-fraud
Office (OLAF) may carry out on-the-spot controls and inspections on economic
operators concerned directly or indirectly by such funding in accordance with
the procedure laid down in 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 European Union in connection
with a grant agreement or grant decision or a contract concerning Union
funding.

3.           Without prejudice to the
paragraphs 1 and 2, cooperation agreements with third countries and
international organisations and grant agreements and 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, on-the-spot
controls and inspections.

CHAPTER IX

Delegations of power and implementing
provisions

Article 27

Delegation
of powers to the Commission

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt
delegated acts in accordance with Article 28 concerning the amendment of Article
13(7) and Article 22(2) relating respectively to the performance criteria and the
provisions on the actions managed by the National Agencies.

Article 28

Exercise of
the delegation

1.           The power to adopt
delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid
down in this Article.

2.           The delegation of power
referred to in Article 27 shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of
7 years from the date of entry into force of this Regulation and for the
duration of the Programme.

3.           The delegation of power
referred to in Article 27 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament
or by the Council. A decision of revocation shall put an end to the delegation
of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following
the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or
at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any
delegated acts already in force.

4.           As soon as it adopts a
delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European
Parliament and to the Council.

5.           A delegated act adopted
pursuant to Article 27 shall enter into force only if no objection has been
expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of 2
months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council
or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the
Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That
period shall be extended by 2 months at the initiative of the European
Parliament or the Council.

Article 29

Implementation
of the Programme

In order to implement the programme, the
Commission shall adopt annual work programmes by way of implementing acts in
accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 30(2). They
shall set out the objectives pursued, the expected results, the method of
implementation and their total amount. They shall also contain a description of
the actions to be financed, an indication of the amount allocated to each
action, as well as the distribution of funds between the Member States for the
actions managed through the National Agencies, and an indicative implementation
timetable. They shall include for grants the priorities, the essential
evaluation criteria and the maximum rate of co-financing.

Article 30

Committee
procedure

1.           The Commission shall be
assisted by a committee. 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 X

Final Provisions

Article 31

Repeal - Transitional
provisions

1.           Decision No 1720/2006/EC
establishing the Lifelong Learning Programme, Decision No 1719/2006/EC establishing
the Youth in Action Programme and Decision No 1298/2008/EC establishing the
Erasmus Mundus Programme shall be repealed from 1 January 2014.

2.           Actions which are
initiated on or before 31 December 2013 on the basis of Decision No
1720/2006/EC, Decision No 1719/2006/EC and Decision No 1298/2008/EC shall be
administered, whether relevant, in conformity with the provisions of this Regulation.

3.           Member States shall ensure
at national level the uninhibited transition between the actions carried out in
the context of the previous Programmes in the fields of lifelong learning,
youth and international cooperation in higher education and those to be
implemented in the Programme.

Article 32

Entry into
force

This Regulation shall enter into force on
the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal
of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2014.

This Regulation shall be binding
in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament                       For
the Council

The President                                                 The
President

ANNEX
LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR PROPOSALS

[to
be used for any proposal or initiative submitted to the legislative authority

(Articles
28 of the Financial Regulation and 22 of the implementing rules)]

1.           FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

              1.1.    Title of the proposal/initiative

              1.2.    Policy
area(s) concerned in the ABM/ABB structure

              1.3.    Nature
of the proposal/initiative

              1.4.    Objective(s)

              1.5.    Grounds
for the proposal/initiative

              1.6.    Duration
and financial impact

              1.7.    Management
method(s) envisaged

2.           MANAGEMENT MEASURES

              2.1.    Monitoring
and reporting rules

              2.2.    Management
and control system

              2.3.    Measures
to prevent fraud and irregularities

3.           ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE
PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

              3.1.    Heading(s)
of the multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget line(s) affected

              3.2.    Estimated
impact on expenditure

              3.2.1. Summary of estimated impact on expenditure

              3.2.2. Estimated
impact on operational appropriations

              3.2.3. Estimated
impact on appropriations of an administrative nature

              3.2.4. Compatibility
with the current multiannual financial framework

              3.2.5. Third-party
participation in financing

              3.3.    Estimated impact on revenue

LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR PROPOSALS

1.           FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

1.1.        Title of the
proposal/initiative

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE
COUNCIL establishing Erasmus For All action, the Union Programme for Education,
Training, Youth and Sport.

1.2.        Policy area(s) concerned
in the ABM/ABB structure[31]

Title 15 Education and Culture

1.3.        Nature of the
proposal/initiative

x The proposal/initiative relates to a
new action

¨ The
proposal/initiative relates to a new action following a pilot
project/preparatory action[32]

¨ The
proposal/initiative relates to the extension of an existing action

¨ The
proposal/initiative relates to an action redirected towards a new action

1.4.        Objectives

1.4.1.     The Commission's
multiannual strategic objective(s) targeted by the proposal/initiative

Europe 2020 strategy

Priority: Smart and inclusive growth, Single programme for
education, Training, Youth and Sport

Targets: Education/Skills

Flagship initiatives: Agenda for new skills and jobs, Youth on the
move

1.4.2.     Specific objective(s) and
ABM/ABB activity(ies) concerned

SPECIFIC
OBJECTIVE No 1:

To improve the level of key competences and skills regarding in
particular their relevance for the labour market and society, as well as the
participation of young people in democratic life in Europe, notably through
increased learning mobility opportunities for young people, learners, staff and
youth workers, and through strengthened cooperation between education youth and
the world of labour market.

SPECIFIC
OBJECTIVE No 2:

To foster quality improvements, innovation excellence and
internationalisation at the level of educational institutions, as well as in
youth work, notably through enhanced transnational cooperation between
education and training providers/youth organisations and other stakeholders.

SPECIFIC
OBJECTIVE No 3:

To promote the emergence of a European lifelong learning area,
trigger policy reforms at national level, support the modernisation of
education and training systems, including non-formal learning, and support
European cooperation in the youth field, notably through enhanced policy
cooperation, better use of recognition and transparency tools and the
dissemination of good practices

SPECIFIC
OBJECTIVE No 4:

To enhance the international dimension of education, training and
youth notably in higher education by increasing the attractiveness of the Union
higher education institutions and supporting the Union development objectives
through the promotion of mobility and cooperation between EU and third country
higher education institutions and targeted capacity building in third countries

SPECIFIC
OBJECTIVE No 5:

To improve the teaching and learning of languages and promote
linguistic diversity

SPECIFIC
OBJECTIVE No 6:

To promote excellence in teaching and research activities in
European integration through the Jean Monnet activities worldwide.

SPECIFIC
OBJECTIVE No 7:

To
tackle transnational threats to sport such as doping,
match fixing, violence, racism and intolerance.

SPECIFIC
OBJECTIVE No 8:

To support good governance in sport and dual careers of athletes

SPECIFIC
OBJECTIVE No 9:

To
promote social inclusion, equal opportunities and
health-enhancing physical activity through increased participation in sport.

ABM/ABB activity(ies) concerned

Proposed
new ABM/ABB activity:

15.02
Education, Training, Youth and Sport

1.4.3.     Expected result(s) and
impact

Specify the effects
which the proposal/initiative should have on the beneficiaries/groups targeted.

Through the promotion of transnational formal and non-formal
learning mobility and cooperation, both within the Union and internationally, Erasmus
for all will help member states achieving significant systemic impact on their
education, training and youth systems. The expected benefits will go well
beyond the individuals concerned; they will help young people acquire the new
skills and increase their employability; they will make education institutions
more efficient, open and international, and provide quality tools, analysis and
research.

In the area of non-formal learning and youth work, strongest impacts
are expected on individuals' educational and professional development,
including the promotion of youth participation in society as well as sport. The
programme will also shape policy initiatives such as the European Voluntary
Service, enhancing cooperation in the area of voluntary activities for young
people.

