26.2.2013   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 56/99

—

having regard to Rule 123 of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas the southern shore of the Mediterranean is experiencing unprecedented changes that the EU must support with new initiatives,

B.

having regard to the fundamental role played by education in respect of democracy and economic and social development,

C.

having regard to the importance of vocational training to combat youth unemployment,

D.

whereas the Erasmus and Leonardo da Vinci programmes are major successes in terms of European integration,

E.

having regard to the small number of beneficiaries of the Erasmus Mundus programme from Mediterranean countries and the lack of south-south mobility,

1.

Calls on the Commission and the High Representative/Vice-President to propose, by the end of 2011, the establishment of a Euro-Mediterranean Erasmus programme to facilitate transnational mobility for students from both sides of the Mediterranean;

2.

Calls on the Commission and the High Representative/Vice-President to propose, by the end of 2011, the establishment of a Euro-Mediterranean Leonardo da Vinci programme to facilitate mobility for young people who wish to participate in vocational training programmes abroad;

3.

Instructs its President to forward this declaration, together with the names of the signatories (1), to the Commission, the Council, the High Representative/Vice-President, the Member States of the European Union and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), their parliaments, the Secretariat of the UfM and the UfM Parliamentary Assembly.