On the 29th of September the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) voted in favour of the report on the proposal for a regulation establishing the Erasmus+ programme for the 2028-2034 period.
More than 1200 amendments have been taken into consideration by the Committee rapporteur Andrzej Zdrojewski (EPP, Poland) and shadow rapporteurs. Two of the amendments were particularly important, as they will help to ensure that the next generation of Erasmus will be a mobility scheme that will provide opportunities for students from all socio-economic backgrounds to benefit from mobility. The approved amendment reads as follows (new elements in bold):
“The Commission may adjust or may authorise the national agencies referred to in article 19 to adjust, on the basis of objective, and transparent criteria, the financial support mechanisms to improve access to people with fewer opportunities. Such criteria shall take into account differences in living costs, housing costs, inflation and purchasing power between host countries, regions and cities.”
Research on the accessibility of participating in mobility opportunities has long highlighted that financial obstacles are among the most significant deterrents to wider participation, and this is particularly true of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds: a situation that has been made worse by the spiralling costs of student accommodation across many parts of Europe.
Understanding how financial student support could be fundamentally improved was the focal point of the Erasmus for All project. Mirroring this, the proposal to consider differences of living costs not just between different countries but also regions and cities draws directly from its policy recommendations, also echoed in the EUF recommendations on how to improve the next generation of the programme. The fact that grants are currently calculated at the country level fails to take into account that differences of living costs among cities vary. In countries like France and Spain the cost of living can even differ 3 to 4 times.
To conceive of Erasmus+ as a more inclusive programme, we welcome this important step by the European Parliament, and urge the European Institutions to consider implementing such principles in a manner that leads to a greater simplification of the programme rules and its administration. A thorough revamp of how Erasmus grants are calculated is clearly overdue, and such changes should be transversal, rather than focused on a subset of students. The EUF, on behalf of the Erasmus for All consortium, has already shared concrete suggestions with the European Parliament and its Research Service, as well as the European Commission, and will continue to advocate for a programme which is simpler, more inclusive and much more effective. More significantly, this means the programme is ultimately accessible to a much larger cohort of students than is currently the case.