The future of the Erasmus+ Programme
The relevance of the Erasmus+ Programme gains special light in the current context of global democratic backsliding. However, there are still areas where improvements can be made to ensure that Erasmus+ appropriately reaches all young people and supports the youth sector in Europe. This position paper identifies the areas for improvement in the Erasmus+ Programme as well as the elements that are working adequately and should be continued.
Our key demands include:
- doubling the Erasmus+ Programme budget;
- improving the evaluation process for Erasmus+ grants;
- reforming and improving the governance and flow of information within the Erasmus+ Programme;
- improving the access of youth organisations within the Erasmus+ Programme;
- improving access to the Erasmus+ Programme for all young people in Europe;
- ensuring that the financial guidelines are equally implemented across all Erasmus+ Programme countries, particularly concerning recent diverging requirements from different National Agencies from lump-sum based grants;
- creating explicit definitions of the groups considered as participants with fewer opportunities, to facilitate access to information, targeting and monitoring;
- adding of inclusivity and sustainability considerations in project budgets - not just as a horizontal priority;
- increasing the top-up for green travel and proportionately align it to the distance covered, maintaining the recent increase for 2024 to the upcoming years;
- ensuring travel costs within grants account not only for distance, but also for accessibility of different travel means depending on the departing point, to ensure appropriate inclusion of youth from rural and remote areas.
Would you like to know more? Get in touch!
Related publications
The situation of youth organisations across Europe
Youth Organisations across Europe are facing an increasingly challenging situation. Political and economic circumstances are leading to shrinking civic spaces and therefore a shrinking chance of youth organisations to fulfil their purpose and represent the voice of young people. Read the motion to find out which of the European Youth Forum's members have been impacted and how, as well as what we commit to internally as part of our Strategic Plan and what we call for externally.
Protecting civil society and civic spaces in Georgia
In March 2023, the Government of Georgia initiated work on a legislative proposal on “foreign agents” that would have forced civil society organisations to be registered as being under foreign influence should they be receiving funding from sources outside of the country. As Georgia initiated negotiations for EU membership merely 6 months ago, this underscores how fragile Democracy and the Rule of Law are in our societies and how civic spaces must be protected tirelessly every day, everywhere.
Empowering Youth Voices: Defending Democracy and European Values
We cannot deny the European Union and its values are facing threats from both inside and outside. The European Youth Forum is committed to actively speaking out against these threats and protecting the values of intercultural understanding, democracy, respect, diversity, human rights, active citizenship, and solidarity.