The state of play

The current mobility programmes, tools and initiatives reach out to young Europeans in a wide range of situations and contexts. However, going abroad still remains the exception rather than the rule and it is more accessible to some groups, such as students, than to others, such as vocational trainees and apprentices. In 2006, around 310,000 young people were able to go abroad with support from European programmes. This represents a mere 0.3% of the age group of 16-29 year olds in the EU which shows that much more could be done in this area.

Public consultation

• The Green Paper asks a number of questions and seeks feedback on issues such as:
• How can we convince more young people to go abroad to acquire new knowledge, skills and experience?
• What obstacles to mobility do we have to overcome?
• How can all stakeholders - the Commission, Member States, regions, education and training institutions, NGOs - join forces in a new partnership for learning mobility?

The Commission invites all interested parties to comment on the issues raised in the Green Paper and send their contributions via e-mail to eac-green-paper-mobility@ec.europa.eu or to fill out the on-line multiple-choice questionnaire at: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/consult/index_en.html

Source: European Commission Mailing.