Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2017)262 - Legal framework of the European Solidarity Corps - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2017)262 - Legal framework of the European Solidarity Corps. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2017)262  |
| date | 30-05-2017 |
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
The European Union is built on solidarity, a shared value which is strongly felt throughout European society. Solidarity defines the European project and provides the necessary unity to cope with current and future crises by holding a strong moral ground. Solidarity provides a clear compass to guide the European youth in their aspirations for a better Union. In the Rome Declaration, at the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, the leaders of 27 Member States and of the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission reaffirmed their commitment to enhance unity and solidarity in order to increase the strength and resilience of the European Union 1 .
The State of the Union address of 14 September 2016 emphasized the need to invest in young people and announced the idea of a European Solidarity Corps to create opportunities for young people across the European Union to make a meaningful contribution to society, show solidarity and to develop their skills, 'thus getting not only work but also invaluable human experience'. The Bratislava Summit of 16 September 2016 called for reinforced political momentum to support young Europeans and to establish new EU programmes to improve opportunities for them. The Commission Communication “A European Solidarity Corps” of 7 December 2016 2 launched the first phase of the European Solidarity Corps and reiterated the target of 100 000 young Europeans taking part in the European Solidarity Corps by 2020. During this initial phase, eight different EU programmes 3 have been mobilised to offer volunteering, traineeship or job opportunities to young people across the EU.
This proposal also responds to the call by the European Council in its Conclusions of 15 December 2016 to take work on the European Solidarity Corps forward 4 , and it is one of the priority initiatives included in the Joint Declaration on the EU's legislative priorities for 2017 5 , whereby the Presidents of the Parliament, Council and Commission committed to streamlining the efforts of their Institutions to ensure swift legislative progress on priority initiatives with a view to delivery before the end of 2017.
This proposal provides the legal framework for the European Solidarity Corps to offer opportunities for young people to engage in solidarity activities, which will contribute to addressing unmet societal needs, while enhancing young people’s personal, educational, social, civic and professional development. In shaping this proposal, the Commission has taken into account the evidence and findings gathered through the ex-ante evaluation that accompanies it, as well as the views and suggestions collected through an extensive open consultation process, as further described in the relevant sections below. This preparatory work helped identify the following gaps that this proposal aims to address.
There are many young people who want to engage in solidarity activities and, at the same time, there are many unmet needs in communities that could be better addressed thanks to the involvement of young people in solidarity activities. There is an untapped demand by many organisations for motivated young people to support them in their efforts; if supported, these organisations could offer even more to communities. There are however shortcomings in the matching of supply and demand and obstacles related to the availability of resources, to ensuring quality, as well as various legal aspects.
–in recent decades, our society has insufficiently invested in empowering young Europeans to effectively engage in solidarity activities, either as volunteers or through occupational activities. Following the global financial and economic crisis the EU economy is now back on a more stable footing, but the recovery is still unevenly distributed across society and regions and the challenge is particularly acute for the younger generation. Solidarity activities have the concrete potential to mobilise young people for positive causes and help them develop the knowledge, skills and competences which will be essential for their personal, socio-educational, professional and civic development. This is true for all young people, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Encouraging the involvement of those young people in solidarity activities is a specific issue that also needs to be considered in this context;
–addressing solidarity and building social, economic and civic cohesion requires a rich tissue of dynamic organisations (private and public, profit and non-profit). In this context, there is a need to cater better for the needs of such organisations, especially those working at the grass-root level with the most disadvantaged communities. Organisations creating and offering solidarity placements need support, in terms of resources, ensuring appropriate training and preparation for volunteers, trainees or workers as well as to be active in a European context. Organisations also need clear and simple rules;
–the landscape of solidarity opportunities – be it in an occupational or volunteering perspective – is quite fragmented across the EU. Where opportunities exist, there is often a lack of awareness. The fragmentation also leads to shortcomings when it comes to understanding, documenting and validating what young people learnt from engaging in a particular solidarity action.
