The Civil Society Day, co-organised by the European Commission Directorate General for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports and the Lifelong Learning Platform as a follow up to the Future of Learning Forum, was held on 25 January 2019 in Brussels, Belgium. Participating NGOs engaged in the topic “Future of Learning: next priorities of the education and training framework considering current societal challenges”. We discussed education and training, and what it needs to take up a more prominent role when addressing demographic changes, inclusion and citizenship, technological innovations and the future of work, digitalisation of society, environmental challenges, investment, reforms and governance. Divided in thematic tables, we got to feed our concerns and positions vis-à-vis the challenges that our sector faces today. Participants reflected on main priorities and objectives of education and training post-2020, considering the main societal issues discussed during the Future of Learning Forum and exploring the ways civil society can contribute with regard to the future of learning. What did we bring about? We asked EU institutions to take steering actions towards a few main points: Promote participation in formal, non-formal and informal learning activities – at an equal footing – as a priority across all age groups and measure this participation, including by fostering a enquiry-based approach. Recognise universal access to quality education as a common good which should form the basis for establishing the European Education Area. Adopt a holistic approach to embedding the sustainable development agenda in education and training policies (including but not limited to SDG 4 on education, training and lifelong learning), accompanied by a strong monitoring mechanism and the collection of good practices in a cooperative spirit. Integrate learning “about Europe” as a transversal priority for all education sectors that would facilitate the sharing of common values, which also requires support for the development of ready to use educational resources. Develop a coherent and coordinated approach that links the world of education and the world of work, giving value to the full range of learners’ skills and competences and not only those which immediately correspond to short-term labour market demands. Embed the concept of Community Lifelong Learning Centres as a forward-looking approach towards opening up educational establishments to local communities and a more diverse range of learners. Read our briefing paper on this topic! Promote trainings for teachers and educators about how to deal with diversity. The fruitful meeting produced many more political recommendations that we delivered to representatives of the European Commission. Stay tuned on the Commission’s website for the full list!

The European Commission’s DG EAC and the Lifelong Learning Platform cooperated in the preparation of the Future of Learning Forum and Civil Society Day on 24-25 January. LLLP President Gina Ebner joined Commissioner Navracsics, Romanian Minister for National Education Ecaterina Andronescu, and MEP Petra Kammerevert in the opening keynote speeches of the Forum. Minister Andronescu outlined the Romanian Presidency’s ambitions for the Council recommendation on high-quality Early Childhood Education and Care, in addition to highlighting the central role of teachers in strengthening education systems. MEP Petra Kammerevert made a strong call for investment in education – proposing a national benchmark of 10% of GDP – and called for prompt action to make the European Education Area a reality. LLLP President Ms Ebner emphasised the importance of a learner-centred approach that fosters joy and motivation in learning and self-efficacy, as well as the real need for both political commitment and civil society. Throughout the Forum LLLP members were actively involved in the discussions and as speakers in the parallel sessions. The main objective was to debate and give feedback on the work of the ET2020 Expert Panel who produced reflection papers on 6 societal challenges: demographic challenges; inclusion and citizenship; technological change and the future of work; digitalisation of society; environmental challenges; and investment, reforms and governance. These reflections are aimed at helping DG EAC to draft the new education and training framework after 2020. Overall, the papers are in line with most LLLP positions, although they have been perceived by some as not visionary enough or lacking concrete actions. The Civil Society Day that followed the Forum was a unique opportunity for LLLP, its members and partners to give their input to the Commission on the development of the next framework. Recommendations put forward by participants included making participation in non-formal education a priority for all age groups and measuring that participation; making a clear link with the validation of non-formal and informal learning; investing in spaces of dialogue and co-creation for all learning stakeholders; and engaging civil society more closely in the planning, implementation and evaluation phases of policy-making. LLLP will continue to actively contribute to the ongoing development of the future framework.

