Kiri

Ref. Ares(2018)444274 - 25/01/2018 EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EDUCATION, YOUTH, SPORT AND CULTURE Youth, Education, Erasmus+ Director Brussels, EAC-B.4/BN/MK/bd Ares (2018) Mr Tarvi Pürn Undersecretary for Sport Ministry of Culture Suur-Karja 23 15076 Tallinn, Estonia [email protected] Subject: Your letter related to the Erasmus+ Programme for 2018 dated 3rd of January 2018 – Ares (2018) 34294 Dear Mr Pürn, Thank you for your letter addressed to the European Commission which has been assigned to my services. Below I would like to address the issues raised therein. Let me first explain that the application of the simplified forms of grants within the Erasmus+ programme was introduced in order to have an effective and homogeneous implementation of the programme. It is worth noting that the views of stakeholders in the programme (many of whom have strongly argued in favour of this funding scheme), have been taken on board in the move to apply simplified grants in Sport actions. Therefore, incorporating Sport actions into the format of simplified grants in the “Erasmus+” programme is in line with feedback from numerous beneficiaries and National Authorities. As most beneficiaries of the programme have shared their very positive experience in the use of the simplified grants in other sectors and actions, there was a strong preference to simplify the calculation of the grant amounts also in the field of Sport. This approach ensures flexibility and contributes to the simplification of the application procedure by significantly reducing the administrative burden. Moreover, transparency, predictability and equal treatment between beneficiaries is maintained, for instance, by applying pre-established rates. In the spirit of coherence, the funding schemes for Sport actions currently follow most of the grants defined in the framework of the Key Action 2 of the Erasmus+ programme: Strategic Partnerships in the field of education, training and youth, and authorised by the Commission Decision C(2013)8550 of 4 December 2013 where "the use of lump sums, reimbursement on the basis of unit costs and flat-rate financing under the "Erasmus+" Programme" is envisaged. I would also recall that simplified forms of grants are the contributions which have to respect the co-financing and no–profit rules. This means they are not meant to be exact Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111 http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture  reimbursements of real costs. Supplementary sources of financing, in addition to EU funds, should be provided to cover project expenses. Concerning the review of the country groups and their corresponding rates, the Commission Decision C(2013) 8550 envisaged a mid-term review of the funding rules in the education, training and youth area to ensure that they were still appropriate. Market prices' analysis based on GDP per capita for a country and EU average hourly wage of staff profiles has found that current unit costs across different staff categories and country groups are adequate in terms of co-financing and the no-profit rule. The results of this mid-term review can be found on the EU Publications' website1: https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/- /publication/4c376244-deee-11e7-9749-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source- 62009962 I would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for communicating your concerns to us. Pleased by assured that the level of the unit costs is constantly monitored and assessed, with a view to providing appropriate co-financing in Erasmus+ actions. Yours sincerely, Sophia Eriksson-Waterschoot Cc: Ms Martine Reicherts, DG EAC Mr Jens Christensen Nymand, DG EAC Mr Yves Le Lostecque, DG EAC Mr Kalmar Kurs, [email protected] EACEA, [email protected] 1 The results have been also published on the NAconnECt: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fpfis/wikis/display/ErasmusPlus/7.+Review+of+the+simplified+grants 2 Electronically signed on 25/01/2018 01:39 (UTC+01) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563