In the absence of measures to bring organisations and young people together around solidarity, there is a risk that an important potential for solidarity activities goes untapped, resulting in unnecessary welfare loss to organisations, young people and society as a whole.
Against this background, the European Solidarity Corps aims at enhancing the engagement of young people and organisations in solidarity activities which are of high quality and accessible to all young people, as a means to contribute to strengthening cohesion and solidarity in Europe, supporting communities and responding to unmet societal needs. In order to reach this general objective, the European Solidarity Corps will provide young people with easily accessible opportunities to engage in volunteering, traineeships or jobs in solidarity-related sectors, as well as to devise and develop solidarity projects at their own initiative, which shall also contribute to improving their skills and competences for their personal, social and professional development, as well as their employability. The European Solidarity Corps will also support networking activities for European Solidarity Corps participants and organisations, aimed at fostering a European Solidarity Corps spirit and sense of belonging to a wider community committed to solidarity, as well as at encouraging the exchange of useful practices and experience. The European Solidarity Corps will further aim at ensuring that the solidarity activities offered to the young participants 6 contribute to addressing concrete societal challenges and to strengthening communities, that they are of high quality and that the learning outcomes resulting from young people’s participation in those activities are properly validated.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
This proposal is part of the broader set of initiatives called "Investing in Europe's Youth" launched on 7 December 2016. It pushes ahead with the Europe-wide roll-out of all key EU youth policies, notably the European Youth Strategy, the Youth Guarantee, and the New Skills Agenda for Europe, all of which cover a wide range of actions in support of young people, from informal education and volunteering, to vocational training and employment. The goal is to improve opportunities for young people by substantially increasing their quality and their expected outcomes.
The European Solidarity Corps will draw on the rich and long-standing tradition and experience of Member States in activities that serve the public interest, e.g. through volunteering. Some Member States operate national civic service programmes offering young people the possibility to engage, others facilitate activities undertaken by civil society.
At EU level, the European Voluntary Service (EVS) has provided volunteering opportunities for young people for 20 years, and policies and programmes such as the Youth Guarantee and the “Your First Eures Job” are helping young people get into traineeships and jobs. The European Solidarity Corps will build on the strengths and experience of these initiatives, thus benefiting from building on a solid, existing basis while expanding it in order to offer new opportunities, wider visibility and greater impact. The European Solidarity Corps will offer new opportunities that are not supported under the current programmes, while simplifying access for both interested young people and organisations. The European Solidarity Corps will offer a single, easily accessible entry point through its Portal, and will aim at the widest possible outreach to participating organisations and to the young people involved. It will also develop and enhance training available before a placement, as well as relevant support and the validation of learning outcomes after a placement.
In order to ensure continuity with respect to the volunteering activities supported at EU level, those activities that have been supported under the European Voluntary Service and that fall within the geographical scope of the European Solidarity Corps will be supported by the latter in the form of cross-border volunteering placements. In parallel, the other European Voluntary Service activities that do not fall under the geographical scope of the European Solidarity Corps will continue to be supported under the Programme established by Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 7 . With respect to the interpretation of related legislation at Union level, the proposal includes provisions in order to ensure that both the cross-border volunteering placements under the European Solidarity Corps and the volunteering activities that will continue to be supported under Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 will be considered equivalent to those carried out under the European Voluntary Service.
In order to ensure efficient and effective implementation, the European Solidarity Corps will make maximum use of existing management arrangements already in place. This will allow focusing on maximising delivery and performance while minimising administrative burden. For this reason, the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps will be entrusted to existing structures, i.e. the European Commission, also through its Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), and the National Agencies designated for the management of the actions referred to in the Youth Chapter of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 establishing the Erasmus+ Programme.
