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(1) Investing in learning mobility for all, regardless of background and means, and in cooperation and innovative policy development in the fields of education and training, youth and sport is key to building inclusive, cohesive and resilient societies and sustaining the competitiveness of the Union, and is all the more important in the context of rapid and profound change driven by technological revolution and globalisation. Furthermore, such an investment also contributes to strengthening European identity and values and to a more democratic Union.

(2) In its communication of 14 November 2017 entitled ‘Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture’, the Commission put forward its vision to work towards the establishment, by 2025, of a European Education Area in which learning would not be hampered by borders. That communication set out a vision for a Union in which spending time in another Member State for the purposes of studying and learning in any form or setting would become the standard, where, in addition to one’s mother tongue, speaking two other languages would become the norm and where people would have a strong sense of their identity as Europeans, of Europe’s cultural heritage and its diversity. In that context, the Commission emphasised the need to boost the tried-and-tested Erasmus+ Programme in all categories of learners that it already covers with the aim of reaching out to learners with fewer opportunities.

(3) The importance of education, training and youth for the future of the Union is reflected in the communication of the Commission of 14 February 2018 entitled ‘A new, modern Multiannual Financial Framework for a European Union that delivers efficiently on its priorities post-2020’. That communication stressed the need to deliver on the commitments made by the Member States at the Social Summit for Fair Jobs and Growth held in Gothenburg on 17 November 2017, including through the full implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights solemnly proclaimed and signed on 17 November 2017 by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission and Principle 1 thereof, which relates to education, training and lifelong learning. That communication stressed the need to step up mobility and exchanges, including through a substantially strengthened, inclusive and extended Erasmus+ Programme, as had been called for by the European Council in its conclusions of 14 December 2017.

(4) Principle 1 of the European Pillar of Social Rights provides that everyone has the right to quality and inclusive education, training and lifelong learning in order to maintain and acquire skills that enable them to participate fully in society and manage successfully transitions in the labour market. The European Pillar of Social Rights also makes clear the importance of good quality early childhood education and care and of ensuring equal opportunities for all.

(5) In the Bratislava Declaration, signed on 16 September 2016, leaders of 27 Member States stressed their determination to provide better opportunities for youth. In the Rome Declaration, signed on 25 March 2017, leaders of 27 Member States and of the European Council, European Parliament and Commission pledged to work towards a Union in which young people receive the best education and training and can study and find jobs across the continent and which preserves our cultural heritage and promotes cultural diversity.

(6) The report of the Commission of 31 January 2018 on the mid-term evaluation of the Erasmus+ programme (2014-2020) established by Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the ‘2014-2020 Programme’) confirmed that the creation of a single programme for education and training, youth and sport had resulted in significant simplification, rationalisation and synergies in the management of that Programme but concluded that further improvements were necessary to further consolidate the efficiency gains of the 2014-2020 Programme. In the consultations for that mid-term evaluation and on the future programme, Member States and stakeholders made a strong call for continuity in the Erasmus+ Programme’s scope, architecture and delivery mechanisms, while calling for a number of improvements, such as making the Erasmus+ Programme more inclusive, simpler and more manageable for beneficiaries. Member States and stakeholders also expressed their full support for keeping the Erasmus+ Programme integrated and underpinned by the lifelong learning paradigm. In its resolution of 2 February 2017 on the implementation of Erasmus+ , the European Parliament welcomed the integrated structure of the 2014-2020 Programme and called on the Commission to exploit fully the lifelong learning dimension of that Programme by fostering and encouraging cross-sectoral cooperation in the Erasmus+ Programme. Member States and stakeholders also highlighted the need to strengthen further the international dimension of the Erasmus+ Programme.

(7) The 2018 open public consultation on Union funding in the areas of values and mobility confirmed the key findings of the report on the mid-term evaluation of the 2014-2020 Programme and emphasised the need to make the future programme more inclusive, to continue to focus priorities on modernising education and training systems and to strengthen priorities on fostering European identity, active citizenship and participation in democratic life.

(8) In its communication of 2 May 2018 entitled ‘A Modern Budget for a Union that Protects, Empowers and Defends - the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027’, the Commission called for greater investment in people and a stronger ‘youth’ focus in the next financial framework. In that communication, the Commission recognised that the Erasmus+ Programme has been one of the Union’s most visible success stories. In its communication of 27 May 2020 entitled ‘The EU budget powering the recovery plan for Europe’, the Commission recognised the role of the Erasmus+ Programme in making the Union more resilient and addressing socio-economic challenges. It also confirmed its commitment to a significantly strengthened Erasmus+ Programme. This would allow more people to move to another country to learn or work and would allow the Programme to focus on inclusiveness and on reaching more people with fewer opportunities.

(9) In this context, it is necessary to establish Erasmus+, the Union Programme for education and training, youth and sport (the ‘Programme’), as the successor to the 2014-2020 Programme. The integrated nature of the 2014-2020 Programme covering learning in all contexts, whether formal, non-formal or informal, and at all stages of life should be reinforced to boost flexible learning paths, thereby allowing people to acquire and improve the knowledge, skills and competences that are necessary to develop as individuals and to face the challenges and make the most of the opportunities of the 21st century.

(10) The Programme should be established for a period of seven years to align its duration with that of the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 laid down in Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 (the ‘2021-2027 MFF’).

(11) The Programme should be equipped to become an even greater contributor to the implementation of the Union’s policy objectives and priorities in the fields of education and training, youth and sport. A coherent lifelong learning approach is central to managing the different transitions that people will face over the course of their lives. Such an approach should be encouraged through effective cross-sectoral cooperation. In taking such an approach forward, the Programme should maintain a close relationship with the overall strategic framework for Union policy cooperation in the fields of education and training and youth, including the policy agendas for schools, higher education, vocational education and training and adult learning, while reinforcing and developing new synergies with other related Union programmes and policy areas.

(12) The Programme is a key component of building a European Education Area. Following on from its communication of 14 November 2017 entitled ‘Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture’, the Commission recalled, in its communication of 30 September 2020 on achieving the European Education Area by 2025, that the Erasmus+ Programme remains instrumental in achieving the objectives of quality and inclusive education, training and lifelong learning, and in preparing the Union to face the digital and green transitions. The Programme should be equipped to contribute to the successor of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training and the updated European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience established in the communication of the Commission of 1 July 2020 with a shared commitment to the strategic importance of skills, key competences and knowledge for sustaining jobs and supporting growth, competitiveness, innovation and social cohesion, in line with the Council Recommendation of 22 May 2018 . The Programme should contribute to delivering on the Digital Education Action Plan established in the communication of the Commission of 30 September 2020 entitled ‘Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 – Resetting education and training for the digital age’. The Programme should respond to the necessary digital transformation of education and training, youth and sport. The Programme should also support Member States in reaching the goals of the Paris Declaration of 17 March 2015 on promoting citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education.