EACEA(Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency), is in charge of the complete life-cycle management of projects, from the promotion of the programme, the analysis of the grant requests, the on-the-spot monitoring of projects, up to the dissemination of the projects' and programme's results. The Erasmus+ Programme builds on the achievements of more than 25 years of European programmes in the fields of education, training and youth, covering both an intra-European as well as an international cooperation dimension. Erasmus+ is the result of the integration of the following European programmes implemented by the Commission during the period 2007-2013:
•The Lifelong Learning Programme
•The Youth in Action Programme
•The Erasmus Mundus Programme
•Tempus
•Alfa
•Edulink
•Programmes of cooperation with industrialized countries in the field of higher education
Erasmus + provides grants for a wide range of actions and activities in the fields of education, training, youth and sport. The programme gives opportunities to students, trainees, staff and volunteers to spend a period abroad to increase their skills and employability. It supports organisations to work in transnational partnership and to share innovative practices in the fields of education, training and youth. The new sport action will support grassroots projects and cross-border challenges such as combating match-fixing, doping, violence and racism. The actions of the Erasmus + programme are divided into decentralised actions and centralised actions. The decentralised actions are managed in each programme country by National Agencies that are appointed by their national authorities. The centralised actions are managed at a European level by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) located in Brussels. For strands of the Erasmus+ programme that work with countries outside the EU and other Programme Countries (i.e. Partner Countries), National Erasmus+ Offices have been set up in a number of these eligible Partner Countries. For those interested in Programme Countries, National Agencies also have an International Contact Point for these strands. Erasmus+ includes a strong international dimension (i.e. cooperation with Partner Countries) notably in the fields of higher education and youth. In the field of higher education, Erasmus+ supports the following main Actions targeting cooperation with Partner Countries:
•International credit mobility of individuals and Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees (under Key Action 1) promoting the mobility of learners and staff from and to Partner Countries.
•Capacity Building projects in higher education (under Key Action 2) promoting cooperation and partnerships that have an impact on the modernisation and internationalisation of higher education institutions and systems in Partner Countries, with a special focus on Partner Countries neighbouring the EU.
•Support to policy dialogue(under Key Action 3) through the network of Higher Education Reform Experts in Partner Countries neighbouring the EU, the international alumni association, policy dialogue with Partner Countries and international attractiveness and promotion events.
•Jean Monnet activities with the aim of stimulating teaching, research and reflection in the field of European Union studies worldwide.