For candidate and third countries the proposal will increase their
potential for partnerships aiming at closer cooperation notably in mobility activities.
Reinforced cooperation will support the capacity building and modernisation of
higher education in partner countries, and contribute to the attractiveness of
Europe.

1.4.4.     Indicators of results and
impact

Specify the
indicators for monitoring implementation of the proposal/initiative.

Indicators || Sources of data || Target

– Tertiary level attainment – Early school leavers || Europe 2020 ET2020 reports Eurostat || By 2020, at least 40% of 30-34 year olds should be higher education graduates. By 2020, not more than 10% of 18-24-year-olds have only lower-secondary education and are not enrolled in education or training.

% of participants who have increased their key competences and/or their skills relevant for their employability || Eurostat Final report of beneficiary Surveys/Eurobarometer || By 2020, 95% of people who state having gained or improved key-competences through their participation in a programme project

% of young participants declaring being better prepared to participate in social and political life || Final report of beneficiary Surveys/Eurobarometer || By 2020, 70% of young people who state being better prepared to participated in social and political life through their participation in a programme project

% of organisations that have participated in the Programme and that have developed/adopted innovative methods || Surveys/Eurobarometer Final report || Yearly increase

Number of member states making use of the results of the Open method of coordination in their national policy development || ET 2020 || All Member states take the relevant information/results available from the education and training OMC systematically into consideration by 2020

Number of non Union higher education institutions involved in the mobility and cooperation actions || Final report IT monitoring tool Surveys/Eurobarometer || Yearly increase

% of participants who have increased their language skills || || By 2020, at least 80% of lower secondary pupils are taught two foreign languages or more

% of the increase in the number of Jean Monnet project worldwide || Final report IT monitoring tool Surveys/Eurobarometer || Yearly increase

– % of participants who use the results of cross-border projects to fight against threats to sport. – % of participants who use the results of cross-border projects to improve good governance and dual careers – % of participants who use the results of cross-border projects to enhance social inclusion, equal opportunities and participation rates || Final report IT monitoring tool Surveys/Eurobarometer || Yearly increase

1.5.        Grounds for the
proposal/initiative

1.5.1.     Requirement(s) to be met in
the short or long term

- Offer increased number of learning mobility opportunities both for
students, young people, teachers, trainers and youth workers.

- Boost transnational cooperation between education, training and
youth organisations in order to promote innovative methods of teaching and
exchange of good practices.

- Strengthen the international dimension of education through a
reinforced cooperation with certain regions of the world, in particular the Union's
neighbours.

- Support policy reform in Member States

- Support sport activities focusing on the fight against doping,
violence and racism and fostering transnational activities.

1.5.2.     Added value of Union involvement

As the Union Budget Review has highlighted, the "Union budget
should be used to finance Union public goods, actions that Member States and
regions cannot finance themselves, or where it can secure better results".
Interim evaluations of current programmes dealing with education, training and
youth (mainly Lifelong Learning programme and Youth in Action), have
demonstrated that the main European added value of the programme is derived
from the transnational as well as the innovative character of the activities
undertaken and of the products and partnerships it helps to develop.
Encouraging successful cooperation between Member States’ education, training
and youth systems would help to identify and implement policies and practices
that work and encourage learning from each other.

The legal proposal respects the principle of subsidiarity as the
tasks for adopting incentive measure in the field concerned are set out in the
Treaty (articles 165 and 166 of TUE). The policies are implemented by fully
respecting the responsibility of the Member States in particular regarding the
content of teaching and the organisation of national education systems as well
as cultural and linguistic diversity, and in accordance with the principle of
the indirect centralised management.

The Union instrument will be focused on the mobility of students and
teachers, the development of exchanges of information and best practices,
adaptation to the industrial changes through vocational training and retraining
and facilitation of access to it.

1.5.3.     Lessons learned from
similar experiences in the past

In the field of education and culture, the existing Lifelong
Learning programme has been the result of the integration of three previous
programmes[33] into a single one. As
stated in the LLP interim evaluation, this integration has been successful
mainly in relation to the overall management thanks to considerable
administrative simplification, as well as the dissemination of information to
the target groups.

A further simplification is now expected from the integration of the
LLP, with Youth in Action and various international cooperation programmes.
Indeed, they already share similar management structures (national Agencies,
Executive agency) and they cover very similar types of actions (mainly mobility
and cooperation projects).

Regarding the policy content, the evaluations show that the current
Community programmes to promote transnational formal and non-formal learning
mobility and cooperation, both within the Union and internationally, have
already achieved significant systemic impact, well beyond the benefits to the
individuals concerned.

Evaluations consistently show that the inherent complexity of the
remaining fragmentation of the current Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) into 6
sub-programmes, more than 50 objectives and over 60 actions, is too complex; it
entails the risk of overlaps, hampers the development of a coherent lifelong
learning approach, and limits the scope for efficiency gains and
cost-effectiveness. Some current actions lack the critical mass required for
long-lasting impact. In addition, the similarities between the general
objectives and delivery mechanisms of the Life Long Learning sub-programmes and
of Youth in Action, both focused on mobility, cooperation and human capital,
must be fully exploited particularly as concerns the management and
implementation of the Programme.

The LLP mid-term evaluation suggests that a single Programme would
have the potential to increase coherence between the various funding possibilities
offered to the beneficiaries and strengthen the lifelong learning approach by
linking up all Programmes dealing with formal and non-formal learning at all
stages of the education and training spectrum. It will broaden the scope for
structured partnerships, both between different sectors of education and with
the world of work and other relevant actors. At management level, economies of
scale can be significant if actions of a similar nature have similar
implementing rules and procedures, simplifying both for beneficiaries and for
management bodies at Union and national levels. The Programme will also provide
flexibility and incentives, so that budget allocation between actions,
beneficiaries and countries better reflects performance and potential impact.

The same applies to international cooperation in higher education,
also marked by the fragmentation of Union instruments, making it difficult for
students and institutions to access the different opportunities and for the Union
to be visible internationally. Similar programmes have different objectives,
scope, operational modalities, and calendar, and do not easily interact with
each other; the lack of predictability and the stop-go annual funding cycle of
certain actions makes it difficult for higher education institutions to engage
in long-term cooperation.

1.5.4.     Coherence and possible
synergy with other relevant instruments

Erasmus for all is not the only Union programme involved in
education and youth fields. Structural Funds and the future Horizon 2020
Research and Innovation Programme are also strongly committed to Union 2020
strategy and its related headlines targets on higher education and early school
leaving in particular. The synergy between the instruments will be ensured
through a clear distinction in the types of investments/ target groups
supported: education infrastructure will be supported by ERDF, people on labour
market training and adult learners' mobility by ESF, researchers' mobility by
Horizon 2020. Furthermore, Erasmus for all supports only transnational
projects, whereas focus of structural funds is within a national or regional
dimension.

The ambition is to allow members States to test and experiment tools
and methods resulting from transnational cooperation through Erasmus for all
and then to implement them on their territory through structural funds.

Complementarity with Horizon 2020 will be of high relevance for
Higher Education, including its international dimension where excellence and
research in universities will be reinforced.

1.6.        Duration and financial
impact

x Proposal/initiative of limited
duration

–
x Proposal/initiative in effect from 01/01/2014 to 31/12/2020

–
x Financial impact from 2014 to 2025

¨ Proposal/initiative of unlimited
duration

–
Implementation with a start-up period from YYYY
to YYYY,

–
followed by full-scale operation.

