SPEECH/07/22 Margot Wallström Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Institutional relations and Communication strategy Happy Birthday, Erasmus! 20th anniversary of the Erasmus programme Brussels, 18 January 2007
Dear President of the Committee of the Regions, President of the Erasmus Student Network, Network members, Ladies and gentlemen: Good morning! This is indeed a good morning because it's a day of celebration. Just 20 years ago the Erasmus programme was born. And what a success it has been! It has given nearly one and a half million young people the opportunity to study abroad and experience life in another culture. For eight out of ten of you, you are the first person in your family to have had that opportunity. Living and studying abroad is a potentially excellent experience. It broadens your horizons. It challenges your preconceptions. It makes you more confident, more independent and more employable too. It can even be something of a survival training course especially if you're unfamiliar with the language of your host country! From Europe's point of view too, Erasmus brings many benefits. One of the things the European Union badly needs is innovation. Inventiveness. Fresh, critical thinking. And one way to get that is to bring together intelligent young minds from different cultural backgrounds. It's a fabulous way to spark new ideas! So it's very appropriate that this student exchange programme should be named after Erasmus of Rotterdam. In the 15 th to 16 th centuries he was the classic example of the much-travelled scholar who helped spread fresh, critical thinking around Europe. He studied and worked in Paris, Venice, Leuven, Cambridge and Basel. He made lifelong friendships with some of the greatest thinkers of his day and corresponded by letter with more than five hundred others. (Perhaps that's why they call him "a man of letters"!) Perhaps most importantly of all, he challenged orthodoxy and faced criticism fearlessly. What a guy! And what an example to us all I hope that all of you here this morning have like Erasmus made lifelong friends in other countries. That, to me, is an absolutely fundamental part of being European. At a conference in Copenhagen a few years ago, a student told me that, for him, Europe was not a collection of countries but a network of friends. When he looked at the map of this continent he saw not of the names of places but the names of people. 2
I sincerely hope that friendship as much as education has been the fruit of your Erasmus experience. This morning I want to ask what lessons we can all learn from the Erasmus experience. And I mean the total experience: the 20 years of programme activities and 17 years of the Erasmus Student Network. I think there are three main answers. First, it is clear that shared culture and education are a powerful force for uniting people. It was true in the days of Erasmus himself: it remains true today. The European Union's origins as the European Coal and Steel Community may seem purely industrial. The unity between its member states may appear primarily economic. But there is far more to it than that. The fundamental purpose of the European project is to secure peace and friendship between European nations. And "an ever-closer union among the peoples of Europe" to quote the EU Treaty. That kind of unity implies a common culture: a shared outlook on life; a common understanding of the world and what we want to achieve in it. That is the kind of understanding which the Erasmus programme generates. When I talk about a "common culture" I don't mean a bland, uniform culture for the whole of Europe. Far from it! Our wonderful diversity is one of our greatest riches, and I hope we all treasure it. What I mean is a common set of values. Our shared commitment to democracy, fair play, social justice, solidarity, tolerance, inclusiveness. Those are the things that unite us far more fundamentally than our differences. The second thing to learn from the Erasmus experience is that there is Erasmus life after the Erasmus year! The Erasmus Student Network not only helps students during their time abroad but also keeps people in touch afterwards. Importantly for the European Union, it is a network of around 1.4 million young people in 30 countries who see Europe as the future. A network of thinking people who understand better than most the challenges facing Europe. Challenges such as globalization and the need for Europe to stay competitive. The need for innovation and invention. The need to develop clean renewable energy sources and energy-efficient technologies. Such challenges can be great opportunities too. I would like Erasmus to be a network for discussing how we can meet those challenges and take advantage of those opportunities. 3
You can help get other people involved in the discussion too. People from all walks of life. Europe belongs to us all: we should all have a say in setting the European agenda and making sure EU action deals with the issues that concern us. Maybe you can link up with Commission and Parliament offices in your home country to create forums for discussion, or to put on cultural events that raise people's awareness of Europe. Think about it. Talk to the European Commission and European Parliament about it. The third and final lesson of the Erasmus experience is that you who have benefited from Europe can do something for Europe in return. You can be an "ambassador for Europe" telling your friends and colleagues about the EU's achievements and sharing your enthusiasm for what it means to be a European. The fact is that the European Union for all its faults has delivered and is still delivering many benefits. In March this year we shall be celebrating the EU's 50th birthday. The treaty which set up the European Economic Community as it was originally called was signed in Rome in 1957. Over these past 50 years Europe has changed enormously and mostly for the better. - War is now unthinkable between EU member countries. - Standards of living have risen to levels our grandparents could only dream of. - EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy has helped and is helping spread stability, democracy and prosperity across the continent. - We have put in place a single market and a single currency, making life much easier for businesses and traders. - Goods and services are cheaper, food is safer, the environment is cleaner. - Passport-free travel between most EU countries is a reality. These are things to be appreciated. You yourselves have benefited personally and directly from the EU, through your educational opportunities. During your studies you will have met other people who have benefited in a variety of other ways. So why not decide that this year you will become an "ambassador for Europe". That doesn't mean claiming the EU is perfect: it's not. Nor does it mean denying the problems we face. But it does mean pointing out that we had better face those problems together if we are to have any realistic chance of dealing with them. The Erasmus Van is going to be playing its part this year as it tours Europe, creating interest, awareness and dialogue. I wish the volunteers on board a safe journey and a great time! 4
What about other ways of organising yourselves as ambassadors? One idea I would like to suggest is to network the networks. In other words, forge links with other Europe-wide organisations and get involved in their activities. For example, there's the European Voluntary Service (EVS), an excellent volunteering scheme which has been run by the European Commission since 1996. If you're between 18 and 25, EVS offers you the opportunity to do volunteer work in another country, normally for a period of six to twelve months, helping with social, cultural, environmental and sports projects. It's fun! It creates friendship. It lets you show solidarity with other people in very practical ways. You can learn from them, and they can learn from you. Together you can discuss what Europe means to you and the kind of Europe you want for the future. We have to decide and to build that future together. "Together since 1957" is the EU's birthday slogan: now let's stay together and face the future. As friends. Thank you all. And "Happy Birthday Erasmus!" 5