European Federation for Intercultural Learning
EFIL
EFIL, the European Federation for Intercultural Learning, is the umbrella structure for AFS organisations in Europe.
ID: 98470877752-88
Lobbying Activity
Meeting with Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and European Youth Forum and
14 Jan 2026 · Stakeholder dialogue on establishing the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2028-2034
20 Nov 2025
We call for the European Commission, Members states and the European Parliament to secure a 5 times increase of Erasmus+, and in particular a 5 times increase for the school education sector, namely 2,735 million. This measure will ensure that all youth take part in a learning mobility and that these mobilities contribute to the policy changes aspired by the European Education Area and Union of Skills: increased trust among school systems in Europe and recognition of learning periods abroad in general secondary education. Europe on the Move calls for schools to offer a variety of learning mobility opportunities for learners and staff for the benefit of individuals, institutions and wider policy change. While short-term mobilities are largely recognised for their benefits to individuals and for their unique accessibility, longer-term individual mobilities are not only more effective in terms of policy change for automatic recognition, but research shows that they have greater impact for individuals, in relation to language learning , improvement in cultural self-awareness and respect, and higher levels of intercultural competence . Research findings also show that EU common values related to respect for human dignity, fairness, cultural diversity, and human rights are developed in longer mobilities, especially when in the hosting country there is a welcoming environment and possibility to be active at local level in the hosting community . In spite of this, long-term individual learning mobility is largely underrepresented: with Erasmus+ due to its cost, the risk management and recognition of outcomes related with this type of mobility. Only 10 out of 32 Erasmus+ programme countries implement E+ IPM longer than 2.5 months, and the countries left out are often the same ones where private learning mobility organisations struggle to launch long-term IPM programmes, as there are no school policies supporting them. Erasmus+ can play a key role in fostering a variety of school learning mobility programmes across the whole EU and neighbouring countries, by allocating dedicated funding for these. For more information, read the two position papers attached, one on Erasmus+ funding, and one on the role of Erasmus+ in internationalisation of school education.
Read full responseResponse to Interim evaluation of the European Education Area
15 Sept 2023
Since its launch in November 2017, EFIL has fully supported the European Education Area and its aim to make learning mobility the norm. Within the EEA we particularly welcome the fact that the recognition of learning periods abroad in general secondary education has been put on the European education policy agenda as key to making mobility a reality for all. For the next 2 years we call for a focus on: stressing the importance of long-term individual pupil mobility as a transformative experience for pupils, their class and their teachers, thanks to the cultural immersion in the host country which is essential for developing key transversal competences; raising awareness among Member States of the importance of teacher training (ITE and CPD) aimed at internationalisation, and the need for competence-based assessment of the learning outcomes of pupils, broadly in line with the curriculum of their sending school; promoting trust in the quality and level of qualifications of schools and school systems abroad; piloting standardised procedures to gather data on IPM and recognition of its learning outcomes; encouraging cooperation between secondary schools and non-profit pupil exchange organisations for supporting teachers in managing long-term individual pupil mobility and ensuring that all pupils in the school benefit from this experience, through a whole school approach.
Read full responseResponse to Boosting European learning mobility for all
3 May 2023
EFIL, together with OBESSU, EEE-YFU, ATEE, the Lifelong Learning Platform and the Consortium of the 'Empowering Teachers for Automatic Recognition', welcomes the initiative of the European Commission to work on a Learning Mobility Framework, an essential element for making the European Education Area (EEA) a reality. The European Unions policy and programmes in the fields of education, youth, and sport have contributed invaluably to making learning mobility part of European culture. So much has already been achieved, and now we see the Learning Mobility Framework as an opportunity for the European Union to review all the learning mobility programmes for EU citizens and ensure their high quality, as well as smooth corresponding monitoring, coordination, and information. Together, these initiatives have the potential to constitute a true EEA: one which supports the internationalisation of all education sectors. As a collective of European civil society organisations in the the field of school education, we call for: Mapping all learning mobility programmes beyond Erasmus+ and adhering to the European Quality Charter for mobility: member states and civil society organisations can develop a monitoring system together - namely benchmarks, targets, and accreditation for organisations running mobilities, in order to ensure mobility quality and trustworthy public information. Supporting a learning mobility culture by: ensuring a whole school approach to internationalisation and including learning mobility in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) curricula. supporting schoolheads to integrate