1.7.        Management mode(s)
envisaged[34]

x Centralised direct management by the Commission

x Centralised indirect management with
the delegation of implementation tasks to:

–
x executive agencies

–
¨  bodies set up by the Communities[35]

–
x national public-sector bodies/bodies with public-service mission

–
¨  persons entrusted with the implementation of specific actions
pursuant to Title V of the Treaty on European Union and identified in the
relevant basic act within the meaning of Article 49 of the Financial Regulation

¨ Shared management with the Member States

¨ Decentralised management with third countries

x Joint management with international organisations (as specified below)

If more than one management
mode is indicated, please provide details in the "Comments" section.

Comments

As concerns the Erasmus Masters Degree Mobility initiative referred
to in Artcile 14(3), the Commission envisages applying the system of joint
management with international organisations. Subject to the detailed
negotiations on the contractual terms, it is likely that the European
Investment Bank Group would be selected to act as the trustee for the
implementation of the guarantee.

2.           MANAGEMENT MEASURES

2.1.        Monitoring and reporting
rules

Specify frequency
and conditions.

Rules for monitoring and reporting will be established in view of
efficiency and cost-effectiveness, based on the experience gained in the
current programmes.

In order to reach this objective, a number of simplifications will
be implemented in the grant management process, which will have as major goals
to reduce the administrative workload and related costs for programme
participants, to decrease the costs of monitoring and control for the managing
bodies, to increase the quality of data gathered and to reduce the error rate.

To reach this simplification, the following measures will be
implemented:

-        Rationalisation of the programme structure and actions:
drastic reduction of the number of different actions with different management
rules; the back office should be unified and streamlined across actions;

-        The use of lump sum and flat rate grants/grants based on
unit costs will be generalized to a maximum extent. Grants to individuals for
learning mobility actions will take the form of lump sum grants without
exception. Reporting and control will thus focus on the realization of the
supported activity and the achieved results rather than on the eligibility of
costs incurred, reducing the workload and scope for error of both programme
participants and managing bodies.

-        For cooperation projects and support to policy reform, a
stronger focus will be put on outputs, allowing increasing lump sum grants. Where
grants will be based on real costs, the grant contribution will be essentially
to direct costs.

-        Programme beneficiaries will supply the necessary
management information in their grant application and their reports. Reporting
requirements will be proportional to the size of the grant, the duration and
complexity of the supported action. Indicators are set in the legal basis in
order to provide a stable basis for the collection and exploitation of data in
view of monitoring and reporting.

-        The reduced number of actions will be supported with
electronic forms for application and reporting by beneficiaries. This will
facilitate the collection and exploitation of data for monitoring and reporting,
both at national and Union level.

2.2.        Management and control
system

2.2.1.     Risk(s) identified

The risks identified in the implementation of the current programmes
fall mainly into the following categories:

-        Errors derived from the complexity of rules: the current
programmes show that error rates and financial adjustments are higher in the
case of actions with more complex financial management rules, in particular
when the grant is based on real costs;

-        Reliability of the control chain and maintenance of the
audit trail: the current programmes are managed by a large number of
intermediaries, the National Agencies, the audit bodies and the Member States;

-        Inefficient use of administrative resources: a study on the
cost of controls for the actions managed by the National Agencies in the
current programmes has shown that in many countries National Agencies currently
implement substantially heavier and more controls than required by the
Commission. Furthermore, the large number of in particular very small size
mobility grants for individuals put a heavy burden on participants and National
Agencies alike. Also, National Agencies managing relatively small amounts of
Union funds have a much higher management cost than Agencies managing larger
sums;

-        Specific target publics: in particular in the youth sector
but also to some extent in the adult learning sphere, participants may not have
the necessary financial solidity or sophisticated management structures, e.g.
groups of young people who are created solely for the purpose of managing a
youth exchange project. This lack of formal structure can have an impact on their
financial and operational capacity for managing Union funds;

-        Potential overlap of funding across actions due to their
wide scope: the current programme actions are managed by a network of National
Agencies, an executive Agency and the Commission. Different IT management
systems are used by these actors. At the same time the current definition of
programme actions is rather wide, allowing in principle for certain overlaps of
funding.

2.2.2.     Control method(s) envisaged

The control system for the new programme will be set up in a manner
so as to ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the controls.

1. Reduce errors resulting from complex rules

As set out in 2.1 above, the main simplification to reduce error
rates resulting from the complexity of financial rules will be the wide use of
grants in the form of lump sums, flat rates and scales of unit costs.

This is in line with the study on the costs of controls that
analysed the cost of controls of 4 different types of LLP actions managed by
the National Agencies:

- Erasmus mobility: large grants to individual universities based on
lump sums and flat rates to recurrent beneficiaries; the grants amount to 50%
of the programme budget

- Leonardo mobility and transfer of innovation projects: medium and
large grants respectively to multilateral partnerships based on flat rates and
real costs respectively

- Partnerships: small grants to schools, VET and adult learning
organisations based on lump sum grants;

- Individual mobility: very small grants to individual teaching
staff in school and adult education.

The study gives the following results for the Lifelong Learning
Programme:

Type of measure || Routine control || Desk control || Ex-post

Erasmus mobility || 0,16 % || 0,32 % || 0,17 %

Leonardo projects || 2,55 % || 1,67 % || 1,77 %

Partnerships || 0,25 % || 0,36 % || n/a

Individual Mobility || 0,66 % || 0,93 % || n/a

Average LLP || 0,81 % || 1,05 % || 0,40 %

While the average financial adjustments following routine controls
of final reports (100% of grant agreements checked) is 0,81%, this rate varies
from 0,16% for Erasmus mobility to 2,55% for Leonardo projects. Similarly, in
the case of desk controls on the basis of supporting documents of a sample of
grant agreements (between 10 and 25% of the population is to be checked), the
average rate is 1,05%, ranging from 0,32% for Erasmus mobility to 1,67% for
Leonardo projects. The same pattern is confirmed for ex-post on the spot
controls.

As the above shows, the real error margin is around 0,50%. This low
error rate is confirmed also by independent financial audits of the
Commission-NA agreements (0,07% in 2010).

For the Youth in Action programme, the error rates are more
difficult to establish. Based on the financial audits of the Commission-NA
agreements made in 2010, the error rate was 1,71%, but it is greatly affected
by systematic errors in a single major country for the COM-NA agreements of
2005 and 2007.

The average error rate for the two programmes combined was 0,3%.

Considering that under the new programme about 80% of the budget
will be allocated to learning mobility actions and that for these actions the
grants will take the form of lump sums and scales of unit costs, it can be
anticipated that this will allow to keep or even further reduce the already low
error rate for the programme overall.

Furthermore, the transformation of individual mobility grant
agreements into agreements managed by organisations is expected to improve the
error rate towards the one for Erasmus type mobility.

For the actions included under the Cooperation for innovation and
good practice as well as Support to policy reform, the Commission will
establish lump sum, scale of unit cost and flat rate grants in relation to
expected results and deliverables whenever possible and notably for Strategic
Partnerships (cf. funding mechanism comparable to that of partnerships in the
above table).

For the minority of actions for which grants may remain based (in
part) on real costs, simplification of grant management should come in
particular from redefining eligible costs and limiting the Union contribution
to specific types of direct costs, in line with the recommendations of a DG EAC
internal audit of error rate in direct management. The following funding models
and simplification measures for grants are envisaged:

-        Simplified reimbursement of real direct costs;

-        Clear definition of direct personnel costs, for providing
legal certainty to beneficiaries and for reducing errors;

-        Legal certainty with regard to time-recording by providing
a clear and simple set of minimum conditions in the rules for participation;

-        Abolition of time-recording obligations for staff working
to 100% on the Union project;

-        The possibility of using unit personnel costs (average
personnel costs) for beneficiaries for which this is their usual accounting
method;

-        One single flat rate covering indirect costs, applied to
the direct personnel costs only.