The Inclusive Mobility Alliance project has started! On the 27th and 28th of September 2018, more than 20 organisations with expertise in the fields of Youth mobility, Higher Education mobility and Disability have gathered in Brussels to start discussing and defining what it means to organise an Inclusive Mobility (aka a mobility that is fully inclusive and allows everybody to take part in it, regardless of their socio-economic background). Since 2007, the number of students with disabilities taking part in Erasmus+ has been almost stagnating while the number of young people experiencing Erasmus+ exchanges is increasing rapidly. The question of the inclusiveness of one of the flagship EU programmes has been raised much time over the past few years. Despite many efforts made, Erasmus+ is still considered by many as a rather elitist programme. Today we are kicking of the #Inclusive #Mobility Aliance with a 2-day training! Extremely excited to have so many experts in the room and discuss how we can truly make #ErasmusPlus more inclusive! #THISisESN #Inclusion #InclusiveMobility pic.twitter.com/sREUgxfSzE — ESN International (@ESN_Int) September 27, 2018 During a meeting organised at the European Parliament on the 5th of December 2017 and hosted by MEP Damiano Zoffoli (S&D) , the stakeholders present agreed to create an alliance of organisations working on the topic of Inclusive Mobility. https://twitter.com/MobiAbility_Pro/status/1041999906678767617 During the first day, participants had the chance to get to know each other, discover the work of the other organisations as well as some of the good practices already existing on the topic, such as: SIHO and their website full of resources for students with disabilities in Flanders VIEWS International and their concept of Adapted EVS AHEAD and the guidelines for cooperation International Office – Disability Office ESN with the MappED! platform They also defined the concept of Inclusive Mobility and brainstormed on the core elements that make a mobility abroad fully inclusive. During the second day, the partners received Lloyd Huitson, Policy Officer at the European Commission DG EAC , who introduced the EU Commission proposal for the next Erasmus programme 2021-2027, that is currently being discussed at the European Parliament. After a round of questions and answers about its Social Dimension aspects, participants worked in groups to identify what works and what doesn’t work currently in the Erasmus+ programme and came up with realistic solutions on how to improve the future Erasmus programme post-2020 . Second day of exchange at the launch of #inclusive mobility alliance to discuss barriers and good practices to enjoy mobility abroad in #higherEducation and #youthExchange for all. #EramusPlus #disability #autism #autistic #EducationForAll #CRPD pic.twitter.com/FIjc9FJ91j — Autism-Europe (@AutismEurope) September 28, 2018 By the end of the year, the project partners will produce a set of recommendations for policy-makers at all levels (European, National, Regional and Local) on how to make international mobility more inclusive. The Alliance will also be officially created and launched in December 2018 with a long-lasting aim of monitoring EU and national policies as well as advocating for more inclusive mobility programmes. Stay tuned! The Inclusive Mobility Alliance project is co-funded by JINT , the Flemish National Agency for Youth. For more information, please contact dominique.montagnese@esn.org . This article appeared first on ESN’s website

29th EURASHE Annual Conference: Call for contributions is open EURASHE has launched a call for contributions for its 29th Annual Conference ‘Future Students. Future Universities. Future Jobs. Professional Higher Education in the changing world .’ The conference will take place in Budapest (Hungary) on 16-17 May 2019 and will be hosted by the Hungarian Rectors’ Conference (MRK) with the support of the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary. EURASHE invite universities of applied sciences’ leaders, the entire community of professional higher education, European businesses, public institutions and European students’ representatives to attend the Annual Conference and share their experience and learn about trends, models and inspiring practices. We welcome to submit two types of contributions: Breakout sessions: Each interactive parallel breakout session would be attended by about 30 participants. The breakout sessions should be organised in an interactive way as workshops to encourage discussions between the participants. The structure can e.g. include an overview, followed by group discussions. We expect to accept about 8 proposals for this year’s conference. The length of the proposal: 90 minutes. Good practice examples: 2-3 brief examples of good practice will be presented together within blocks parallel to breakout sessions. The length of the proposal: 30 minutes. Presenting at EURASHE’s Annual conference allows to reach a wide audience and will give you visibility prior and during the Conference. In addition one reduced fee will be provided per contribution (special conditions will be applied to Students or Students’ representative). Contributions have to be submitted exclusively online on EURASHE website. The deadline for submission is Thursday 31 January, 2019 at 12.00 pm (noon) CET Brussels-time . More information about the Conference and the Call for contributions here .

