Statement by Commissioner Mariya Gabriel on measures in support of pupils and educational staff fleeing Ukraine following the Russian invasion

The European Commission is determined to support Ukrainian pupils and teachers in these extremely challenging times with the following measures organised in two complementary strands.

First, we grant support for the education systems and schools in Member States. On 8 March 2022, the Commission adopted a proposal for Cohesion's Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE), which will introduce the necessary flexibility in the 2014-2020 Cohesion policy rules to allow a swift reallocation of available funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Fund for the European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) to finance a wide range of measures supporting people fleeing Ukraine.

In addition, the Erasmus+ programme can also play a key role. The funding opportunities we are mobilising through the Erasmus+ programme are the following:

• Ukrainian pupils can be welcomed quickly by education and training institutions involved in Erasmus+ cooperation projects, with flexible use of project funding.
• Ukrainian teachers and trainers can receive financial support to facilitate their integration.
• Qualified staff may be sent, on a temporary basis, to regions where refugees are accommodated.
• Institutions benefiting from ongoing Erasmus+ projects in areas such as inclusion, diversity and integration of refugees may, on a voluntary basis, reallocate part of their funds in support of activities for Ukrainian refugees.

Second, we provide support for Ukrainian children and teachers through European platforms.

The School Education Gateway:

• will facilitate the exchange of experiences and information on supporting the integration of young Ukrainian refugees into the education systems of the Member States.
• will organise a professional development course for teachers on the integration of newly arrived refugees in schools.
• will become the place informing about educational resources, which will allow children to continue learning also in their mother tongue, based on the Ukrainian curriculum. The Gateway can establish a link with national learning platforms made available to young people and teachers in the Ukrainian language.
• Our largest school community in Europe – eTwinning – will offer its support to the teaching staff of the young Ukrainian refugees. eTwinning can support teachers, school staff and pupils in exchanging and coordinating their grass-roots solidarity activities by creating a dedicated group in the secure space of the platform.