-        For actions managed by the executive agency, use of audit
certificates for grants above a threshold, by which auditors will certify the
legality and conformity of the financial reports;

These measures should result in lower error rates for types of
projects which currently have relatively high error rates, e.g. Leonardo
transfer of innovation and in particular the actions managed directly by the
Commission and the executive agency.

Expected results/internal control objective

Already under the current programmes, very detailed control
requirements are set per type of action based on a risk analysis considering
the grant level, the complexity of the action, the number of partners and the
recurrence of the beneficiary. A similar approach will be adopted for the new
programme; however, it will also take into consideration the reduced risk
resulting from the simplification that is envisaged. Such reduction is furthermore
justified by the consistent low error rates in a large part of the current
programmes.. A good knowledge of the control systems and their results will
enable to fix control objectives based on the risk run.

Based on the above, the following indicative control objectives are
envisaged for the actions to be managed by National Agencies:

|| Learning mobility || Cooperation projects

On-the-spot systems' controls of recurrent beneficiaries and beneficiaries of multiple grants (including financial on-the-spot control of last closed agreement if applicable) || For new beneficiaries: 1 control during programme period/recurrent beneficiary receiving yearly grant >250.000€ || 1 control during programme period /multiple beneficiary receiving yearly amount of grants >1.000.000€

For beneficiaries who have been checked for similar actions under the preceding programmes, systems controls will depend on previous controls' results.

On-the-spot controls during action of non recurrent beneficiaries || 1% depending on grant level and type of beneficiary

Routine controls of final reports || 100%

Desk controls of supporting documents || 2-5% depending on grant level and type of beneficiary || 2-10% depending on grant level, type of grant and type of beneficiary

Ex post on-the-spot financial controls || 0,25-1% depending on grant level, type of grant, type of beneficiary and on results of earlier controls.

Specific control objectives may be adopted for particularly small
countries with very limited numbers of participants under a given action, to
avoid that the same beneficiaries have to undergo in depth controls on a yearly
basis because of the quantitative minimum requirements.

On-the-spot controls during action will be carefully selected as
they normally do not lead to financial adjustments but represent a very high
cost for the National Agencies. They may be limited to specific areas, for
example with high involvement of enterprises, bodies with more limited
financial capacity or informal groups (youth sector notably), and based on
risks detected following data mining.

In case of serious problems found at a given beneficiary, the
frequency of on-the-spot systems' controls of recurrent beneficiaries may be
increased over the programme period.

2. Reliability of the control chain and audit trail

For the current LLP and Youth in Action programmes, a solid control
system has been put in place to control the use of Union funds for the actions
managed by National Agencies - which represent ¾ of the programme budget – in
the Member States. The system has been set up in 2007 and matured considerably
over the past years, resulting in recognition of its solidity by the Court of
Auditors (DAS 2008, 2009 and 2010) and the Internal Audit Service (2009-10
audit of the LLP NA management and control system).

The new Financial Regulation proposed by the Commission introduces a
new element that will have to be considered for the control chain. Article
57.5(d) indeed requires bodies such as National Agencies to produce a yearly
" management declaration of assurance as to the completeness, accuracy and
veracity of the accounts, the proper functioning of the internal control
systems as well as to the legality and regularity of the underlying
transactions and the respect of the principle of sound financial
management". Article 57.5(e) furthermore requires the "opinion of an
independent audit body on the management declaration mentioned in point (d),
covering all its elements". The new Financial Regulation provides for the
management declaration to be submitted by the National Agencies to the
Commission by 1 February and the independent audit opinion by 15 March of the
year following the year reported on.

As a consequence of this change in the Financial Regulation, the
control chain for Programme actions managed by National Agencies will be
adopted, while continue building on existing good practice to ensure sound use
of Union funds.

The following set-up is envisaged for the actions implemented by
National Agencies:

-        Controls will be organized at three levels: by National
Agencies, by independent audit bodies designated by the Member States and by
the Commission, whereby the Commission will take account of the controls
performed by other bodies to ensure cost-efficiency. To this effect, the
Commission will organise a regular exchange of control and audit plans between
the actors concerned in a multiannual audit perspective.

-        While National Agencies will be in charge of primary controls
of beneficiaries, their system of internal control and compliance will be monitored
and supervised by the Member States and audited by an independent audit body.
The Commission will set the requirements for the controls at national level to
ensure coherence and reliability and supervise the implementation of controls
at MS level. This practice is already well established by the Commission that
issues yearly a so-called Guide for National Agencies setting minimum
requirements, control objectives and technical guidelines for National Agencies
with regard to primary controls of programme beneficiaries. The same applies to
the Guidelines for National Authorities, determining the minimum scope of
secondary controls and providing methodological guidance, to provide an
acceptable assurance as well as ensure coherence and comparability of controls.
However, following the introduction of new requirements for National Agencies
in the Financial Regulation (cf. Art. 57.5 (d) and (e) in particular), the
guidelines for national authorities will be replaced by 'agreed upon
procedures' for the independent audit bodies in the new programme.

-        The current heavy system of yearly declarations of
assurance by the Member States will be replaced by a more efficient setup:

▪        Member States will designate their National Agency and
provide an ex-ante Compliance Assessment to assure compliance of the National
Agency with the minimum requirements set by the Commission regarding internal
control standards and Union rules for the management of the project lifecycle
of the decentralized actions.

▪        National Agencies will present to the Commission a yearly
management declaration of assurance accompanying its yearly report on the
management and implementation of the programme, including financial reporting
and reporting on controls of beneficiaries.

▪        The National Agency's management declaration of assurance
will be subject to the opinion of an independent audit body, having the
necessary professional competence for public body audits. The Member State will
designate the independent audit body and assure that it complies with the
minimum requirements set by the Commission.

▪        While the independent audit body will be in charge of
undertaking controls and audits of the National Agency in line with the new
Financial Regulation requirements, Member States will monitor and supervise the
National Agency's compliance with the Commission requirements and inform the
Commission yearly on its monitoring and supervision activities.

▪        The Commission will itself supervise the whole control
system, by undertaking controls and audits (both systems and financial audits)
at national level, duly taking into account the controls and audits performed
by other bodies. Commission controls will thus be proportional to the strength
of the national control systems. A regular exchange of information on national
and European controls and audits will take place to avoid gaps and overlaps.

Contrary to the present programmes, Member States would no longer be
required to provide a yearly declaration of assurance for reasons of efficiency
and cost-effectiveness, given the new Financial Regulation requirements for
National Agencies (cf. Article 57.5).

However, they remain in charge of monitoring and supervising programme
implementation at national level and will inform the Commission thereon on a
yearly basis.

In order to provide a high quality basis for the annual declaration
of assurance by the Director General, a permanent control system will be set up
consisting of the following elements:

▪        the management declaration of assurance from the National
Agency due by 1 February N+1,

▪        the independent audit opinion due by 15 March N+1,

▪        the Commission's analysis of the management declaration of
assurance and independent audit opinion and feedback thereon to the National
Agency and Member State, including formal observations and recommendations in
case of non compliance or underperformance by the National Agency,

▪        the information from the Member States by 30 October of each
year, covering their monitoring and supervision activities on the programme at
national level.

In combination with the systems controls and financial audits by the
Commission, it is expected that the cost of controls will decrease further in
the direction of the proportionally less expensive control costs of the LLP
(these costs represent currently just below 2% of the yearly UNION budget of
the actions managed by the National Agencies, split into 0,23% for the EC,
0,16% for Member States and 1,59% for National Agencies; against a total cost
of about 5,75% for Youth in Action comprising 1,00% for the EC, 0,82% for
Members States and 3,93% for National Agencies).

