Europe and Youth: Clément Beaune visits Seine-et-Marne (7 Aug. 2020)

The young people of today are the European citizens of tomorrow.

Young people are the future actors of European integration. It is essential to foster exchanges between young Europeans and develop their knowledge to help them better understand Europe, its values and the actors of its integration, and to think about its future.

It is also important to highlight the schemes and programmes available for them to enable them to study, train and gain professional experience in Europe and around the world.

European schemes to support youth mobility

These European schemes are in line with French priorities, in particular the goal of strengthening youth mobility as set by the President of the Republic in his speech at the Sorbonne. In 2024, half of students in a given age group should have spent at least six months in another European country by the time they are 25, whether they are students or apprentices.

1 – The European Youth Guarantee supports youth employment and training.

The European Youth Guarantee was created in 2014. It supports employment and training for young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). The Youth Guarantee’s goal is to offer high-quality solutions (jobs, continuous education, training or apprenticeships) for these young people within four months of them losing their jobs or leaving formal education.

2 – The Erasmus+ programme supports youth mobility.

The Erasmus+ programme funds various actions to support youth mobility:

• Grants for study periods or training in another European country.
• Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees (EMJMD) are delivered by a consortium of higher education institutions from at least three countries. They offer scholarships over at most two years for the best students from around the world.
• Erasmus+ Master Loans are available to study for a Master’s degree abroad.
• International credit transfers allow young people to travel to or from partner countries of the Erasmus+ programme for study or training.

The future Erasmus+ programme will offer more educational mobility opportunities for less privileged young people.

For the period 2021-2027 the Erasmus+ budget will increase by 75%. It was at €13.8 billion for 2014-2020 and will reach €24 billion for 2021-2027 (excluding the UK).

3 – The European Solidarity Corps supports the participation of young people in solidarity activities.

The European Solidarity Corps aims to increase the participation of all young people aged 18-30 and youth organizations in solidarity activities. Volunteering, placements and jobs lasting two weeks to 12 months can be supported financially.

Tandem stays and Franco-German activities supported by the FGYO

On 7 August 2020, Clément Beaune met young French and German people who are staying for a week in La Rochette, Seine-et-Marne before travelling to Berlin together. The bi-national event not only supports language learning, but also fosters cultural exchanges with the other country, contributing to intercultural knowledge.

The FGYO supports more than 8,000 programmes each year for participants aged 3 to 30, including school and university exchanges, courses, sporting and cultural events, engagement projects, language classes, job offers, and intercultural training. The events cover a wide variety of topics:

• Europe (historical approaches, remembrance, the future, Europe’s regions);
• Sport;
• Environment, responsibility and sustainability;
• Youth participation in political and social life.

For further information: https://www.fgyo.org/