As part of Civil Society Europe, the Lifelong Learning Platform participated to this reaction vis-à-vis the European Court of Auditors’ report 35/2018 on “ Transparency of EU funds implemented by NGOs: more effort needed “ Civil Society Europe welcomes the European Court of Auditors (ECA) report as a contribution to ensuring further transparency by the European Union on how EU money is spent. This will allow us to better show the added value of our work and stand ready to further improve in the future, at a time where NGOs are facing growing challenges around the world. NGOs are strongly committed to transparency on funding, as well as to ensuring internal and external checks and controls. However, the study has revealed that a clear definition of NGOs is needed at EU level. We note that funding allocated to NGOs represents 1.7% of the EU budget, according to the report. The report is not an audit of the EU funds spend by NGOs, but an assessment of the systems that the Commission has in place to ensure transparency of EU funding, focusing mainly on external actions. The report is also based on an undefined concept of NGOs at EU level. In particular, we welcome recommendations calling the European Commission to standardise and improve accuracy of information published, and we call for this to be made available per category of beneficiaries. Currently EU funding procedures are fragmented within programmes but all beneficiaries, including NGOs, are bound by the same financial regulations. As of today, there is no comprehensive and consistent database system that allows detailed public scrutiny of the destination of EU Funds (601 771 million between 2014 and 2017). Currently only around 20% of the EU funds managed directly by the European Commission are searchable on line through the Financial Transparency System and research by category of beneficiaries can only be done either for not for profit entities or NGOs, the latter representing only 1,88 % of the EU budget plus the European Development Fund between 2014-2017. So-called ‘shared management’ funding – including agriculture and structural investments – is not centrally searchable online. In addition, private or public funding can only by searched for individual companies or entities. In this sense we agree with the European Commission that in this context NGOs should not be singled out among the beneficiaries, however we also believe that transparency should be ensured for all categories of beneficiaries . In addition, the database should contain amounts actually paid and not those committed to ensure consistency with beneficiaries’ accounts and national registers, and allow better scrutiny. The share of funding attributed to NGOs is overstated because of a lack of consistent definitions as we can read in the ECA report. For instance, most of the funding attributed to NGOs within the Smart and Inclusive growth has been allocated to not for profit bodies such as universities or research institutes. We welcome therefore the proposal for common guidelines on NGO definition to be used in grant applications that would allow to better identify NGOs, and therefore also to measure EU contribution to strengthening civil society organisations whose work is an essential part of a healthy, functioning democracy, whether in the EU or externally [1]. We note that the European Commission has made progress in the transparency of allocation of funding in the external area compared to other areas of direct implementation. We welcome these improvements, notably through the development of framework partnership agreements, which also bring further assurance to beneficiaries and match better NGOs own reporting and monitoring systems. We also welcome simplification in the recently adopted financial regulations. Rules are often difficult to understand and even implemented differently by different European Commission officials, which is unhelpful and confusing for beneficiaries, and lead to unnecessary errors. The latest annual ECA reports show that financial rules simplification can lead to a lower percentage of errors. We believe that Transparency can only be effective if accompanied by measures to reduce red tape. We hope that this report will lead to further transparency of information on the use of EU budget by the different categories of beneficiaries and whether managed directly by the EU or through Member States and to identify different beneficiaries. We stand ready to cooperate with the European Commission to ensure implementation of the recommendations of the European Court of Auditors. For further information please find CSE Fact Sheet on NGO funding by the EU [1] See United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai fact Sheet on the ability of civil society to access resources based on international law (published May 2015) http://freeassembly.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Funding-report-factsheet-final.pdf

