Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027) - Lifelong ...

Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027)

OVERVIEW: WHAT IS THE PROPOSAL ABOUT?

On May 2, the European Commission unveiled its proposal A Modern Budget for a Union that Protects,
Empowers and Defends for the next budget of the EU from 2021 to 2027. May is just the beginning of a
month full of new releases and in particular, of the detailed programmes. The Annexes such as Staff
working documents are sometimes as much as important as the main communication and sometimes
also more detailed. The Annex ‘A Modern Budget for a Union that Protects, Empowers and Defends, The
Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027’ for instance, provides more insights regarding the
strands content (Synergies and complementarities between programmes, objectives, budget allocation,
implementation and simplification). The proposal is now analyzed by the Member States (Council of the
EU) and the MEPs (European Parliament).. From the end of May onwards, the EC has started to roll-out
the concrete proposals for programmes such as for the next Erasmus+ programme and for others
(please see below).

The two figures below compare the current budget allocation and budget lines on the left (2014-2020)
and the proposed budget for the next MFF on the right (2021-2027). The biggest differences are a
decrease of the CAP budget (by 5%) and of the cohesion funds which is now included under a new
merged strand “II. COHESION AND VALUES”. It is also in the strand II. that is integrated the Erasmus+
Programme and the European Social Funds (7. Investing in People, Social cohesion and Values). The
budget for Research and Innovation (‘HorizonEurope’ replacing ‘Horizon2020’) is now under strand “I.
SINGLE MARKET, INNOVATION AND DIGITAL” and has also seen a budget rise and the addition of a new
programme named “Digital Europe”.

WHAT ROLE FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN THE PROPOSAL?
Education and Training appears to have been “mainstreamed” in different DGs because of the
transversality and complementarity of skills, knowledge, research, innovation and digital issues to
education and training. Education and training providers and stakeholders can therefore find funding
opportunities in several programmes by developing activities achieving the political goals set by the
European Commission.

I. SINGLE MARKET, INNOVATION AND DIGITAL
Horizon Europe / Open Science
This programme rationale is that it aims at “Increasing the EU's attractiveness as a place for education,
research, innovation and business;”, although not stated as an objective for the funding, it recalls how
Research and Innovation are extremely dependent on high quality and efficient education systems, thus
the importance of investing in them. The Open Science pillar is probably the most accessible for E&T
stakeholders among the 3 announced by the EC. Building on the current and past initiatives such as the
European Research Council, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and the Research Infrastructures, the
pillar aims to “nurture innovation and entrepreneurship in education across Europe to provide the skills
and competences needed to make Europe more competitive on a global scale”. Unfortunately, the EC
does not mention any foreseen synergy or complementarity with Erasmus+ and ESF+ at this stage. The
proposal is foreseen for release on 7 June.

InvestEU
This programme, which is introduced as the new EU investment instrument also aims at fostering
investment in E&T but in a more market-driven approach. Its objectives embraces “investments
promoting sustainable infrastructure, research and innovation, digital transformation, the access to
finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, education, skills, social infrastructure”. The proposal is
scheduled for release on 6 June.

Digital Europe
At first sight, this new programme seems only to focus on advanced digital skills (renewing the Digital
Opportunity Scheme) and infrastructures. It will also look at “projects that will make the best use of
these digital capacities and of the latest digital technologies in areas of public interest such as health,
public administration, judiciary and education, ensuring the availability and interoperability of solutions
across the EU.” Digital skills mostly refer to “data analytics, robotics, artificial intelligence, blockchain,
cybersecurity, high performance computing, quantum etc.” and the fund will be available for
“specialised courses and internships in companies deploying advanced technologies”. It is regrettable
though that “cybersecurity” seems to mainly target businesses and public administration rather than
including as well citizens and other organisations. The proposal is scheduled for release on 8 June.

