Posted
Update
The Erasmus program budget will be doubled by 2026, Clément Beaune promises. France will take over the presidency of the European Union in January for six months.
Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday, December 9 that he wanted to create a 6-month European civic service for those under 25, during a press conference from the Elysee Palace a few weeks before the start of the French presidency of the European Union. “The idea is to open it to everyone”, commented Clément Beaune, Secretary of State for European Affairs, Friday December 10 on franceinfo. According to him, this system will complement the Erasmus system, currently in place, which allows “for students to do 6 months to a year of study in another foreign country”.
For Clément Beaune, this “emblem of Europe” is “formidable” corn “still concerns too few people”. “It is still too elitist, it concerns about 5% of the young people of a generation”, he lamented, while the Erasmus program has already been extended to apprentices. “We are going to double its budget by 2026 and the idea of the President of the Republic is to say that all young people, whatever their background, their social background or their financial means, must have a European experience”, added Clément Beaune. “It’s not a luxury, it’s not superfluous, it’s an incredible open-mindedness”, he continued.
“This European experience must be open to dropouts, to young people who are not in training”, estimated Clément Beaune who refuses to consider that Erasmus is reserved for “children from privileged backgrounds who study in large schools”. According to him, “it can put your foot in the stirrup to spend a few weeks or months in another country and have a moment of breathing, opening and training”.