The 8th edition of the Lifelong Learning Week took place in the European Parliament on 3-7 December 2018. It was a dense week of debates, discussions and reflections upon the LLLP’s theme of the year: Lifelong Learning Culture: A partnership for rethinking education . The week kicked-off with a lively LLL Civil Society Forum in the splendid Fondation Universitaire . Civil society organisations active in education and training debated their own role vis-à-vis the latest EU policy, and their contribution to its development in the European Union. A joyful Reception concluded the evening, with the celebration of the LLLAwards winners’ outstanding practices ( click here to meet them! ). On Tuesday, the Lifelong Learning Interest Group of the European Parliament welcomed EC Vice-President Jyrki Katainen as special guest. He address the way the MFF is set to fund education and reinforced the concept that the European Commission is committed to raising the funding and the standards of education in Europe, especially by investing in human capitals. MEP Jill Evans and MEP Emilian Pavel further built on this consideration to highlight the special role of European funding and programmes in the next MFF to tackle the most pressing issues in education and training (mobility, inclusion, employment, research, etc.). Events followed closely and at fast pace. On the same day, the Quality of Childhood Working Group of the European Parliament met to discuss the teaching methods of Janusz Korczak. After this, the role of formal education systems to foster active citizenship and culture in the classroom was debated. Participants agreed that more should be done in this regards to exploit schools and universities’ potential and help foster European values in the classroom and in higher education. The LLLPlatform is committed to give voice to all education actors and all learning environments: which is why on Wednesday, with WOSM and AEGEE, we debated the ways active citizenship is built in non-formal education environments. Initiatives addressed to youth were presented, and participants agreed that the next Erasmus+ should privilege mobility experiences as they prove to build the European spirit. A dense Thursday explored firstly the contribution of education and lifelong learning to consumer education”. Stemming from a European Commission’s project Consumer Classroom , the LLLWeek showed how different actors – development organisations, students, teachers – can come together and help our society shape the conscious consumer of tomorrow. Even in such diverse subjects, a lifelong learning approach is capital to the achievement of EU’s objectives. The LLLWeek went on to debate language learning and mobility programmes, and reaffirmed the importance of integrating formal education with non-formal and informal methods of learning when it comes to languages. These aspects also come together in volunteering. The social impact of exchange students is still low, due to difficulties to identify oneself in the local community. But because of this, LLLP’s project Comanity suggested to introduce a new professional figure in the volunteering world: evidence shows that social inclusion cannot do without volunteering ( more info here ). The topic of mobility periods abroad was also addressed in the final event of Summer University : the iconic AEGEE’s project celebrates its 30th anniversary, and has chosen the LLLWeek for its debate on short-mobility periods! On the last day of the week, participants came together to discuss one of the most pressing issues in the employment world: career guidance. Is it possible to ensure guidance to all EU citizens? How can we adapt to the changing types of jobs? What does a career mean today? The answer lies in the development of sustainable skills, a (lifelong) learning approach to our own jobs, and the cooperation between different actors and stakeholders: from public to private to social partners and non-governmental organisations. A big shout out to all the organisers and all the participants for making the 8th edition of the LLLWeek a truly successful one!

The third meeting of the Lifelong Learning Interest Group of the European Parliament in 2018 took place on 4 December as part of the 2018 Lifelong Learning Week . Organised by the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) and the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA), the meeting gave the opportunity to Members of the European Parliament, representatives of civil society and stakeholders from all sectors of education and training to discuss the topic of Investing in education and lifelong learning – how can the next MFF support Europe’s learners? , together with Mr Jyrki Katainen, European Commission Vice President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness. The focus of the meeting was on how the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) can be an opportunity to strengthen accessibility and quality in education, training and lifelong learning, through the flagship Erasmus+ programme, but also through synergies with other programmes with a learning dimension such as Horizon Europe and the European Social Fund+ (ESF+). Speakers stressed the importance given to education in the Gothenburg Social Summit last November and the prospect of a European Education Area by 2025 as recognition of education’s crucial role in shaping the future of Europe. MEP Jill Evans, shadow rapporteur for the CULT Committee’s report on Erasmus+, highlighted the importance