Wedenesday 21 March 2018 at 12.30 pm.: Lunch debate "Thirty years student mobility in Europe, thanks to ERASMUS" ( in English) with Mrs Sophia Eriksson,director for Youth, Education and Erasmus+ at the European Commission,and Professor Dr. Jan De Groof, professor College  of Europe and Tiburg University.

The key element of the lunch debate concerns the higher education policy in the EU. A dynamic mobilisation of education is required to build a more united, inclusive, prosperous and democratic Europe. Which role can the EU play ? Will the necessary financial means be allocated to this policy ?

Erasmus (since 1987) has contributed, through student exchange programs, to a better understanding of the European Union, its history and diversity and to a raising awareness on the rights granted by European citizenship. Can Erasmus, as part of the higher education policy in the EU, become a homogenizing system in an ethnically and culturally diversified student population ?

These questions are equally important in the context of the ongoing financial discussions on the multi-annual budget 2021-2027 as well as in the Brexit negotiations.