a)

in higher education, the share of graduates with a learning mobility experience abroad should be at least 23 %;

b)

in VET, the share of vocational learners benefiting from a learning mobility experience abroad should be at least 12 %.

—

a Commission proposal on an updated methodology for data collection for higher education;

—

the upcoming review of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training.

a)

aspiring to collectively reach a share of at least 20 % for people with fewer opportunities among all learners benefiting from learning mobility abroad (28) by 2027;

b)

considering agreeing on an EU-level target to be reached by 2030 on the basis of a proposal put forward by the Commission by 2026 for a methodology for data collection to measure the share of people with fewer opportunities among all learners benefiting from learning mobility abroad in education and training and youth and sport sectors.

a)

considering making learning mobility abroad an integral part of school education, VET and apprenticeships, higher education, and adult education and training systems by striving to include the opportunity for learning mobility periods abroad through flexible mobility windows, elective courses and other opportunities;

b)

supporting education institutions and training providers in the development and delivery of an increasing number of cross-border joint activities, including joint programmes leading to joint degrees, by making the best use of European initiatives, in particular European Universities alliances, Centres of Vocational Excellence, National VET Teams, Alliances for Innovation and Erasmus+ Teacher Academies, and building on the experiences of European Universities alliances, which have a target of 50 % mobility among students with physical, virtual and blended mobility options;

c)

promoting and embedding incoming and outgoing learning mobility in non-formal and informal learning, youth work and volunteering settings as valuable and viable mobility options for all learners, educators and staff, including through awareness-raising, outreach measures and other support to providers of non-formal and informal learning, local and regional authorities, and youth work and civil society organisations;

d)

supporting the application of quality criteria for the preparation, implementation and follow-up of learning mobility activities, including by building on quality standards developed within the Erasmus+ programme, the European Solidarity Corps programme and other learning mobility schemes, and by focusing on the accessibility and inclusiveness of such activities;

e)

fostering cooperation among the bodies that manage and implement funding instruments at EU, international, national and regional level to ensure coordinated activities that support and promote learning mobility, while avoiding overlaps and maximising the impact of resources.

a)

strengthening language learning at all stages of education and training, as well as in the youth and sport sectors, where possible, to boost learning mobility options and opportunities;

b)

supporting access to language education and learning, including for adult learners, to improve multilingual competences and enable citizens to take full advantage of learning mobility and increase their employment opportunities.

a)

building a lifelong learning mobility culture at all learning stages of education and training and across non-formal and informal learning, youth work, volunteering and sport settings. Actions to be taken in this regard may include:

b)

fostering cooperation between regional and local authorities, education and training providers, the youth and sport sectors, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations and private bodies to promote and support outgoing learning mobility, including for people with fewer opportunities, and creating a welcoming environment for incoming learning mobility participants from abroad;

c)

encouraging authorities and organisations that manage mobility schemes, both in sending and hosting roles, to reduce the administrative burden for organisations and participants and provide clear guidance throughout the application process;

d)

supporting flexible learning mobility formats that can diversify the pool of participants and serve as a stepping stone to longer mobility periods, including group mobility activities, short-term mobility, blended intensive programmes and any other learning experiences that may lead to micro-credentials, in line with the European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability;

e)

valuing the work of educators, staff and youth workers who prepare and implement learning mobility projects and activities by incorporating them into their profession, and recognising the added value of staff mobility.

