The coronavirus risks stopping Erasmus+ too. The programme, the flagship of the European Union's youth policies and an activity coveted by many students from the old continent, can be put on standby without incurring the payment of penalties due to the coronavirus.
With an official note the European Commission puts pen to paper how to do ccancel, suspend or postpone Erasmus by appealing to "force majeure", i.e. the spread of Covid-19 in Northern Italy which is causing great concern throughout Europe.
Participants in the Erasmus+ program who are located in areas considered at risk of contagion they will have the support of embassies, consulates and honorary consulates in the country of stay at their disposal. Anyone who decides to give up – by canceling, suspending or postponing their departure – will have to submit a specific request to the relevant National Agency. The latter “may apply force majeure to all activities taking place in areas deemed to be at risk, to incoming mobility from these areas, as foreseen in the grant agreement between the national agencies and the beneficiaries and as defined in the program guide and other contractual documents”, explains the EU Commission .
“The national agencies – continues Brussels – can therefore cancel, postpone or move the planned activities in these regions”.
After the communications made by the Italian agencies that deal with mobility, which on 24 February had invited the entities concerned to review the exchange scheduling plans, the European Commission therefore intervenes to clarify, excluding any penalty for those who decide to renounce.
The "force majeure" clause will in fact apply to the activities "and to the costs for all those mobility that are canceled due to the emergency situation and the provisions of the competent authorities", explains Indire, the Italian agency that deals with the program.
What is certain is that the impact of the coronavirus on the program risks being disruptive. In the last five years, over 180 Italian students have gone on Erasmus, a number that makes Italy the fourth country by number of participants behind France, Germany and Spain.
