European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and European Parliament President Antonio Tajani are leading the 30th anniversary celebrations for the Erasmus program at the European Parliament in Strasbourg today. To mark the occasion, the Commission is also launching a new Erasmus+ mobile application. Designed for students, vocational learners and participants in youth exchanges, the app will make young people's Erasmus+ experience easier.

Today the European Commission is announcing a further increase of the share of its humanitarian aid budget to lead the way in supporting education projects in emergency situations around the world. The increase from 4% in 2016 to 6% in 2017 of the humanitarian aid budget, puts the Commission well ahead of the global average. 

Twenty-five years ago the Berlin Wall fell, and most Central European states went on to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). Now that we are addressing urgent challenges in the Middle East, Ukraine, Africa, and Asia, shouldn’t U.S. public diplomacy efforts be transferred from Central Europe to these hotspots?

France's budget for public development aid continues to fall. The French government presented its altered, and reduced, budget for this year's foreign aid. "The ministry contributed in the collective effort of reducing France’s public deficit, but everyone has to take part," said Annick Girardin, France’s Secretary of State for Development and Francophonie. A finance law will reduce the foreign aid budget by €73 million in 2014. It was originally €2.9bn. 

The European Union and its Member States stand to gain a great deal by using the 'soft power' of cultural diplomacy, with benefits for the economy through increased market access for European cultural and creative industries, strengthened cultural diversity and the wider sharing of European values. This is the conclusion of areport published today by the European Commission following an initiative by the European Parliament.