The costs of controls should diminish in particular at two levels:
at the EC, because the same number of officials will manage a substantially
larger budget with a lower number of National Agencies; at Member States,
because their supervision will require less direct controls given the role of
the independent audit body. The cost of controls at National Agencies is
expected to decrease as well, but less: while on the one hand the minimum
percentages of beneficiaries to be checked are reduced, they will manage larger
budgets and therefore more beneficiaries.

Depending on the results of the Commission controls and audits, it
may impose precautionary measures on National Agencies (such as suspension of
commitments or payments) as well as corrective measures (notably financial
corrections). Both types of measures are already in use and have proved efficient
in addressing serious problems of non compliance and underperformance.

Actions managed by an executive agency

The Commission will apply the control measures required for
executive agencies in accordance with Art. 59 of the Financial Regulation [in
accordance with Council Regulation (EC) N° 58/2003 Regulation on executive
agencies].

In addition, the Commission will monitor and control that the
executive agency realises appropriate control objectives for the actions that
it will be entrusted to manage. This supervision will be integrated in the
terms of cooperation between the parent DG and the executive agency and in the
semestrial reporting of the agency.

In 2010, the executive agency put a reservation on the management of
the current (2007-2013) Youth in Action programme. For this programme, the
materiality of the 2010 value at risk was 7,38%, representing however less than
0,5% of the 2010 total payment budget of the executive agency. Considering this
very low figure, the overall assurance for the Agency's declaration was
maintained. The analysis of the errors showed that they concerned mainly the
difficulty for some beneficiaries to produce adequate justifying documents and
the non respect of some eligibility rules.

An action plan has been drafted and implemented in 2011 aiming, for
all programmes managed by the Agency, at improving the information provided to
beneficiaries on financial obligations, audits and ex-post controls (by
drafting an information kit or improving the efficiency and effectiveness of
monitoring visits), improving the desk control strategies and consolidating the
agency's audit strategy.

It is expected that the implementation of the action plan by the
agency will reduce the error rates by the end of the current MFF. As far as 2011
is concerned, it can already be concluded that the estimated error rate for the
Youth in Action programme should be around 1%. Based on the mid-term trend, the
level of non-compliance for the actions foreseen under the new programme should
therefore be well under the 2% threshold.

In addition, the simplification measures that are foreseen in the
proposed programme should further reduce the risks for errors.

Actions managed directly by the Commission

The Commission intends to manage only a minimum of grants and
service contracts directly.

In 2009 and 2010, DG EAC issued a reservation on the implementation
of centralised direct actions. As is the case for the
executive agency, the analysis of the observed errors shows that they
predominantly concern the inability of beneficiaries to produce justifying
documents or that these documents are of insufficient quality.

Corrective actions which have been taken should reduce observed
errors before the end of the current MFF. Actions include information actions
with beneficiaries to make them aware of their obligations, moving more to
result-based closure of projects or a lump-sum approach, the introduction early
2010 of 'agreed upon procedures' for the certification audits of declared
expenditure, and sample based controls of justifying documents. Moreover, a
more centralised financial circuit is being put in place to pool the financial
expertise for the treatment of the reduced number of transactions.

Also in the case of centralised direct transactions, the foreseen simplifications
will help reducing the risk for errors.

3. Inefficient use of administrative resources

The study on the cost of controls has shown that a substantial
number of National Agencies undertake more and heavier controls than required
by the EC, without necessarily resulting in convincing added value. The
Commission estimates the costs of these additional controls to nearly 20% of
the total costs of controls of the National Agencies.

In the context of cuts in public expenditure, such additional controls
should be limited in the new programme to risks or identified problem cases..
The Commission will therefore further specify the control requirements and
provide control tools such as checklists to National Agencies to ensure that
the same control rules apply in all countries for the same actions.

There will be a further gain in the use of administrative resources
by the abolishment of individual mobility grant agreements. I.e. all learning
mobility grants to individuals will be transferred by the National Agency to
the body organising the mobility (e.g. universities, schools, training
providers) rather than to individual students and teachers. This should reduce
the number of agreements substantially, with the inherent workload reduction at
all stages of the project lifecycle for the participants and the managing
bodies.

The study on the cost of controls has shown that the cost of
controls depends in part on the size of the budget share managed by the
National Agencies. For LLP, this cost ranges from 1,26% for the 6 largest
countries to 3,35% of the 6 smallest countries. The range is even wider for
Youth in Action (that manages around 1/6 of the budget for LLP): from 3,66% to
12,62%. Considering these discrepancies the Commission advocates in its proposal
that a single National Agency per country should be designated to increase
critical mass and cut down on management costs.

4. Addressing weaknesses of specific target groups

Thanks to the simplifications proposed for the grant management such
as in particular the wider use of lump sum and flat rate grants, the error rate
should reduce also for participants with a less solid organisational structure
and lower financial capacity, notably in the youth sector, but also in the
adult learning community.

Following these simplification measures, the Commission accepts that
there will be a residual risk to accept, which is inherent to the political
choice to provide UNION support to these types of participants in view of the
programme objectives.

5. Prevention of potential double funding

See point 2.3 below.

2.3.        Measures to prevent fraud
and irregularities

Specify existing or
envisaged prevention and protection measures.

It is important to note that overall, only a very limited number of
fraud cases have occurred under the current programmes. That, in combination
with very low error rates, justifies that measures to prevent fraud and
irregularities in the new programme will have to be proportional and cost
effective.

Following an internal audit recommendation, the Commission has
analysed potential areas of overlap/double funding in the LLP and Youth in
Action programmes. While theoretically possible, double funding is prevented
already effectively by preventive controls at selection stage, both by National
Agencies and the executive agency.

Based on the above, in order to further mitigate potential frauds
and irregularities, the following measures are envisaged for the new programme:

-        The prevention of potential fraud and irregularities is
considered already at the programme setup. While in the current programmes, the
wide variety of actions allows for a certain overlap of activities and
participants, this should be prevented in future by a setup which draws clear
dividing lines between actions and avoids that similar activities can be
undertaken under different actions by the same participants.

-        Registration of participants in a single central register
(possibly an existing EC participant portal) will be introduced, which will
allow crosschecking of organizations' involvement in different programme
actions and participating countries ex-ante. This will prevent potential grant
shopping across participating countries.

-        A data warehouse will be set up for all programme actions
(centralized and decentralized) in so far as different IT management tools will
continue to be used.

-        Control of participants in learning mobility will be
possible via the so-called Mobility Tool IT application that currently already
provides for registration of all mobility participants in the Leonardo da Vinci
mobility projects of the Lifelong Learning Programme.

-        Both the National Agencies and executive agency will have
to report potential fraud and irregularities to the Commission ad hoc as well
as including in their regular reporting. They will also have to bring
prosecutions to recover programme funds lost, wrongly paid or incorrectly used
by beneficiaries.

-        With regard to cases of fraud, irregularity or negligence
imputable to a National Agency resulting in the loss of UNION funds that cannot
be recovered, the legal basis provides – as currently – that the Member State
is liable for such losses to the Commission.

3.           ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE
PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE

3.1.        Heading(s) of the
multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget line(s) affected

· Existing expenditure budget lines [36]

In order of
multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines.

Heading of multiannual financial framework || Budget line || Type of expenditure || Contribution

Number [Description………………………...……….] || Diff./non-diff ([37]) || from EFTA[38] countries || from candidate countries[39] || from third countries || within the meaning of Article 18(1)(aa) of the Financial Regulation

5 || 15.01 Administrative expenditure of the Education and Culture policy area, articles 1-3 || Non diff || YES || YES || YES/NO || NO

· New budget lines requested

In order of multiannual financial framework
headings and budget lines.