of Erasmus+ in supporting the transition of young people from education to adulthood. She emphasised its impact on employability and the promotion of active citizenship, in particular participation in European elections. Confirming the ambition of tripling the budget, she underlined the need for the new programme to be more inclusive, supporting organisations working with marginalised groups. Regular review of financial support to meet the real needs of students, and support of language learning, including language minorities, were also key points. MEP Emilian Pavel shared his confidence in a positive approach towards Erasmus+ in the EP, as evidenced by the almost unanimous vote on the EMPL Committee’s Opinion for which he is rapporteur. He said VET and lifelong learning should have a crucial role in the future programme and emphasised that not only Erasmus+, but also other programmes such as ESF+, should be strengthened. He recalled that lifelong learning is a priority of the European Pillar of Social Rights, which underpins the EP’s interim report on the next MFF. Vice-President Katainen highlighted that the next MFF would have the highest ever share of investment in human capital, vital for enhancing people’s resilience in the face of rapid technological changes: “We need to build the resilience of individuals in society. But it is hard to imagine how to do that without improving the quality of education at all levels,” he underlined. In addition to the important role of Erasmus+, which he hopes in the next programme period will benefit more VET learners and teachers, he referred to the strong social investments that the proposed InvestEU programme will promote, as well as synergies between ESF+ and Erasmus+ for supporting disadvantaged groups. Such synergies are a priority: “I agree that breaking down silos between programmes and policy areas is of primary importance – this is crucial to ensure that they are harnessed in the best way to meet their objectives” , he stated. Cooperation across sectors and programmes was also emphasised by Gina Ebner, President of LLLP and Secretary General of EAEA: “Learning throughout life requires more and more complex connections, as we take on different roles: citizens, consumers, parents, or volunteers,” said Ms Ebner, calling not only for a lifelong learning approach in Erasmus+, but also on linking different sectors to education, such as agriculture or health. Looking at the opportunities given by the MFF, she underlined that they could help with alleviating inequalities, reaching out to disadvantaged learners, promoting democracy and values, but also addressing inequalities within countries, and within the lifelong learning sector itself, where some sectors get more funding than others. Overall, speakers and participants agreed on the value of investing in people through high-quality education, training and lifelong learning in order to reduce social inequalities, promote upskilling and tackle negative anti-democratic forces. A key message was that contacts between people and organisations and across various education sectors, made possible by Erasmus+ and other funding programmes, should be further supported in the next EU budget. LLLP and its members shall continue to advocate for this as the political negotiations continue.

The third meeting of the Lifelong Learning Interest Group of the European Parliament in 2018 took place on 4 December as part of the 2018 Lifelong Learning Week. Organised by the Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) and the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA), the meeting gave the opportunity to Members of the European Parliament, representatives of civil society and stakeholders from all sectors of education and training to discuss the topic of Investing in education and lifelong learning – how can the next MFF support Europe’s learners?, together with Mr Jyrki Katainen, European Commission Vice President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness. The focus of the meeting was on how the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) can be an opportunity to strengthen accessibility and quality in education, training and lifelong learning, through the flagship Erasmus+ programme, but also through synergies with other programmes with a learning dimension such as Horizon Europe and the European Social Fund+ (ESF+). Speakers stressed the importance given to education in the Gothenburg Social Summit last November and the prospect of a European Education Area by 2025 as recognition of education’s crucial role in shaping the future of Europe. MEP Jill Evans, shadow rapporteur for the CULT Committee’s report on Erasmus+, highlighted the importance of Erasmus+ in supporting the transition of young people from education to adulthood. She emphasised its impact on employability and the promotion of active citizenship, in particular participation in European elections. Confirming the ambition of tripling the budget, she underlined the need for the new programme to be more inclusive, supporting organisations working with marginalised groups. Regular review of financial support to meet the real needs of students, and support of language learning, including