a)

putting in place, where appropriate, learning mobility promoters — coordinators, contact points, ambassadors or dedicated learning mobility information centres — at national, regional or local level to share their expertise with education and training providers, the youth and sport sectors, civil society organisations and private bodies, to support engagement in learning mobility activities and to network at national and intra-EU level;

b)

offering learners targeted information on learning mobility opportunities throughout the lifelong learning cycle, including in schools, youth and work settings, among VET and adult-learning providers, youth work and volunteering providers, higher education institutions and employers, by cooperating with learning mobility promoters and incorporating information on learning mobility opportunities into study and career guidance;

c)

promoting the benefits of a mobility period abroad and providing advice, tips and mentoring, in particular to learners with fewer opportunities, including by making best use of the Erasmus+ App;

d)

encouraging hosting organisations to ensure a smooth reception for incoming learners, including by making information and relevant material readily available;

e)

providing information on mobility opportunities by optimising the use and functioning of the Euroguidance and Eurodesk networks;

f)

providing information on the living and working conditions in host countries by making use of the information available on the EURES portal on living and working conditions in all Member States and EFTA countries and the relevant section of the EU Learning Corner, including by linking that information to national learning mobility portals.

a)

putting the necessary steps in place to achieve automatic mutual recognition of higher education qualifications and of the outcomes of learning periods abroad at higher education level and making substantial progress towards automatic mutual recognition of upper secondary education and training qualifications giving access to higher education and of the outcomes of learning periods abroad in upper secondary education and training, including VET, as well as virtual and blended learning, by providing guidance and training for education and training providers and ensuring consistency in decision-making on recognition;

b)

making full use of the schemes and tools available that can support recognition of learning outcomes, including by facilitating consistent national approaches to automatic mutual recognition and ensuring that the external quality assurance system is implemented by independent quality assurance agencies registered with EQAR;

c)

encouraging education and training institutions to keep a record of decisions on the recognition of learning outcomes, taking into account data protection rules, to ensure consistency and transparency of decision-making over time and between the different organisational structures of institutions, with the aim of ensuring an understanding of the concept and definition of automatic mutual recognition;

d)

taking steps towards the recognition of competences acquired through learning mobility in non-formal and informal learning, youth work and volunteering settings by promoting cooperation on validation arrangements among the relevant bodies across education and training sectors, non-formal learning providers and civil society organisations, so that non-formal and informal learning outcomes can be more easily used in formal education and training and in the labour market;

e)

supporting education and training providers and organisers of youth learning mobility activities, youth work and volunteering in the systemic use of EU frameworks and instruments, including Europass, the multilingual classification of European skills, competences and occupations, European Digital Credentials for Learning, the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning, Europass Mobility, Youthpass and/or national frameworks, to aid the identification, documentation, assessment and, where appropriate, certification of competences developed through learning mobility;

f)

considering taking steps towards the ratification of the UNESCO Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education to improve the fair and transparent recognition of third-country qualifications, as well as partial studies and prior learning; making information on the processes for the recognition of third-country qualifications publicly available;

g)

using policy cooperation, in particular the Global Policy Dialogue of the Bologna Process and cooperation among recognition authorities and quality assurance agencies, to develop capacities in third countries’ higher education institutions and align quality assurance processes in order to maximise the learning outcomes of the mobility experiences of third-country students and ensure full recognition of mobility periods as counting towards the students’ degrees in their home countries.

a)

facilitating the transition from learning mobility to work mobility by helping mobile learners, educators and staff, as well as youth workers, access jobseeker support from public employment services and from EURES;

b)

through the Erasmus+ programme, helping learners, including recent graduates, to undertake traineeships abroad to develop their entrepreneurial, innovative, creative and intercultural skills;

c)

encouraging relevant organisations to host trainees from abroad, including through awareness-building and accessible information.

a)

developing dedicated measures to support the mobility of people with fewer opportunities in education and training systems, as well as in the youth and sport sectors;

b)

removing barriers for and addressing the needs of people with fewer opportunities from the early stages of designing learning activities;

c)

providing support to make learning mobility accessible to people with fewer opportunities, as well as support for organisations hosting them, for example by providing appropriate funding at national or regional level and by fostering synergies among different EU, international, national and regional funding instruments;

d)

providing accessible, up-to-date and timely information on available learning mobility funding, the timing of payments and other support available to learners;

e)

assisting mobile learners by addressing student housing shortages in collaboration with relevant national, regional and local authorities;

f)

ensuring, in accordance with EU and national legislation, the appropriate protection of mobile learning participants, including apprentices, trainees, young researchers, youth workers and volunteers, in particular minors, with regard to insurance, labour standards, health and safety requirements, tax, social security (including access to healthcare) and, where relevant, the possibility of accumulating pension entitlements.