Heading of multiannual financial framework || Budget line || Type of expenditure || Contribution

Number [Heading……………………………………..] || Diff./non-diff. || from EFTA countries || from candidate countries || from third countries || within the meaning of Article 18(1)(aa) of the Financial Regulation

1 || 15.01.04.01 "Erasmus for all"– Expenditure on administrative management || Non diff || YES || YES || YES/NO || NO

4 || 15.01.04.02 "Erasmus for all" - international – Expenditure on administrative management || Non diff || YES || YES || YES/NO || NO

1 || 15.02.01 "Erasmus for all" || Diff || YES || YES || YES/NO || NO

4 || 15.02.02 "Erasmus for all" – international || Diff || YES || YES || YES/NO || NO

3.2.        Estimated impact on
expenditure

3.2.1.     Summary of estimated impact
on expenditure

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) - Current prices

Heading of multiannual financial framework: || 1 || Single Education Training, Youth and Sport "Erasmus for all"

DG: EAC || || || 2014 || 2015 || 2016 || 2017 || 2018 || 2019 || 2020 || Post - 2020 || TOTAL

 Operational appropriations || || || || || || || || ||

15.02.01 "Erasmus for all" || Commitments || (1) || 1.467 || 1.763 || 2.072 || 2.390 || 2.722 || 3.065 || 3.421 || 0 || 16.899

Payments || (2) || 1.174 || 1.692 || 1.989 || 2.294 || 2.613 || 2.942 || 3.285 || 911 || 16.899

Appropriations of an administrative nature financed from the envelope for specific programmes[40] || || || || || || || || ||

15.01.04 "Erasmus for all"– Expenditure on administrative management[41] || || (3) || 43,118 || 48,218 || 51,247 || 56,904 || 61,481 || 67,313 || 71,595 || 0 || 400

TOTAL appropriations for DG EAC || Commitments || =1+1a +3 || 1.510 || 1.811 || 2.123 || 2.447 || 2.783 || 3.132 || 3.493 || 0 || 17.299

Payments || =2+2a +3 || 1.217 || 1.740 || 2.040 || 2.351 || 2.674 || 3.009 || 3.356 || 911 || 17.299

DG: EAC || || || 2014 || 2015 || 2016 || 2017 || 2018 || 2019 || 2020 || Post - 2020 || TOTAL

 TOTAL operational appropriations H1 || Commitments || (4) || 1.467 || 1.763 || 2.072 || 2.390 || 2.722 || 3.065 || 3.421 || 0 || 16.899

Payments || (5) || 1.174 || 1.692 || 1.989 || 2.294 || 2.613 || 2.942 || 3.285 || 911 || 16.899

 TOTAL appropriations of an administrative nature financed from the envelope for specific programmes || (6) || 43,118 || 48,218 || 51,247 || 56,904 || 61,481 || 67,313 || 71,595 || 0 || 400

TOTAL appropriations under HEADING 1 of the multiannual financial framework || Commitments || (7) =4+ 6 || 1.510 || 1.811 || 2.123 || 2.447 || 2.783 || 3.132 || 3.493 || 0 || 17.299

Payments || (8) =5+ 6 || 1.217 || 1.740 || 2.040 || 2.351 || 2.674 || 3.009 || 3.356 || 911 || 17.299

If more than
one heading is affected by the proposal / initiative:

Heading 4 || || || 2014 || 2015 || 2016 || 2017 || 2018 || 2019 || 2020 || Post - 2020 || TOTAL

 15.02.02 "Erasmus for all" – international TOTAL operational appropriations || Commitments || (1) || 215 || 227 || 236 || 247 || 257 || 272 || 285 || 0 || 1.739

Payments || (2) || 172 || 218 || 227 || 237 || 247 || 261 || 274 || 104 || 1.739

 15.01.04.02 - TOTAL appropriations of an administrative nature financed from the envelope for specific programmes || (3) || 9 || 10 || 10 || 10 || 11 || 11 || 12 || 0 || 73

TOTAL appropriations under HEADING 4 of the multiannual financial framework || Commitments || (7) =4+ 6 || 224 || 237 || 246 || 257 || 268 || 283 || 297 || 0 || 1.812

Payments || (8) =5+ 6 || 181 || 228 || 237 || 247 || 258 || 272 || 286 || 104 || 1.812

|| || || 2014 || 2015 || 2016 || 2017 || 20180 || 2019 || 2020 || Post 2020 || TOTAL

TOTAL appropriations under HEADINGS 1 to 4 of the multiannual financial framework (Reference amount) || Commitments || =7+9+11 || 1.734 || 2.048 || 2.369 || 2.704 || 3.051 || 3.415 || 3.790 || 0 || 19.111

Payments || =8+10+11 || 1.398 || 1.969 || 2.277 || 2.599 || 2.932 || 3.281 || 3.642 || 1.015 || 19.111

Heading of multiannual financial framework: || 5 || " Administrative expenditure "

EUR million (to 3 decimal places) – 2011 prices

|| || Year 2014 || Year 2015 || Year 2016 || Year 2017 || Year 2018 || Year 2019 || Year 2020 || TOTAL

DG: EAC ||

 Human resources[42] || 170 \* 0.127 +0.064 \* 16 + 0.073 \* 18 =23.928 || 170 \* 0.127 +0.064 \* 16 + 0.073 \* 18 =23.928 || 170 \* 0.127 +0.064 \* 16 + 0.073 \* 18 =23.928 || 170 \* 0.127 +0.064 \* 16 + 0.073 \* 18 =23.928 || 170 \* 0.127 +0.064 \* 16 + 0.073 \* 18 =23.928 || 170 \* 0.127 +0.064 \* 16 + 0.073 \* 18 =23.928 || 170 \* 0.127 +0.064 \* 16 + 0.073 \* 18 =23.928 ||  167,496

 Other administrative expenditure || 0,3834 || 0,3834 || 0,3834 || 0,3834 || 0,3834 || 0,3834 || 0,3834 || 2,684

TOTAL DG EAC || Appropriations || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 170,180

TOTAL appropriations under HEADING 5 of the multiannual financial framework || (Total commitments = Total payments) || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 170,180

EUR million (to 3
decimal places) – Current prices

|| || Year 2014 || Year 2015 || Year 2016 || Year 2017 || Year 2018 || Year 2019 || Year 2020 || Post - 2020 || TOTAL

TOTAL appropriations under HEADINGS 1 to 5 of the multiannual financial framework || Commitments || 1.758 || 2.072 || 2.393 || 2.729 || 3.076 || 3.439 || 3.814 || 0 || 19.281

Payments || 1.407 || 1.990 || 2.298 || 2.619 || 2.952 || 3.301 || 3.662 || 1.053 || 19.281

3.2.2.     Estimated impact on
operational appropriations

–
¨  The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational
appropriations

–
x The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational
appropriations, as explained below:

Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to 3 decimal
places) - Current prices

Indicate objectives and outputs ò || Year ð || Year 2014 || Year 2015 || Year 2016 || Year 2017 || Year 2018 || Year 2019 || Year 2020 || TOTAL

OUTPUTS

Learning mobility of individuals || Type of output[43] || Average cost of the output || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Total number of outputs || Total cost

Staff (HE-VET - Schools -Adult - Youth) || Individual Mobility || 0,00157 || 80.000 || 117,073 || 103.847 || 155,029 || 125.229 || 190,665 || 146.498 || 227,510 || 170.723 || 270,426 || 194.152 || 313,734 || 221.851 || 365,617 || 1.042.300 || 1.640

