November 2023

The proposed Council Recommendation of the European Commission aims to strengthen learning mobility in all areas of education and training, to increase the mobility figures and to create improved access to cross-border mobility in order to better reach underrepresented population groups.

With regard to higher education, the target is aimed to be raised from currently 20% of higher education graduates in the EU and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) with mobility experience to at least 25%. This increase should be achieved by 2030. According to the EU Commission’s Education and Training Monitor 2023 (Link), the proportion of university graduates with mobility experience in 2021 was 9.8% across the EU, in Germany it was 10.7%. Although the mobility rate in Germany is higher on average in an EU comparison, it is below the target defined in the internationalisation strategy for the German higher education system, which was adopted by the federal and state governments in 2013 (Link). According to this strategy, one in three university graduates should have completed a stay abroad of at least 3 months and/or 15 ECTS credits by 2020.

The proposed targets for the promotion of learning mobility by 2030 also include that at least 15% of learners in vocational education and training should benefit from learning mobility abroad. In the areas of education and training, youth and sport, at least 20% of learners participating in learning mobility should be disadvantaged people.

The EU Commission will advocate a new political framework to promote the participation of teachers in mobility programmes. This should contribute to the professional development of teachers and increase the attractiveness of the teaching profession.

Based on the Commission’s proposal, Member States should be invited to translate the recommendations into national action plans for the period 2025-2030. The Commission is alerady supporting these plans through programmes such as Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, by expanding the European University Alliances and by promoting synergies with other funding instruments.

The proposal for a Council Recommendation is one of three pillars of the Talent Mobility Package , with which the Commission intends to position the EU as an attractive global learning centre in view of the shortage of skilled workers and to attract talent from all over the world in line with the geopolitical dimension of the European Education Area.