EU student exchange to focus on reforms

BRUSSELS, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A founder of the European Union's Erasmus Program said its student exchange policies should focus on accommodating the urgent needs of a now-larger EU.

French activist Franck Biancheri, who convinced then-French President Francois Mitterand to support the exchange program, said the educational program is outdated and advocates educational reforms at the community level, the EU Observer reported Tuesday.

Biancheri said students should make their voice heard, especially on a continent with an aging demographic more concerned with pension reform than student programs.

"At that time, there were leaders like Francois Mitterand, Helmut Kohl, Jacques Delors, Margaret Thatcher, and we managed to push for the Erasmus Program. But now 90 percent of the leaders have no interest in similar projects," Biancheri said, adding, "I hope the next generation of leaders from Eastern Europe will change the system. But it is not yet clear if they are really young in mind or just age."

The program costs the EU approximately $725 million per year, the report said.