• Consistency with other Union policies
The actions of the European Solidarity Corps will be consistent with and complementary to a variety of relevant EU policies and programmes, in particular, but not limited to, those relating to education and training, employment, gender equality, entrepreneurship (in particular social entrepreneurship), citizenship 8 and democratic participation, environment and nature protection, climate action, disaster prevention, preparedness and recovery, agriculture and rural development, provision of food and non-food items, health and well-being, creativity and culture, physical education and sport, social assistance and welfare, reception and integration of third-country nationals, territorial cooperation and cohesion.
In the first phase of the European Solidarity Corps launched in December 2016, eight different EU programmes have been mobilised to offer volunteering, traineeship or job opportunities to young people across the EU. These activities, whether implemented before or after the entry into force of the proposed Regulation, will continue to apply the rules and conditions set by the respective EU programmes that have financed them during the first phase of the European Solidarity Corps.
For the second phase starting with the entry into force of the proposed Regulation, several EU programmes will be contributing to the European Solidarity Corps. Some of them 9 will do so by means of contributions into the financial envelope of the European Solidarity Corps (as further explained in section 4); others 10 may contribute to the objectives of the European Solidarity Corps by supporting activities within its scope. This contribution will be financed in accordance with the respective basic acts of the concerned programmes.
Contents
• Legal basis
The predominant purpose of this proposal is to provide opportunities for young people to engage in solidarity activities, including volunteering, traineeships, jobs, as well as projects developed by young people at their own initiative, which will have an important learning component to the benefit of young people’s personal, socio-educational and professional development. In line with this, the content of this proposal is focused on encouraging mobility, active engagement, non-formal education and vocational training of young people. This will also contribute to improving their employability and to facilitating transition to regular employment.
With that regard, the proposal is based on Articles 165 i and 166 i of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Article 165 i allows Union action aimed at "encouraging the development of youth exchanges (…) and encouraging participation of young people in democratic life of Europe". Union action based on Article 166 i represents an appropriate legal basis for an act such as this proposal that aims to 'improve initial and continuing vocational training in order to facilitate vocational integration and reintegration into the labour market' and 'facilitate access to vocational training and encourage mobility of instructors and trainees and particularly young people'.
• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)
In light of the European scale of the proposed objectives – to mobilise young people for solidarity causes throughout the European Union – an action at EU level is appropriate. The EU has a role to play in supporting a Europe-wide approach to solidarity. EU action through the European Solidarity Corps will not replace similar actions by Member States, but will serve to complement and support them, in full respect of the subsidiarity principle. While there are traditions in all Member States for running programs and instruments that support activities that serve the public interest, in particular through volunteering, these are quite diverse, with some countries preferring state intervention, and others letting civil society be in the lead. There are also different concepts and connotations of solidarity activities and volunteering, and the types of activities are different in content and duration. Moreover, there are quite different perceptions of how social protection relates to volunteering, as well as various degrees of legal status, learning and recognition. All this leads to fragmentation at EU level, which means that young people across the EU have uneven access to the opportunities on offer.
EU action through the European Solidarity Corps will contribute to addressing the need to overcome this fragmentation, as evidenced by the ex-ante evaluation that accompanies this proposal. At the same time, it will be an occasion to build on the lessons learnt from the variety of experiences across Member States, while boosting volunteering in those Member States where it is less prevalent today, as suggested by the stakeholders who were consulted during the preparation of this proposal. The European Solidarity Corps will complement the existing public and private policies, programmes and activities, both at national and European level. By applying a number of quality safeguards such as the European Solidarity Corps Charter, a quality label for participating organisations and the principles outlined in the Quality Framework for Traineeships, the European Solidarity Corps can help improve the quality of various placements for young people across the EU as well as the validation of their learning outcomes.
Furthermore, the European Solidarity Corps will offer a single entry point to high quality volunteering and occupational solidarity placements for young people across the EU, whereas currently these are only accessible via a multitude of schemes. It will therefore ensure that all interested young people across the EU have equal opportunities to join and easier access to a broader variety of activities. Bringing the different types of placements under one brand can also contribute to improving awareness and visibility of the opportunities available to young people.
