Erasmus+ grants for the upcoming 2024-2025 academic year will include transportation assistance from the country of origin to the country of destination for the first time and will increase in amount to cope with rising inflation, improvements that are still "insufficient" for many Spanish students to access them.
Spain remains among the countries in the European program with the lowest monthly grant amounts, explains to EFE the president of the Erasmus Student Network in Spain (ESN), Ángel Pérez, who emphasizes that the European Commission takes into account the different standard of living in the chosen country, but not our autonomous communities.
The European initiative not only covers higher education but also school and vocational training students and adult education, and focuses on formal and informal learning beyond the borders of the European Union, opening up to third countries with the aim of improving educational and training capacities.
More than twelve million people have benefited from Erasmus+ in its 37 years of history, and its budget for 2021-2027 has almost doubled compared to 2014-2020, exceeding 26 billion euros.
According to the president of ESN Spain, present in 39 cities in the country and collaborating with more than 30 universities through some 1,500 volunteers, the next call is one of the most beneficial for students thanks to the changes introduced. "Little by little, it is improving," he summarizes.
Among the novelties, it is worth noting that for the first time in years, there are changes in nine countries (the European Commission classifies them according to the cost of living), so that Germany, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands change to Group 1 (where it is more expensive to live), and Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, and Latvia change to Group 2 (intermediate level), due to the increase in inflation in these places.
"Although we celebrate that these amounts have increased (for these countries), they are still insufficient" to cover the minimum expenses of a person, Pérez emphasizes.
Another novelty is the travel assistance for all participants in the program, since until now, only students from the Canary Islands received it because they are an outermost region, and students with fewer opportunities.
From the 2024-2025 academic year, everyone will be entitled to receive it, and it will be established based on distance, Pérez adds.
The recently published annual report of ESN Spain, which reflects the autonomous distribution of Erasmus+ complementary grants, also emphasizes the importance of punctuality in the payment of aid and grants.
According to different surveys, around 67% of Spanish students claim not to have received the minimum aid until one month after the start of their mobility period, compared to 26% of German students.
It also denounces that despite the autonomous co-financing, the fact that a higher basic monthly amount is not set by the Erasmus+ national agency (Sepie) itself, and that the aid is not given before the start of mobility, the moment of disbursement of large amounts of money (travel, accommodation, material, etc.), makes the program still not very accessible for a good part of Spanish students.
The Andalusian model, the most valued
ESN Spain defends the model of aid that depends on the duration of the student's stay and the standard of living in the country of destination. A formula that only Andalusia, Aragon, the Valencian Community, and Galicia have.
"But this does not mean that these communities have the best system. The only one with an ideal model to replicate is Andalusia, since the others have other criteria that distance their model from an accessible system," the annual report explains.
In this sense, it cites the Valencian Community, which "despite taking into account the months of stay and the destination, has a distribution system based on academic results. In addition, with a very low budget compared to its applicants (...), many people from this community are left out of receiving aid, and there is no prioritization" for the lowest incomes.
It highlights in a positive sense the Andalusian case, the only one that gives complementary aid to students from disadvantaged backgrounds; "this measure is urgently needed by the rest of the autonomous communities to really commit and build an accessible and inclusive Erasmus Program."
The opportunity for international mobility "cannot be a privilege only available to those who can afford it, or an elitist right that depends on the socioeconomic situation of the student," it concludes.
