The European Union wants to extend the Erasmus exchange program to include students from the bloc’s southern Mediterranean neighbors, as part of a plan to increase the EU’s presence in the region, Politico reports.
The inclusion of students from African and Middle Eastern countries in the program is part of the “Pact for the Mediterranean,” which also doubles the EU budget for the region to 42 billion euros. The EU’s southern Mediterranean partners include Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Turkey. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined three pillars of the pact: people, economy and the link between security, preparedness and migration.
The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, told reporters that the pact includes more than a hundred projects, ranging from support for 5G networks and improved mobile communications to programs focused on youth.
Dubravka Šuica, the EU’s Mediterranean Commissioner, said
the pact aims to unite young people and expand the scope of the Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe programs.
The pact will allow universities in the region to develop joint study programs with partners in the EU. Šuica added that cooperation with Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt to attract talent and help with student visas will be expanded.
Šuica called migration the biggest common challenge, which is also a common opportunity for all parties involved. The pact will help fight illegal migration and human trafficking groups, creating legal pathways to address Europe’s labor shortage.
Kallas noted that Europe has a lot to offer the Southern Mediterranean countries in an equal partnership. “We are interested in the cooperation regarding energy, connectivity, critical raw materials. Our proposal is much more positive than that of the other geopolitical players, but we really need to work on that,” Kallas said, referring to China’s and Russia’s interests in the region.
Von der Leyen described the Mediterranean as a bridge connecting people, products and ideas between continents. The EC President added that Europe and the Southern Mediterranean cannot exist without each other.
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