The European Solidarity Corps will offer both placements that can be undertaken in a country other than the country of residence of the participants (cross-border) and placements that can be undertaken in the country of residence of the participants (in-country). This flexibility is in line with the proposals received from the consulted stakeholders. As far as cross-border placements are concerned, especially in view of the fragmentation in structures and programmes offering volunteering, traineeships as well as the diversity in understanding and concepts of the sector offering solidarity activities, individual Member State action cannot replace EU action. As far as in-country placements are concerned, the European Solidarity Corps can be expected to have an innovative character, while helping address local or national challenges from a broader European perspective. In particular, EU action can help overcome fragmentation in the offer of placements and ensure inclusiveness for all young people, including those who face obstacles to engage in international activities. It can also offer a European context and help find European solutions to specific challenges that are not confined to national borders.
Last but not least, the use of existing structures that have proved their efficiency and effectiveness will ensure an efficient and effective implementation of the European Solidarity Corps as well synergies and complementarities with Member States' actions in favour of youth.
• Proportionality
The proposal addresses identified gaps in offering easily accessible opportunities for engagement in solidarity activities to young people and does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve its objectives.
• Choice of the instrument
The proposed instrument is a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
3. RESULTS OF STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
• Stakeholder consultations
In preparing this proposal and its accompanying ex-ante evaluation, consultation took place at different levels including a broad range of stakeholders as well as individual citizens, public administrations, and other EU institutions and bodies (namely, the European Parliament, the Council, the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee).
An 8-week online public consultation was carried out, 660 replies and 82 position papers were received. The consultation was made available in 23 official languages of the EU, and replies were accepted in all these languages. In addition, a large stakeholder forum with around 700 participants was held on 12 April 2017 and targeted consultations were organised with Member States and key stakeholders (including, voluntary organisations, solidarity organisations, youth representatives, Public Employment Services and EURES coordinators, Youth Guarantee coordinators, social partners, companies, programme beneficiaries and programme stakeholders, including national authorities and national agencies of the Erasmus+ Programme).
A detailed overview of the consultation process is annexed to the ex-ante evaluation that accompanies this proposal. The main elements resulting from these consultations are summarised below.
In summary, the stakeholders participating in the consultations expressed an overall appreciation of the visibility and political recognition given to young people’s engagement for solidarity. They welcomed the new opportunities for young people to make a change thanks to the European Solidarity Corps. They emphasised the potential of the European Solidarity Corps to foster integration, inter-European and inter-generational solidarity and to promote common values. Yet, they highlighted the need for additional funding to ensure an inclusive approach, allowing the participation of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and of small organisations as well as quality placements, while building upon already existing structures.
More specifically, one of the key issues highlighted by stakeholders was the need for an inclusive approach. As a matter of fact, many stakeholders specifically mentioned the need for a specific focus on inclusiveness for all young people, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds and with fewer opportunities.
Stakeholders emphasised that the European Solidarity Corps should have an even stronger focus on solidarity than the existing programmes with a clear definition of 'solidarity activities'. Stakeholders recognised that the activities in the scope of the European Solidarity Corps can contribute to the development of skills and competences, thus supporting non-formal and informal learning as well as youth employability. Organisations equally stressed a need to train volunteers and some of them also mentioned the need to issue a certificate for volunteers.
Possible overlaps with existing programmes and lack of funding were among the main concerns expressed by stakeholders. Many requested a separate budget for the European Solidarity Corps. The majority of stakeholders stressed that in order to meet current and future needs, the European Solidarity Corps needed to be provided with sufficient additional funds on top of the available resources from existing programmes. The majority of stakeholders also requested a clear distinction between volunteering and occupational activities in order to avoid cheap labour or unpaid work, such as by replacing trainees and employees with volunteers.