II. COHESION, VALUES AND JUSTICE
While education has seemed to be high on the agenda since the EU Education Summit early 2017 and
the attention given to the doubling of Erasmus+ budget which “jumps” from a share of 1.4% to 2.35% of
the overall MFF budget (!), in the text, there is yet little focus on the words. The word “citizenship” is
quoted 10 times less than other words such as security. P.45 of the Annex, the programme Erasmus+
doesn’t mention any “synergies or complementarities” with citizenship programmes. The Europe for
Citizens programme disappears in the EC proposal and is replaced by a Justice, Rights and Values
programme (with two strands “Justice” and “Rights and Values”). The proposals for these programmes
were released on 30 May, please see here for more information .

Erasmus+
Erasmus+: the proposed budget has been multiplied by two which would be a good news for E&T
stakeholders but there is a huge possibility that Member States try to reduce this number, so there is a
feeling that the EC has not been ambitious enough with this proposal. Moreover, the new budget will
also encompass funding for free Interrail passes “DiscoverEU scheme” (700 million) which some
education and training stakeholders do not really appreciate because it would take money from other
strands without having a direct link with education and training topics.

Proposal released on 30 May: Press release, regulation, annex, staff working document (main
implementing actions), factsheet

European Social Fund+
The EC presents this programme as “the EU’s main instrument to invest in human capital for sustainable
economic development.” Plus, it aims at “helping people to get better jobs through upskilling and
reskilling, ensures fairer job opportunities for all EU citizens and enhances social inclusion”. The new EC
proposal intends to include a bigger social dimension, by targeting specifically funds to social inclusion,
poverty fights and other social issues (e.g. the integration of migrants in labour market) moving
somehow away from its sole focus on employment. Furthermore, it will have an importance for E&T
stakeholders since it plans to: “Investing in education and skills (notably basic digital skills) to adapt to
the current and future needs of the economy, promoting employment through active interventions

enabling (re)integration into labour markets, notably for youth and long-term unemployed and
addressing new health risks related to changing forms of work;“ It is meant to be better aligned with the
European Semester recommendations and to foster synergies with other programmes (notably,
Erasmus+ and HorizonEurope) by scaling up the most successful initiatives into the national policy
context.

Proposal released on 30 May: Press release, Regulation, annex, staff working document

European Regional and Cohesion Funds
Over the 2021-2027 period, European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund support will aim
at supporting Member States reduce their economic, social and territorial disparities thanks to
interventions focused on five objectives. Among the five given objectives is: “A more social Europe:
implementing the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, in particular lifelong learning,
education and training infrastructure as well as health, culture and social infrastructure;” The
programme will look for synergies with other programmes. The EC suggested to set up “soft measures,
including upskilling of the labour force” and to combine the European Social Fund+, European Regional
Development Fund and Cohesion Fund support. The proposals were released on 29 May, please see
here for more information.

WHAT NEXT? POLITICAL PROCESS AND TIMELINE
How to negotiate the EU budget? The two following timelines gives the provisional agenda of the
negotiations and the steps of the process. If there is no agreement between the Council and the
European Parliament it can be delayed, and in particular if no agreement is reached before the 2019 EP
elections.

Informal meeting of EU leaders on political priorities of next MFF
The European Council discussed the political priorities of the next MFF at an informal meeting on 23
February, where EU leaders agreed to spend more on Erasmus+. Regarding the negotiations, three
scenarios for the timeline are presented in this background note for the meeting - either the same
timeline for negotiating the current MFF (a total of 29 months, reaching final agreement in late 2019 or
early 2020), a less realistic option of reaching an agreement with current European Parliament by end
of 2018, or working to secure an agreement in the European Council during 2019, followed by an
agreement with the future EP. While leaders agreed on trying to speed up the process compared to
previous negotiations, European Council President Donald Tusk recognised this would be difficult and
they would have to wait until after the Commission’s formal proposal is released on 2 May to have a
clearer picture.

USEFUL LINKS
● European Economic and Social Committee Presentation (Budget priorities and political timeline)
● Future financing of the EU, Final report and recommendations of the High Level Group on Own
   Resources.
● European Parliament Fact sheets.
● European Parliament Briefing (pages 8-9).

●   European Commission, Communication on MFF on 14 February Press Release and other documents.