Expert group says: Make periods of learning abroad a rule, rather than the exception

To attain this goal the expert group proposes concrete mid-term targets: by 2020, at least 50% of all young people aged 16-29 should be offered the opportunity to engage in some form of cross-border mobility at some point.

This overall target can be realized if, by 2020, mobility reaches just over 6% of university students every year, as well as 3.5% of trainees in vocational education and training.

When presenting the report on 10 July, the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, Ján Figel', said that “people really benefit from the experiences they gain abroad, not only in terms of language knowledge, but also in intercultural know-how”.

“I welcome the recommendation by the High Level Forum on Mobility for encouraging the Membe r States to make such periods of learning abroad the rule, rather than the exception, for young Europeans", the Commissioner emphasized.

The report, entitled "Making Learning Mobility an Opportunity for All", is a result of six months' reflection on how to create more opportunities for mobility of young people between EU Member States. It contains experts' recommendations on how to make learning mobility across borders a natural feature for young Europeans.

The report also includes a package of suggestions with a view to strengthening the EU's present mobility programmes. Besides Erasmus, Comenius, Leonardo da Vinci and Grundtvig, which all form part of the Lifelong Learning Programme, recommendations are also made on mobility aspects of other programmes, including the Erasmus Mundus, Youth in Action, Culture and Europe for Citizens programmes.

The High Level Expert Forum on Mobility was set up in December 2007 by the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, Ján Figel', to strengthen and promote the mobility of young people in the 21st century. The Expert Forum brings together 11 mobility experts from 10 EU Member States covering such wide-ranging fields as higher education, youth, vocational training, employment, culture and music. >>> more information

Full text of the report: "Making Learning Mobility an Opportunity for All": http://ec.europa.eu/education/doc/2008/mobilityreport_en.pdf