In terms of implementation, stakeholders underlined that it should be lean and effective in order to avoid unnecessary administrative burden for young people and organisations. They also stressed the importance to ensure high quality standards as well as to build on synergies and experience from existing, well-functioning schemes, such as the European Voluntary Service. Stakeholders highlighted the need to have a clear division of roles and competencies among implementing bodies, to clarify the rules for accreditation of organisations, to have a well-functioning matching tool between organisations and volunteers and a high quality support system for the participants as important factors to reach this goal.
When it comes to the geographical scope, the majority of stakeholders argued to ensure consistency with the conditions of existing programmes. Stakeholders supported the proposed possibility to foster solidarity activities at the local level in addition to cross-border opportunities and they acknowledged that these may make participation easier for disadvantaged young people. However, several stakeholders stressed the need for cooperation and coordination with national governments and local communities in order to ensure complementarity with existing programmes.
The proposal for the European Solidarity Corps largely reflects the views and recommendations collected during the consultations. In line with those, the European Solidarity Corps will offer new opportunities accessible to all young people with stronger emphasis on addressing solidarity needs and on encouraging the participation of disadvantaged young people, including by envisaging additional financial support when relevant. It will also place special emphasis on ensuring the relevance and quality of the activities to be supported. Quality and support measures, such as insurance, online linguistic support, general online training and specific training, a European Solidarity Corps certificate and post placement support will be offered to the participants. Quality will also apply to the organisations willing to offer placements under the European Solidarity Corps. To this end, and in line with the suggestions gathered during the consultations, a quality label will be introduced as a pre-condition for participation for all interested organisations. It will aim at checking their compliance with the principles and requirements of the European Solidarity Corps Charter, as regards their rights and responsibilities during all stages of the solidarity experience.
In line with stakeholders' recommendations, the European Commission will strive to improve the user-friendliness and to reduce the administrative burden of the registration and application process for both young people and organisations. The development of the European Solidarity Corps Portal is already a step in this direction. The Portal and the matching tool provide a single entry point for solidarity activities throughout the European Union.
With regard to the need to cater for additional funding as advocated by many stakeholders, the European Solidarity Corps will be funded from both additional resources and from contributions by several existing programmes, which are in line with the European Solidarity Corps objectives, thus maximising synergies and complementarities with existing schemes. Stakeholders also advocated for a clear distinction between volunteering and occupational activities. This will be catered for not only with respect to the definition of the activities to be supported, but also in relation to the financial support dedicated to these activities. In this respect, the legislative proposal introduces an indicative split for the financial support to solidarity placements and projects (80% for volunteering placements and solidarity projects on the one hand and 20% for traineeships and jobs on the other hand), which should also contribute to ensuring continuity in the activities supported by the programmes contributing to the European Solidarity Corps.
In terms of geographical scope, the starting point for implementation of the European Solidarity Corps will be the EU Member States. However, the proposed Regulation provides for the possibility to open up to other countries on the basis of bilateral agreements with those countries.
• Impact assessment
An impact assessment has not been carried out given that the European Solidarity Corps has already been established by the Commission in its Communication in December 2016. The objective of the present Regulation represents a follow-up to that; this notwithstanding, given that it will involve significant spending, it is accompanied by an ex-ante evaluation to fulfil the requirements in the Financial Regulation.
The ex-ante evaluation examined challenges at two levels: focusing on young people and their opportunities to engage in solidarity activities on the one hand, and on broader social, institutional and organisational needs on the other. The ex-ante evaluation indicated a need for the EU to address the following major challenges in the framework of a European initiative for youth in the field of solidarity:
–there is a need to overcome fragmentation and provide more opportunities to encourage the engagement of young people and organisations in solidarity activities, namely by bringing volunteering and occupational experiences under one umbrella with a shared quality approach and developing a visible and broad validation of the learning experience gained, regardless of the context in which it took place. There is also a need to ensure easy and equal access through lean procedures, whilst foreseeing appropriate measures to encourage the inclusion of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds;
–there is a need to ensure that the placements and activities offered by a European initiative for youth in the field of solidarity respond to unmet societal needs as well as shared quality standards and a common understanding of the acquisition of the knowledge, skills and competences to be validated across borders.