language minorities, were also key points. MEP Emilian Pavel shared his confidence in a positive approach towards Erasmus+ in the EP, as evidenced by the almost unanimous vote on the EMPL Committee’s Opinion for which he is rapporteur. He said VET and lifelong learning should have a crucial role in the future programme and emphasised that not only Erasmus+, but also other programmes such as ESF+, should be strengthened. He recalled that lifelong learning is a priority of the European Pillar of Social Rights, which underpins the EP’s interim report on the next MFF. Vice-President Katainen highlighted that the next MFF would have the highest ever share of investment in human capital, vital for enhancing people’s resilience in the face of rapid technological changes: “We need to build the resilience of individuals in society. But it is hard to imagine how to do that without improving the quality of education at all levels,” he underlined. In addition to the important role of Erasmus+, which he hopes in the next programme period will benefit more VET learners and teachers, he referred to the strong social investments that the proposed InvestEU programme will promote, as well as synergies between ESF+ and Erasmus+ for supporting disadvantaged groups. Such synergies are a priority: “I agree that breaking down silos between programmes and policy areas is of primary importance – this is crucial to ensure that they are harnessed in the best way to meet their objectives”, he stated. Cooperation across sectors and programmes was also emphasised by Gina Ebner, President of LLLP and Secretary General of EAEA: “Learning throughout life requires more and more complex connections, as we take on different roles: citizens, consumers, parents, or volunteers,” said Ms Ebner, calling not only for a lifelong learning approach in Erasmus+, but also on linking different sectors to education, such as agriculture or health. Looking at the opportunities given by the MFF, she underlined that they could help with alleviating inequalities, reaching out to disadvantaged learners, promoting democracy and values, but also addressing inequalities within countries, and within the lifelong learning sector itself, where some sectors get more funding than others. Overall, speakers and participants agreed on the value of investing in people through high-quality education, training and lifelong learning in order to reduce social inequalities, promote upskilling and tackle negative anti-democratic forces. A key message was that contacts between people and organisations and across various education sectors, made possible by Erasmus+ and other funding programmes, should be further supported in the next EU budget. LLLP and its members shall continue to advocate for this as the political negotiations continue.

On 29-30 of October partners from 5 countries met in Helsinki to kick off the ImproVal project , which, over the next two years, will focus on improving validation in the voluntary sector. At the first partner meeting in Helsinki the partners shared their experiences from previous validation projects and presented their own projects to the partners. They discussed the first project outputs and worked together to define the changes they would like to see in the sector and also the impact they are expecting the project to have. ImproVal aims to provide a synthesis of work undertaken on the issue of validation and volunteering so far. It does so by bringing together the coordinators of a number of previous validation projects, making known the methods, tools and thinking behind validation of learning in the voluntary sector, in a validation compendium, conducting a small-scale study on the usefulness of validation for volunteers, and by encouraging a dialogue between relevant stakeholders locally, nationally and on a European level. The project is coordinated by the Sivis Study Centre , a nationwide non-formal adult education centre, whose mission is to foster citizens’ competences and promote active citizenship and voluntary work in co-operation with its members. The other partners are the University of Bamberg (Germany), Edos Foundation (Netherlands), Platform of Volunteer Centres and Organisations (Slovenia) and the Lifelong Learning Platform (EU). Learn more about the project

The Lifelong Learning Platform is happy to announce that it will be holding an Extraordinary General Assembly on 25 March 2019 in Brussels, Belgium . LLLP’s Steering Committee decided to call for an Extraordinary General Assembly in order to revise the Statutes and Internal Rules of the organisation. These crucial internal documents will be object of revision to ensure the smooth progression of LLLP in the democratic and inclusive way that has always featured amid our core values. Membership categories will also be discussed. The General Assembly, as usual, will also be an occasion to vote on and welcome new members in the LLLP family. The LLLPlatform therefore invites interested organisations to come forward and apply as members of the LLLPlatform. If you are interested to become a member of the LLLP and would like to learn more about the procedures and added value, find more info here . Deadline for applications is 25 February 2019.

