The ECYC Bureau met the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth during its Bureau meeting in Cyprus in March. The main discussion focused on Erasmus for All, which has been the programme proposed by the European Commission to fund youth work from 2014 to 2020. The European Commissioner explained the mechanism that lead to the creation of Erasmus for all, which merges the current formal education, lifelong learning and youth funding programmes.

“We are not going to do away with the actions we have now under Youth in Action”, Commissioner Androula Vassiliou explained. “Each sector (included  in the new programme) will get more money”, Commissioner Vassiliou continued. It is estimated that the youth sector will receive 35% of the funds to  be allocated to Erasmus for All.

Carmen Paun, ECYC Secretary General, expressed concerns regarding the disappearance of  operating grants given to European youth NGOs under the current Youth in Action programme. The European Commissioner for Youth explained that eliminating operating grant is a European Commission-wide decision. However, she ensured that organisations now benefiting from the operating grant will have the possibility to offset their running costs, especially personnel costs, by requesting budget for personnel in the grants offered by the European Commission. According to Commissioner Vassiliou, this move is meant to ensure transparency on the percentage of funding that is invested into administrative costs when running a project. Mrs. Androulla Vassiliou also stated that this project-based funding will bring an increased level of flexibility in the rules for funding and in the application process that organisations have to go through to obtain grants.

ECYC has been long working and advocating the recognition of non-formal learning. “Our intention is to proceed with the validation of the non-formal learning”, the European Commissioner for Youth said. It is likely that a communication on the recognition of non-formal learning will be released by the European Commission by the end of the year.

In the end, ECYC presented the European Commissioner with its successful Game Book and Project Supplies publications and with a document explaining its activities and feedback relative to Erasmus for All. ECYC also invited the European Commissioner for Youth to visit a youth club or youth centre in any of the 23 European countries in which ECYC is represented by its member organisations.