Erasmus+, Creative Europe, ‘Rights and Values’: Parliament highlights implementation challenges
- Erasmus+ budget has to triple in the next multi-financial framework
- Hungarian government must ensure that Hungarian students, teachers and researchers do not suffer from cut in Erasmus+ funding
- Approval for implementation of Creative Europe and Rights and Values programmes
On Tuesday the Parliament assessed the mid-term results of the 2021-2027 Erasmus+. Creative Europe and ‘Rights and Values’ programmes.
In a resolution, adopted by 489 votes in favour, 62 against and 61 abstentions, MEPs regret that participation and inclusivity in Erasmus+ mobility projects is hindered by insufficient grants and delays in the payments, and therefore commit, as a co-legislator, to fight for tripling the Erasmus+ budget in the 2028-2034 programming period.
Erasmus+ in Hungary
In amendment passed by 456 votes in favour, 130 against and 17 abstentions, the Parliament addresses the situation in Hungary where payments of the EU funds are currently partly frozen via the rule of law conditionality mechanism. They call on the Hungarian Government to immediately put in place the necessary reforms so that Hungarian students, teachers and researchers may benefit from the Erasmus+ programme.
Student problems: housing and transfer of credits
Members are concerned by the fact that almost a third of student participants in Erasmus+ mobility programme have not received full recognition of learning credits in their home universities. They ask to tackle the situation in line with the objectives of Erasmus Charter for Higher Education and call for creation of a genuine European Education Area.
Parliament also highlights the recent increase of rental prices and scarcity of student accommodation that make it difficult for students to find accommodation during their mobility periods and insist for more frequent inflation and cost of living adjustments to the grants.
You can read the adopted text in full here.
Creative Europe
By 489 votes to 87 and 40 abstentions the Parliament adopted it’s conclusions on the implementation of the ‘Creative Europe’ programme. MEPs point out the increasing number of applications, resulting in a proportionate decrease in the success rate of applications, and call on the Commission and the Member States to substantially increase the financial allocation of the Creative Europe programme from 2028-2034.
They also ask to further simplify the application process and strengthen suppport for applicants. You can read the adopted text in full here.
Rights and Values programme
By 476 votes to 130 and 14 abstentions, MEPs also adopted their remarks on the implementation Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme, established at the beginning of the current 2020-2027 programming period, with a goal to protect and promote EU rights and values and promote civic engagement.
They say that the emergence of a European citizenship is hindered by a knowledge gap and an emotional gap, often related to misperceptions of the EU, and ask the Commission to establish a civil dialogue to facilitate relations between institutions and civil society organizations. They call on the Member States that have not yet designated national contact points for the implementations of Rights and Values programme to do so.
In the same resolution they ask to increase the programme’s budget from the current approx. EUR 1,44 billion to EUR 2.6 billion in the next multiannual financial framework, as well as to establish an ad hoc mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders inside the EU.
You can read the adopted text in full here.
Contacts:
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Agnese KRIVADE
Press Officer