Parliamentary question

Written question to the European Commission

A few days ago, the Commission presented a document related to the preparation of the 2023 draft budget (SEC(2022)0250), which proposed a budget of EUR 3.4 billion for Erasmus+. To reflect this flagship programme’s growth and new ambitions for 2021-2027, such as the inclusion of people with fewer opportunities, new participant categories such as schoolchildren and adult learners and the greening of the programme, its budget has almost been doubled for 2021-2027. However, this increase was not reflected in either the 2021 budget or the 2022 budget, and a lot of projects could therefore not be financed, meaning the participants’ expectations were sadly not met.

1. In order to meet the needs of Erasmus+ participants, and in accordance with the high expectations triggered by the doubling of the budget, national agencies need a linear budget, not an exponential increase at the end of the programming period, which would put the programme’s functioning at risk. Is the Commission planning to take this situation into account in the 2023 budget?

2. In the light of the war in Ukraine and the need to welcome Ukrainian students, the Commission announced a front-loading of financial resources from the 2027 financial year onwards. Is this already reflected in the 2023 draft budget?