learning mobility within the school pedagogical project promoting diverse host destinations, including beyond Europe; promoting a welcoming culture in hosting institutions and communities supporting partnerships between key mobility stakeholders (i.e. schools, youth information centres, school students unions, non-profit organisations running mobilities) to provide pupils and parents with information on learning mobility, especially through peer interventions. Supporting Individual Pupil Mobility (IPM) as a key tool for the internationalisation of schools and for developing European citizenship at a young age by: Encouraging schools to promote IPM in general as means of bridging formal, non-formal, and informal learning, as well as to conduct Erasmus+ IPM activities with support from non-profit organisations which are expert in pupil mobility. Advancing support for the automatic recognition of learning periods abroad in general secondary education - i.e. the main barrier to IPM - via: creating national stakeholder groups who implement frameworks on recognition of learning periods abroad in general secondary education, in the form of advisory boards to ministries of education, for promoting and monitoring IPM and the automatic recognition of learning outcomes. The stakeholder groups should also include non-profit pupil exchange organisations, together with Erasmus+ NAs, Ministry of Education, Teachers and School Principal associations, as well as representatives of parents and students. revising Europass Mobility to include also the Learning agreement and allow pupils and teachers to have an efficient digital tool to define learning outcomes, assess them and ensure recognition
Read full responseResponse to Achieving the European Education Area
25 Aug 2020
This contribution is supported by:
• CESIE European Centre of Studies and Initiatives
• European Institute of Education and Social Policy – EIESP
• European Educational Exchanges – Youth for Understanding – EEE-YFU
• European Parents Association – EPA
• Lifelong Learning Platform - LLLP
• Organising Bureau of European School Students Unions - OBESSU
The European Federation for Intercultural Learning, representing the Consortium implementing the ‘Preparatory Action Expert Network on Recognition of outcomes of learning periods abroad in general secondary education’, welcomes the initiative of a Communication on Achieving the European Education Area, as an opportunity to
● reinforce the objectives set in the Communication on the EEA of November 2017 and ensure their implementation and their sustainability in light of the changed environment due to the Covid19 crisis
● launch new initiatives which respond to new needs identified.
The EEA calls for an EU where by 2025
● spending time abroad to study and learn should become the norm
● school qualifications should be recognised across the EU
For these purposes, in the proposal for the future Erasmus+ the pupil mobility programme has been expanded, and the Council adopted the recommendation on promoting automatic mutual recognition of higher education and upper secondary education and training qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad.
In 2019 the European Parliament has funded the Preparatory Action Expert Network on Recognition of outcomes of learning periods abroad in general secondary education to start the process which can lead to automatic recognition of outcomes of learning periods abroad in upper secondary education. We are just at the beginning of a long process which requires building mutual trust between national school systems and the joint creation of commonly accepted solutions: a strong political support is needed to achieve the ambitious objective set.
Although physical mobility has been impacted by the Covid19 crisis, we all believe that in-person encounters are essential to develop European citizenship and sharing of common values and solidarity across borders. Therefore measures in support of physical mobility should be continued and enhanced as the current situation is temporary. At the same time, mobility experiences should be enriched by online learning and virtual mobility which during the Covid19 crisis have become the norm.
We call on the European Commission to re-state the political objective of making studying abroad the norm through automatic recognition of learning periods abroad in general upper secondary education, and to foresee measures that ensure the sustainability of the results foreseen by the Preparatory Action, namely:
● The creation of a European observatory on pupil mobility
● The adoption and promotion of the European framework for automatic recognition, and its update based on the monitoring and cooperation among Member States mentioned above
● The publishing and updating of information on recognition practices on the relevant EU websites, and an enhanced coordination among them.
● The promotion of cooperation between schools and non formal education organisations (NGOs, Civil society organisations) expert in pupil mobility, in order to ensure quality of the mobility experience, and outreach and inclusion of all young people. This can be achieved by encouraging Member States to allow for cooperation between sectors to promote internationalisation of schools, and by ensuring eligibility of pupil mobility organisations to the Erasmus+ accreditation in the field of school education (KA1).
Finally, we support the contribution submitted by the Lifelong Learning Platform on the ‘Achieving the European Education Area initiative’. LLLP also calls for cross-sectoral cooperation in Education and training and for continuing to focus on various ongoing policy initiatives and their successful continuation and completion.
Read full responseMeeting with Tibor Navracsics (Commissioner) and European Youth Forum and
23 Apr 2015 · Tackling the radicalisation of young people