This press release first appeared on EASPD’s newsletter shortly after the common event On 18th October, the European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD), Housing Europe , EuroHealthNet , FEANTSA , AGE Platform Europe and the Lifelong Learning Platform co-organised the European Conference on “Social Infrastructure Investment: from local innovative ideas to InvestEU funded projects”. The Conference provided an opportunity for the organisers – representing major stakeholders in the social, health, education and housing sectors – to engage with authorities and investors on the steps required to make InvestEU a success for Social Infrastructure Investment. Four steps emerged a focus on quality, sectoral involvement, capacity building for all & making full use of the available fiscal flexibility. In 2015, the European Union launched the European Fund for Strategic Investments ; a guarantee to help unlock public and private investment across Europe. As part of its ongoing discussions on the next EU budget, the European Commission has proposed the InvestEU programme, which builds on the plan to add a Window earmarked for Social Investment & a much larger capacity building budget. For the last ten years, there has been significant under-investment into health, education, social and housing . This has led to an outdated social infrastructure, increasingly inadequate to meet the evolving support needs of people across Europe. This consequently impacts the ability of Europe to create inclusive growth and opportunities for all and improve the quality of life of people in all our communities. Opening the Conference, Mr Luk Zelderloo, Secretary General EASPD welcomed “t he InvestEU programme as an important initiative marking the Commission’s growing understanding of the need to better connect all European initiatives with the needs of people across Europe. The evolving social needs means making social, health, education and housing services more inclusive, person-centred, preventative and community-based. The next step is to make progress on linking InvestEU to these local innovative infrastructure ideas”. Alongside Mr Zelderloo , Ms Sorcha Edwards (Housing Europe), Ms Caroline Costongs (EuroHealthNet) , Mr Maciej Kucharczyk (AGE Platform Europe) , Ms Brikena Xhomaqi (Lifelong Learning Platform) and Mr Freek Spinnewijn (FEANTSA) proposed together four key steps that Public Authorities and Investors should take to ensure InvestEU is a success when implemented in the years to come: Ensure a formal involvement of the social sectors to identify local projects and build up effective instruments for social infrastructure investment ; Building up the capacity of stakeholders (authorities, investors and service providers) at all levels t o translate ideas for better services into viable and bankable projects for investors; A focus on quality and innovative projects will be crucial to show EU’s added value for people across Europe. This should be a priority of the Investment Guidelines. Making full use of the flexibility referred to in the Investment Clause of the EU fiscal rules . Ms Florentine Hopmeier, Member of Cabinet of Vice President of the European Commission Jyrki Katainen , welcomed the Conference saying “l et’s not wait until 2021, let’s start building up the capacity for InvestEU”, followed by an invitation to continue and strengthen collaboration to achieve this.” Mr Roger Havenith, Deputy Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund , welcomed “the multiplier effect of European networks in linking European instruments to local stakeholders” and presented the EIF’s panoply of instruments (EaSI Guarantee, COSME, etc) whilst acknowledging room for improvement to better respond to the local social investment needs.” Mr Konstantinos Agorastos, Member of the Committee of the Regions and their rapporteur for InvestEU, welcomed the proposal, calling the “Social Window an opportunity for a win-win situation for both citizens and investors”, as long as “we cooperate closely in order to achieve the best outcome”. Ms Lieve Fransen , c o-author of the Report of the High-Level Taskforce on Investing in Social Infrastructure in Europe , argued that “European networks each represent thousands of services on the ground. We need to take full advantage of their capacity to create a pipeline of projects and test new ideas”. Ms Felicitas Riedl, Head of Life Sciences at the European Investment Bank, introduced their significant investment in the social fields, arguing for more investment in replacing an ageing and outdated social infrastructure, which would lead to public expenditure being better spent. Concluding the day, Ms Manuel Geleng, Director for Social Affairs at DG Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility stated that the “ European Pillar of Social Rights is there to guide us to do more and better in employment and the social domain. I look forward to work closely with European networks to make sure that what we do is targeted to the needs of people”. The Co-organisers will continue this positive momentum to engage with authorities, policy-makers and investors to ensure the 4 proposed steps are taken up. The strong involvement of the social, health, education & housing sectors is crucial to the success of the proposed InvestEU programme.

The Lifelong Learning Platform: European Civil Society for Education welcomes the European Commission’s proposal for the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-2027), including the commitment to double the budget, widen access to smaller organisations through “small-scale partnerships” and improve outreach to learners with fewer opportunities and resources. Building on prior statements, we nevertheless perceive two main areas of the proposal which require clarification and further commitment to ensure the programme delivers a high impact and added value for Europe’s learners. >>> Read the full statement here <<<