The ex-ante evaluation focused on two options, namely: 1) to continue implementing the European Solidarity Corps through various existing programmes as it has been the case during the first phase launched in December 2016, whereby eight programmes have been funding solidarity actions, each one through its own legal basis, objectives and budget; 2) to develop a new self-standing initiative with strengthened focus on solidarity, which would build on the experience of existing programmes but would have its own clear set of objectives and ensure more clarity on the purpose and scope of the intervention.
The possibility of using the legal base of one of the existing programmes was discarded due to the fact that this would have resulted in a programme with a complex set of overlapping objectives and limited visibility of solidarity actions in a broader frame. Furthermore, such approach would have led to disengagement of stakeholders from the other programmes.
Thus, two options were identified, analysed and compared against the following criteria, which are in line with the stakeholders’ suggestions during the consultations:
–Accessibility (visibility and clarity for organisations, young people and other stakeholders on how to participate and access funding for solidarity activities);
–Quality (procedures and criteria ensuring quality and safety of placements);
–Inclusiveness (measures to ensure the participation of disadvantaged young people);
–Synergy (involvement of and synergies among organisations active in solidarity action regardless of their local, regional, national or European scope);
–Efficiency and simplicity of management provisions and low administrative costs.
Based on this multi-criteria analysis, option 2 (to develop a new self-standing initiative with strengthened focus on solidarity) resulted as the option that would deliver better results against all the considered criteria and was therefore retained as the preferred option. This option will provide a clear and single access point for organisations and young people and will make solidarity actions more visible. It will embed a more inclusive approach through a dedicated inclusion strategy. It will provide overall quality of placements and of preparedness of the young participants through a series of specific qualitative processes and criteria (such as quality label for organisations, training, insurance, etc.). It will bring new synergies between the activities and their recognition as it will put them in one common framework and will help create new networks between people and organisations with common aspirations for solidarity. Option 2 will also allow simultaneously decreasing management costs while reaching greater effects (more value for money).
Different delivery mechanisms were considered with respect to the preferred Option: direct management, indirect management or a combination of both. The analysis concluded that the latter – a combination of direct and indirect management – would ensure the most cost-effective implementation in order to reach the envisaged target of mobilising 100 000 young people by 2020. The ex-ante evaluation also stressed that sufficient and consistent financial resources are essential in order to reach the envisaged target.
The ex-ante evaluation also highlighted the expected positive social impact of the preferred option both at individual level (e.g. improved knowledge, skills and competences for their personal and professional development; increased sense of solidarity and citizenship for their social and civic development) and at societal level (e.g. addressed needs in communities with effects on social welfare and well-being; increased support to organisations committed to solidarity with positive effects on their engagement and on the opportunities offered to young people; contribution to other policy goals such as youth participation, civil protection, social inclusion, cohesion, regional development, environmental protection; improved image of youth on some national media).
Promoting youth participation and social capital is also closely connected to economic growth. Increased participation and employability of young people can have positive consequences for employment and macro-economic growth. However, considering the relatively small size of the proposed intervention as well as the fact that its impact will be spread out throughout Europe and not concentrated on one particular Member State or sector, it was not possible to measure the real impact in economic terms. Similarly, it was not considered relevant to carry out an in-depth analysis of environmental impacts. The ex-ante evaluation acknowledged that, similarly to other mobility programmes, the European Solidarity Corps will in principle generate an increased demand for transport, which in turn can potentially lead to an increased emission of greenhouse gases. This impact was however considered negligible compared to the overall mobility fluxes in Europe. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that the European Solidarity Corps can, as a side-effect, play an important role in raising young people's awareness and mobilising them vis-à-vis environmental issues, as it has already been the case during the first phase, whereby the different contributing programmes have already supported a variety of projects that deal with environmental issues.
