On 13 February, the European Parliament published two documents on EU funding for education, youth and sport: a study, requested by the Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT), mapping funding instruments across its policy areas, and a briefing reviewing the Commission’s Erasmus+ proposal for the 2028-2034 EU budget. 

These documents outline the main changes proposed by the European Commission for the next programme. In particular, the study for the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) goes beyond simply listing the proposed changes, such as the merger of Erasmus+ with the European Solidarity Corps, the 16% real-term budget increase, the shift to two pillars (“Learning opportunities for all” and “Capacity building support”) replacing the current key actions structure, and the grouping of sport and youth under a single budget line without earmarking. Crucially, it also identifies a set of challenges for Parliament to address, which closely mirror the concerns raised by the EOC EU Office regarding the proposal. While the two-pillar structure may provide simplification, small sectors like sport, might lose visibility. Similarly, moving away from earmarking budget for sport for enhanced flexibility, could lead to increased competition for sport organisations with the two other sectors, Youth and Education. 

On 11 February, the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) released its draft opinion on the Erasmus+ proposal for 2028-2034, highlighting the need to safeguard volunteering as clearly distinct from paid work and calls for particular attention, within sport initiatives, to learners with fewer opportunities, including those with physical and mental disabilities. Ultimately, the opinion will feed into the work of the Committee on Culture and Education, which leads the file in the Parliament.