Students (HE) || Individual Mobility || 0,00238 || 230.000 || 512,530 || 250.767 || 570,048 || 269.387 || 624,549 || 287.908 || 680,843 || 309.004 || 745,321 || 329.407 || 810,541 || 353.527 || 887,181 || 2.030.000 || 4.831

Students (VET) || Individual Mobility || 0,00216 || 70.000 || 141,131 || 82.114 || 168,886 || 92.976 || 195,026 || 103.780 || 222,044 || 116.086 || 253,333 || 127.987 || 284,934 || 142.058 || 322,543 || 735.000 || 1.588

Youth learners || Individual Mobility || 0,00155 || 75.000 || 109,032 || 75.865 || 112,509 || 76.641 || 115,919 || 77.413 || 119,428 || 78.292 || 123,196 || 79.142 || 127,043 || 80.147 || 131,213 || 542.500 || 838

|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||

International Student and Staff Mobility H4[44] || Individual Mobility || 0,00733 || 16.717 || 122,550 || 17.657 || 129,447 || 18.349 || 134,520 || 19.220 || 140,904 || 19.998 || 146,604 || 21.125 || 154,869 || 22.152 || 162,393 || 135.219 || 991,287

|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||

Joint degrees[45] || Individual Mobility || 0,03411 || 2.198 || 98,686 || 2.937 || 120,416 || 3.752 || 140,865 || 4.732 || 162,002 || 6.031 || 186,520 || 6.759 || 211,275 || 7.619 || 240,791 || 34.028 || 1.161

Masters (Loan guarantees) || Individual Mobility || 0,00266 || 11.966 || 31,834 || 24.413 || 64,949 || 41.497 || 110,400 || 55.026 || 146,392 || 64.759 || 172,286 || 66.064 || 175,758 || 67.377 || 179,251 || 331.100 || 881

Sub-total for Learning mobility of individuals || 485.880 || 1.133 || 557.600 || 1.321 || 627.831 || 1.512 || 694.576 || 1.699 || 764.892 || 1.898 || 824.637 || 2.078 || 894.730 || 2.289 || 4.850.147 || 11.930

Cooperation for innovation and good practices || Type of output || Average cost of the output || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Total number of outputs || Total cost

Strategic partnerships (small) || Transnational Projects || 0,11389 || 1.550 || 164,476 || 1.838 || 198,958 || 2.141 || 236,369 || 2.442 || 275,043 || 2.786 || 319,970 || 3.228 || 378,213 || 3.510 || 419,447 || 17.495 || 1.992,476

Strategic partnerships (medium) || Transnational Projects || 0,30928 || 325 || 93,115 || 500 || 146,085 || 657 || 195,714 || 813 || 247,037 || 990 || 307,046 || 1.193 || 377,379 || 1.365 || 440,419 || 5.842 || 1.806,795

Knowledge alliances/Sectoral Skills Alliances || Transnational Projects || 0,86238 || 14 || 11,142 || 29 || 23,632 || 43 || 35,319 || 56 || 47,407 || 71 || 61,575 || 86 || 75,861 || 104 || 93,097 || 404 || 348,033

Web Platforms || Web Platforms || 7,27300 || 3 || 22,284 || 3 || 22,732 || 3 || 23,184 || 3 || 23,648 || 3 || 24,120 || 3 || 24,606 || 3 || 26,604 || 3 || 167,179

International HE capacity building || Transnational Projects || 0,733 || 126 || 92,450 || 133 || 97,653 || 138 || 101,480 || 145 || 106,296 || 151 || 110,596 || 159 || 116,831 || 167 || 122,507 || 1.020 || 747,813

Sub-total for Cooperation for innovation and good practices || 2.015 || 383,467 || 2.500 || 489,061 || 2.978 || 592,067 || 3.456 || 699,431 || 3.998 || 823,307 || 4.666 || 972,889 || 5.146 || 1.102 || 24.760 || 5.062,295

|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||

Support for Policy reform || Type of output || Average cost of the output || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Total number of outputs || Total cost

- Support for policy reform || Multiple || 102,332 || Ν/Α || 74,014 || Ν/Α || 78,537 || Ν/Α || 84,405 || Ν/Α || 104,727 || Ν/Α || 110,818 || Ν/Α || 123,212 || Ν/Α || 140,610 || Ν/Α || 716,323

|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||

Jean Monnet activities || Type of output || Average cost of the output || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Total number of outputs || Total cost

- Jean Monnet activities || Multiple || 45,491 || Ν/Α || 36,834 || Ν/Α || 38,475 || Ν/Α || 42,120 || Ν/Α || 46,044 || Ν/Α || 48,943 || Ν/Α || 51,444 || Ν/Α || 54,575 || Ν/Α || 318,435

|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||

Sport activities || Type of output || Average cost of the output || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Total number of outputs || Total cost

- Sport activities || Transnational Projects || 34,118 || Ν/Α || 16,978 || Ν/Α || 23,815 || Ν/Α || 32,016 || Ν/Α || 36,035 || Ν/Α || 39,052 || Ν/Α || 44,525 || Ν/Α || 46,406 || Ν/Α || 238,827

|| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||

Operating grant || Type of output || Average cost of the output || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Number of outputs || Cost || Total number of outputs || Total cost

- Operating grant || Programme Management || 63,189 || N/A || 47,751 || N/A || 48,712 || N/A || 55,200 || N/A || 61,935 || N/A || 68,915 || N/A || 76,162 || N/A || 83,650 || N/A || 442,325

TOTAL COST Heading 1 and Heading 4 || || 1.682 || || 1.990 || || 2.308 || || 2.637 || || 2.979 || || 3.336 || || 3.706. || || 18.638

3.2.3.     Estimated impact on
appropriations of an administrative nature

3.2.3.1.  Summary

–
¨  The proposal/initiative does not require the use of administrative
appropriations

–
x The proposal/initiative requires the use of administrative
appropriations, as explained below:

EUR million (to 3
decimal places) – 2011 prices

|| 2014 || 2015 || 2016 || 2017 || 2018 || 2019 || 2020 || TOTAL

HEADING 5 of the multiannual financial framework || || || || || ||

Human resources ||  23,928 ||  23,928 ||  23,928 ||  23,928 ||  23,928 ||  23,928 ||  23,928 ||  167,496

Other administrative expenditure || 0,3834 || 0,3834 || 0,3834 || 0,3834 || 0,3834 || 0,3834 || 0,3834 || 2,684

Subtotal HEADING 5 of the multiannual financial framework || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 || 24,311 ||  170,180

Outside HEADING 5[46] of the multiannual financial framework || || || || || ||

Human resources || || || || || || || ||

Other expenditure of an administrative nature[47] || 52,118 || 58,218 || 61,247 || 66,904 || 72,481 || 78,313 || 83,595 || 472,877

Subtotal outside HEADING 5 of the multiannual financial framework || 52,118 || 58,218 || 61,247 || 66,904 || 72,481 || 78,313 || 83,595 || 472,877

TOTAL || 76,430 || 82,530 || 85,559 || 91,216 || 96,792 || 102,625 || 107,906 || 643,057

3.2.3.2.            Estimated requirements of human resources

–
¨  The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human
resources

–
x The proposal/initiative requires the use of human resources, as
explained below:

Estimate to be expressed in full time
equivalent units

|| || 2014 || 2015 || 2016 || 2017 || 2018 || 2019 || 2020

 Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary agents) ||

|| 15 01 01 01 (Headquarters and Commission’s Representation Offices) || 170 || 170 || 170 || 170 || 170 || 170 || 170

|| XX 01 01 02 (Delegations) || || || || || || ||

|| XX 01 05 01 (Indirect research) || || || || || || ||

|| 10 01 05 01 (Direct research) || || || || || || ||

||  External personnel (in Full Time Equivalent unit: FTE)[48] ||

|| 15 01 02 01 (CA, INT, SNE from the "global envelope") || 34 || 34 || 34 || 34 || 34 || 34 || 34

|| XX 01 02 02 (CA, INT, JED, LA and SNE in the delegations) || || || || || || ||

|| XX 01 04 yy [49] || - at Headquarters[50] || || || || || || ||

|| - in delegations || || || || || || ||

|| XX 01 05 02 (CA, INT, SNE - Indirect research) || || || || || || ||

|| 10 01 05 02 (CA, INT, SNE - Direct research) || || || || || || ||

|| Other budget lines (specify) || || || || || || ||

|| TOTAL || 204 || 204 || 204 || 204 || 204 || 204 || 204

XX is the policy area or budget title
concerned.