This proposal is fully consistent with the preferred option.
• Fundamental rights
This proposal is fully in line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU 11 , which acknowledges that solidarity is one of the universal values on which the EU is founded. In particular, this proposal takes into full account the rights and prohibitions laid down in Articles 5 (Prohibition of slavery and forced labour), 14 (Right to education), 15 (Freedom to choose an occupation and right to engage in work), 21 (Non-discrimination), 24 (The rights of the child), 26 (Integration of persons with disabilities), 31 (Fair and just working conditions) and 32 (Prohibition of child labour and protection of young people at work) of the Charter.
4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
The Commission proposes to finance three fourths of the European Solidarity Corps budget by redeployments from existing programmes. The remaining amount will be covered by the mobilisation of the Global Margin for Commitments in 2018 and by available unallocated margins in 2019 and 2020.
The prime reference amount under Heading 1a for the 2018-20 period is EUR 294.2 million, which includes redeployment under the same headings from the Erasmus+ programme (EUR 197.7 million) and the Employment and Social Innovation programme (EUR 10 million).
The allocation in Heading 1a will be complemented by contributions from programmes in other headings within their existing financial allocation, in line with the aim of mainstreaming solidarity activities in different EU programmes and funds of the EU budget. The total amount proposed for the contribution from other headings is EUR 47.3 million and relies on the following contributing programmes: the European Social Fund (EUR 35 million), the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (EUR 6 million), the LIFE programme (EUR 4.5 million) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EUR 1.8 million).
The detailed budgetary and financial impact of the proposal is indicated in the legislative financial statement accompanying the proposal.
5. OTHER ELEMENTS
• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
In line with the analysis carried out in the context of the ex-ante evaluation that accompanies this proposal, and in order to ensure efficient and effective implementation, synergies and to minimise administrative burden, the European Solidarity Corps will use the existing management and implementation arrangements already in place under the Erasmus+ programme. Building on the positive experience of the implementation of this programme as well as on its structures, the proposal provides for a clear division of programme management tasks between the Commission, the National Agencies established under the Erasmus+ Programme and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Since its founding in 2006, the EACEA has successfully implemented parts of the Erasmus+, Creative Europe, Europe for Citizens and EU Aid Volunteers programmes (and their predecessor programmes) to a high standard, as confirmed by a number of independent external evaluations. As required by Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 laying down the statute for executive agencies 12 , a cost-benefit analysis prior to any delegation of programmes to the executive agencies has been carried out and demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of the use of the EACEA for certain tasks related to the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps. In parallel, the successful model of National Agencies under Erasmus+ has delivered demonstrable performance and efficiency, coupled with a high level of assurance and sound financial management.
The monitoring and evaluation arrangements of the European Solidarity Corps will consist of permanent monitoring to assess progress and an evaluation to assess the existing evidence on the effectiveness of the results achieved.
Monitoring arrangements will be based on an extensive analysis of the quantitative outputs and qualitative outcomes of the European Solidarity Corps. The quantitative outputs will be systematically collected through the IT systems put in place for the management of the actions of the European Solidarity Corps. The qualitative outcomes will be monitored through periodical surveys targeting both individuals and participating organisations. The reporting and assessment arrangements by all implementing bodies will ensure a comprehensive monitoring of the implementation of the proposal.
In 2020, the Commission will publish a report taking stock of the progress made towards achieving the target of offering 100 000 young people opportunities under the European Solidarity Corps. The proposal will also be subject to an independent evaluation four years after its date of application to assess the qualitative outcomes of the supported actions, including their impact on the young people and organisations. The evaluation should take into account the existing evidence on the effectiveness and impact of the results of the European Solidarity Corps. The sources of verification will include the monitoring data, the information included in the work plans and reports from the implementing bodies, results arising from dissemination, evidence-based studies, surveys, etc.
• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal
Chapter I – General provisions of the proposed Regulation sets out its subject-matter, the definitions of certain recurring terms, the general and specific objectives of the European Solidarity Corps activities as well as the coherence and complementarity of Union action. The European Solidarity Corps aims to enhance the engagement of young people and organisations in solidarity activities of high quality, accessible to all young people, as a means to contribute to strengthening cohesion and solidarity in Europe, supporting communities and responding to societal challenges.
Chapter II – Actions of the European Solidarity Corps provides a description of the activities envisaged for the achievement of the objectives of the proposed Regulation. The Union's support measures include solidarity placements, projects and networking activities on the one hand and quality and support measures on the other.
Chapter III – Financial provisions sets out the budgetary envelope of the European Solidarity Corps for the 2018-2020 period and the envisaged forms of Union funding. The prime reference amount includes redeployments from the Erasmus+ programme (EUR 197.7 million) and from the Employment and Social Innovation programme (EUR 10 million) as well as additional resources for the financial years 2018, 2019 and 2020. The financial envelope is complemented by contributions from different headings and several EU programmes.
Chapter IV – Participation in the European Solidarity Corps specifies criteria for the participating countries, individuals and organisations. The participating countries are the EU Member States and possibly other countries on the basis of bilateral agreements. Young people aged 17-30 can register in the European Solidarity Corps Portal whereas participation can only start when they are between 18 and 30 years of age. A participating organisation that may make offers for solidarity placements or activities to registered individuals is any public or private entity, or an international organisation that carries out solidarity activities in the participating countries, provided that they have received a quality label certifying their adherence to the requirements of the European Solidarity Corps.
Chapter V – Performance, results and dissemination includes provisions for the Commission and the participating countries to ensure regular monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the performance of the European Solidarity Corps as well as to ensure the dissemination of information, publicity and follow-up with regard to all actions supported by the European Solidarity Corps.
Chapter VI – Management and audit system foresees the implementing bodies of the European Solidarity Corps. In management terms, the proposed implementation modality is a combination of indirect management (through national agencies at national level) and direct management (through the Commission at Union level, including the use of an executive agency on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis). The combination of management modes is based on the positive experience of the implementation of the Erasmus+ programme and builds on the existing structures of that programme. The proposal foresees that the national authorities and the national agencies designated for the management of the Youth actions under Erasmus+ will also act as national authorities and national agencies under the European Solidarity Corps in the relevant participating countries. For countries where a national authority and a national agency are not designated, they will be established in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013. National agencies will be in charge of the main part of the funds and will operate on the basis of a delegation agreement. Furthermore, for some tasks related to the implementation of the European Solidarity Corps, the Commission will use the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. In implementing this Regulation, the Commission will perform tasks implying policy choices, in particular setting objectives and priorities, adopting work programmes (including financing decisions), representing the Commission in the programme committee, etc. The executive agency will be responsible for implementing tasks, such as the launch and conclusion of grant and procurement procedures, project monitoring, financial control and accounting, the contribution to programme evaluation and various support tasks.
Chapter VII – Control system foresees the necessary supervisory system meant to ensure that the protection of the financial interests of the Union is duly taken into account when actions financed under the European Solidarity Corps Regulation are implemented.
Chapter VIII – Implementing provisions sets out the necessary provisions for the conferral of certain powers to the Commission to adopt work programmes by way of implementing acts. As regards the Committee required under Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 13 to assist the Commission in adopting implementing acts, the proposal nominates the Committee established by article 36 of Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 establishing the Erasmus+ Programme. The Committee would work in different configurations (Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps) with the possibility for the Member States to nominate their delegates for the different configurations.
Chapter IX – Amending and final provisions provides the necessary amendments to the basic acts of those programmes which redirect funds from their respective 2014-2020 financial envelopes to the European Solidarity Corps actions. The final provisions set out the date of entry into force of the proposed Regulation which shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States from 1 January 2018.