Europeans are more than ever aware of their status as citizens of the Union and the proportion of Europeans wanting to know more about their rights continues to increase.
Over 80 % of Europeans cherish, in particular, the right to free movement that allows them to live, work, study and do business anywhere in the EU (December 2016 Eurobarometer).

However, a lack of awareness means EU citizens do not fully exercise their right to vote in European and local elections and many are unaware of the right to consular protection. The 2017 EU Citizenship Report sets out the European Commission’s priorities in further raising awareness of these rights and making them easier to use in practice.

The European Commission has launched the public consultation in the context of the mid-term evaluation of Erasmus+ including the long-term impact of the predecessor programmes.

Young people, students, teachers, youth workers, athletes, staff, employers, civil society and social partner organisations and other interested parties are invited to submit their contributions on the impact and the future of programmes by 31 May 2017 through a questionnaire available in all EU official languages.

The mid-term evaluation will thereafter build on the results of this consultation together with other material including surveys of participants, case studies, interviews, social media analysis and other.

Public consultation on the mid-term evaluation of Erasmus+

The European Commission has launched a public consultation which will run until 19 May 2017 with a view to updating the 2006 Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning.

This review will seek to determine which skills and competences young people need to acquire to succeed in the job market and in life, with a particular focus on entrepreneurship education.
The review was announced in the Commission’s New Skills Agenda for Europe adopted in June 2016. The goal is to develop a shared understanding of key competences needed (from reading and writing,  horizontal skills to digital competences) and to further foster their introduction in education and training curricula. The revision will also provide support for better developing and assessing these skills.

Consultation on key competences

The Lifelong Learning Platform organises a yearly evaluation on the implementation of the Erasmus+ programme. The survey aims to provide decision-makers with an evaluation  coming from the programme’s direct beneficiaries on what works and what could be improved.

For this year’s Erasmus+ survey, the numbers are impressive: 734 responses were received from applicants in 32 countries – all 28 EU Member States and Iceland, Turkey, Norway and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The purpose of this survey was to evaluate how the third round of applications for the Erasmus+ programme was experienced by the beneficiaries. The consultation was closed on the 15th of September 2016. The following report presents a summary of the respondents’ assessment of the Erasmus+ Programme implementation in 2016.