The new Erasmus+ draft: what just happened in Parliament?
The European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) has just wrapped up its crucial session with rapporteur MEP Bogdan Zdrojewski to discuss the next generation of the Erasmus+ programme.
Here's our take 👇
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🌟 Promising steps forward
After years of the youth sector advocating for better representation, this initial draft reflects some major progress. While nothing is finalized yet, here is what we are really happy to see included in the text right now:
A dedicated youth budget: The draft report proposes a locked-in 14.2% budget specifically for the youth strand. If we can keep this in the final version, it means guaranteed, dedicated funding for youth activities across the EU.
A structure that makes sense: The "Key Actions" have been reorganized by sector! Under the draft, KA1 is dedicated specifically to Learning Mobility and Volunteering, while KA2 is neatly divided into education, youth, and sports.
Official recognition: We might finally be in the rulebook. The draft formally includes legal definitions for "youth organisations" and "youth activities," and it mainstreams non-formal education and volunteering throughout the document.
🚧 The fight isn't over
Because this is just a draft, amendments over the next few weeks could change everything. To make sure this programme truly works for young people, here is where we still need to push:
Protect the good stuff: We need to fiercely advocate to safeguard that 14.2% budget mark and our new formal definitions so they don't get watered down or removed in the next rounds of talks
Keep the roadmap: We need to ensure the European Youth Strategy remains the beating heart of the programme's objectives.
Out of the footnotes: Right now, some vital youth policy initiatives are buried in the document's footnotes. We are pushing to get them moved into the main text where they belong (specifically by dividing KA7 by sector).
Nothing about us without us: We are calling for the creation of a Civil Dialogue Group. This would bring together civil society, actual beneficiaries, National Agencies, and the European Commission to ensure the programme is based on real, on-the-ground evidence before any Annual Work Programmes get approved.
🗓️ What’s next & how you can help
The clock is ticking. CULT MEPs only have until 10 June to submit their amendments to this draft.
From there, the final parliamentary vote will take place in Strasbourg this autumn, which will kick off the "trialogues", the final, closed-door negotiations between the EU Parliament, Council, and Commission to seal the deal by the end of the year.
Now is the time to make some noise. We encourage all our member organisations to mobilize and reach out to your MEPs. Help us defend the strong proposals in this draft and shape an Erasmus+ programme that truly delivers for the next generation.
Together, we can ensure that More Erasmus+ leads to More Europe! 🇪🇺✨
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