a)

where appropriate, making use of more sustainable means of transport from and to learning mobility destinations and during mobility periods, as well as providing for guidance on sustainable travel;

b)

helping education and training providers, the youth and sport sectors, and civil society organisations that organise learning mobility activities to integrate sustainability practices into their daily activities through training, guidelines and the exchange of good practices;

c)

supporting education and training providers and the youth and sport sectors at organisational level in efforts towards cutting greenhouse gas emissions from travelling in the context of learning mobility.

a)

encouraging the development and use of interoperable IT systems based on common European standards; these systems should allow learners, educators and staff to manage and register learning mobility experiences, in full compliance with applicable data protection legislation, and should enable organisations to provide information on mobility opportunities, manage mobility, support automatic mutual recognition and reduce the administrative burden, by making use of the features of the European Student Card initiative and the tools offered by the Europass platform, including the digitalisation of learning credentials through the European Digital Credentials for Learning infrastructure;

b)

contributing to initiatives that support the mobility of researchers and provide relevant information and support services, including EURAXESS (29) and the upcoming ERA Talent Platform (30);

c)

providing support to education and training providers, the youth and sport sectors and civil society organisations enabling them to set up and utilise new digital tools when necessary and/or use existing digital tools to complement physical mobility;

d)

supporting the development of high-quality blended mobility formats by adapting existing national frameworks to further facilitate complementary innovative mobility formats that make use of digital technologies.

e)

exploring how AI can help overcome barriers to learning mobility.

a)

encouraging all learners, educators and staff to participate in the life of host communities, including through volunteering activities, during their learning mobility period abroad;

b)

enriching learning mobility experiences with training in intercultural awareness, civic engagement, digital and media literacy, knowledge of the EU and its values, and fundamental rights;

c)

providing incoming learners, educators and staff with information relevant to the local context and creating a welcoming culture through mentors and administrative support;

d)

ensuring that mobile learners, educators and staff enjoy the highest degree of academic freedom; encouraging education and training institutions to develop a culture of quality, including through quality assurance among other means, in which full adherence to principles of academic integrity is ensured during mobility periods.

a)

cooperating closely to increase the attractiveness of the EU, utilising the existing range of national and regional initiatives, such as the Study in Europe project in higher education;

b)

facilitating learning mobility with other parts of the world, in particular with countries with an enlargement perspective, through closer cooperation between their relevant authorities and education and training institutions and those in the EU; in this regard, Talent Partnerships may provide a framework for stronger cooperation partnerships with key third countries in line with mutually agreed objectives; such cooperation can help ensure that learning mobility indirectly helps address skills gaps in third countries and the EU, for example by targeting skills gaps in sectors affected by the green and digital transitions and improving the employability of learners;

c)

supporting the timely issuance of long-stay visas and residence permits for third-country nationals who are selected for a learning opportunity in a Member State, in accordance with Directive (EU) 2016/801 (31), or of short-stay visas, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 (32), depending on the intended duration of stay in the EU.

a)

encouraging strategic discussions at European, national and regional level and among Member States on possible internationalisation and/or mobility strategies or approaches, the sharing of good practices and participation in peer-learning activities, in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders;

b)

informing the Commission by the end of 2026 of existing or planned internationalisation and/or mobility strategies or approaches that could support the implementation of this Recommendation in higher education, VET, school education, adult education and the youth and sport sectors, addressing both outgoing and incoming learning mobility.

—

in higher education, the share of graduates with a learning mobility experience abroad;

—

the share of people with fewer opportunities among all learners benefiting from learning mobility abroad in education and training and youth and sport sectors.