CULT Committee stands up for the importance of education
Mié, 05/12/2012
The Culture and Education Committee (CULT Committee) of the European Parliament adopted on 27 November 2012 the new YES EUROPE programme (previously known as Erasmus for All) for youth, education and sport, merging all the EU programmes for education, training and sport and Erasmus for higher education.
Budget allocation
More than five million students, of all ages, should enjoy greater mobility and cooperation abroad thanks to €18 billion in EU funding for the years 2014 to 2020. A minimum guaranteed threshold for each section of the programme was adopted: 83.4 % for education and training; 8% for youth; and 1.8% for sport.
Nevertheless, Doris Pack, Chair of the CULT Committee and rapporteur on the Commissions’ proposal, stated: “I would be happy if the governments would at least pay what they promised for this and next year. I am very cautious because they did not give the money promised for the Erasmus mobility programme for this year and for the next year […] I would be happy if we can increase the budget as the Commission has foreseen it for the next seven years. If you do not invest in education and youth we can forget the European Union.”
Grundtvig will continue
The new programme includes three major fields: general and vocational education and training, youth and sports. The CULT Committee decided to rename the programme as "YES Europe" (YES for youth, education and training, sports) instead of "Erasmus for All". The established brand names in EU education programmes (Comenius, Erasmus, Grundtvig and Leonardo da Vinci) will therefore remain after 2013.
incluD-ed appreciates the fact that Grundtvig subprogramme will continue within the new programme. Grundtvig targets many groups and sectors within the field of inclusive education due to its non-formal nature. It’s not just about mobility, but about cooperation and working together, exchanging on good practices and developing and implementing new approaches and practices in inclusive education.
Budget on adult learning increased
incluD-ed lobbied successfully for the budgetary increase for adult learning in the forthcoming programme. In the Commission´s proposal the portion of adult education was alarmingly low, only 2 % of the total budget. Endorsing the rapporteur´s suggestion, the CULT Committee decided to increase the budget earmarked for adult learning to 6 %.
Other relevant points for the field of inclusive education in the adopted report include the ‘European Added Value’ – the programme will be based on a sustainable impact. Therefore, social inclusion and the participation of vulnerable groups have been strengthened and specific and sustainable administrative grants to European organisations active in the field of education and training introduced.
Next steps
The text adopted by the CULT Committee will be discussed and voted in plenary next year. During 2013, the Parliament enters into a trialogue with the Council of EU and the Commission, to negotiate the final legislative resolution.
Doris Pack confirmed in regard to the work of the CULT Committee of the last months and the successful vote of the amendments of the draft report: "In this way we take on our responsibility as co-legislator and give due importance to the programmes at the heart of European education and training policies."
In the upcoming negotiations on the Multi-annual Financial Framework for the years 2014-2020, Ms Pack calls on the Member States to take into account the noble aims of the Europe 2020 strategy in the fields of employment and education, and to confirm the budget increase proposed by the Commission.
In the resource section of the incluD-ed website you will find the position paper the network send to Doris Pack.
VIEWS OF THE EUROPEAN NETWORK ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION & DISABILITY ON THE PROPOSAL “ERASMUS FOR ALL”