The human resources required
will be met by staff from the DG who are already assigned to management of the action
and/or have been redeployed within the DG, together if necessary with any
additional allocation which may be granted to the managing DG under the annual
allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints. . Amounts and
imputations will be adjusted depending on the results of the envisaged
externalisation process.

Description of
tasks to be carried out:

Officials and temporary agents || Programme management

External personnel || Programme management

3.2.4.     Compatibility with the
current multiannual financial framework

–
x Proposal/initiative is compatible the 2014-2020 multiannual
financial framework as proposed by the Commission in its Communication
COM(2011)500.

–
¨  Proposal/initiative will entail reprogramming of the relevant
heading in the multiannual financial framework.

Explain what reprogramming is required,
specifying the budget lines concerned and the corresponding amounts.

[…]

–
¨  Proposal/initiative requires application of the flexibility
instrument or revision of the multiannual financial framework[51].

Explain what is required, specifying the
headings and budget lines concerned and the corresponding amounts.

[…]

3.2.5.     Third-party contributions

–
The proposal/initiative does not provide for
co-financing by third parties

–
The proposal/initiative provides for the
co-financing estimated below:

Appropriations in EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

|| Year 2014 || Year 2015 || Year 2016 || Year 2017 || Year 2018 || Year 2019 || Year 2020 || Total

Specify the co-financing body || || || || || || || ||

The
proposal provides for third-party contributions from the EFTA countries, Switzerland,
Turkey, as well as the acceding countries, candidate
countries and potential candidates benefiting from a pre-accession strategy.

3.3.        Estimated impact on
revenue

–
x Proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue.

–
¨  Proposal/initiative has the following financial impact:

¨         on own resources

¨         on miscellaneous revenue

EUR million (to 3 decimal places)

Budget revenue line: || Appropriations available for the ongoing budget year || Impact of the proposal/initiative[52]

2014 || 2015 || 2016 || 2017 || 2018 || 2019 || 2020

Article …………. || || || || || || || ||

For miscellaneous
assigned revenue, specify the budget expenditure line(s) affected.

[…]

Specify the method for
calculating the impact on revenue.

[…]

[1]               COM(2010)2020 Final, 3.3.2010

[2]               COM(2011)500 Final, 29.6.2011

[3]               OJ L 11, 16.1.2003, p.1.

[4]               OJ C , , p. .

[5]               OJ C , , p. .

[6]               COM(2011)500 Final, 29.6.2011.

[7]               OJ L 327, 24.11.2006, p.45.

[8]               OJ L 327, 24.11.2006, p.30.

[9]               OJ L 340, 19.1.2008, p.83.

[10]             OJ L 378, 27.12.2006, p. 41.

[11]             COM(2010)2020, 3.3.2010.

[12]             COM (2010)477 Final, 15.9.2010.

[13]             COM(2010)682 Final, 26.11.2010.

[14]             OJ C 311, 19.12.2009, p. 1. Council Resolution of 27
November 2009 on a renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth
field (2010-2018)

[15]             OJ L 375, 23.12.2004, p. 12.

[16]             COM(2008)425 Final, 3.7.2008.

[17]             OJ C 319, 13.12.2008, p. 20. Council Conclusions on schools for the 21st century.

[18]             OJ C 119, 28.5.2009, p. 2. Council Conclusions on
ET2020.

[19]             OJ C 300, 12.12.2007, p. 6. Council conclusions on
improving the quality of teacher education
OJ C 302, 12.12.2009, p. 6. Council conclusions on the professional development
of teachers and schools leaders.

[20]             OJ C 301, 11.12.2009, p. 5.
Council conclusions on the education of children with migrant background OJ C
135, 26.5.2010, p. 2. Council conclusions on the social dimension of education
and training.

[21]             OJ C , , p. .

[22]             COM(2011)12 Final, 18.11.2011.

[23]             OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 6.

[24]             OJ C 111, 6.5.2008, p. 1.

[25]             OJ C 155, 8.7.2009, p. 11.

[26]             COM(2001)303 final, 25.5.2011.

[27]             OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p.13.

[28]             OJ L, , p.

[29]             This amount comes from the spending level of the period
2007-2013 increased by a rating factor reflecting the increase rate of Heading
4 instruments.

[30]             OJ L, ,p.

[31]             ABM: Activity-Based Management – ABB: Activity-Based
Budgeting.

[32]             As referred to in Article 49(6)(a) or (b) of the
Financial Regulation.

[33]             Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci and eLearning

[34]             Details of management modes and references to the
Financial Regulation may be found on the BudgWeb site: http://www.cc.cec/budg/man/budgmanag/budgmanag\_en.html

[35]             As referred to in Article 185 of the Financial
Regulation.

[36]             Budget line(s) for the Executive Agency to be defined
once the expenditure figures are stabilised

[37]             Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-Diff. =
Non-differentiated appropriations

[38]             EFTA: European Free Trade Association.

[39]             Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential
candidate countries from the Western Balkans.

[40]             Technical and/or administrative assistance and
expenditure in support of the implementation of EU programmes and/or actions
(former "BA" lines), indirect research, direct research.

[41]             The Commission could envisage (partially) externalising
the implementation of the Erasmus for All programme to an executive agency.
Amounts and breakdown of estimated costs may have to be adjusted according to
the degree of externalisation retained. It includes the administrative
expenditure of the Executive Agency that may be entrusted with the implementation
of part of the Programme according to a heavy backload profile. Administrative
expenditures would be constant overtime.

[42]             The total of 204 FTE includes: management of National
Agencies, direct management by the Commission, supervision and coordination with
the Executive Agency as well as all the staff for support and coordination
related to the Programme.

[43]             Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.:
number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.).

[44]             Including organisation of mobility fees.

[45]                    Joint Master andDoctoral degrees selected for five editions under
action1of theErasmus Mundus programme in 2009-13 will continue to be funded
under “Erasmus for All” for the remaining editions subject to an annual renewal
procedure based on progress reporting and budget availability.

[46]             Technical and/or administrative assistance and
expenditure in support of the implementation of EU programmes and/or actions
(former "BA" lines), indirect research, direct research.

[47]             It includes H1 and H4. DG EAC envisages to (partially)
externalise the implementation of the programme to the EACEA executive agency
and to National Agencies. The above figures and budget lines will be adjusted
if necessary in accordance with the externalisation process envisaged.

[48]             CA= Contract Agent; INT= agency staff ("Intérimaire");
JED= "Jeune Expert en Délégation" (Young Experts in
Delegations); LA= Local Agent; SNE= Seconded National Expert;

[49]             Under the ceiling for external personnel from
operational appropriations (former "BA" lines).

[50]             Essentially for Structural Funds, European Agricultural
Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and European Fisheries Fund (EFF).

[51]             See points 19 and 24 of the Interinstitutional
Agreement.

[52]             As regards traditional own resources (customs duties,
sugar levies), the amounts indicated must be net amounts, i.e. gross amounts
after deduction of 25% for collection costs.

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