http://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2013/1288/chapter/IRegulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport and repealing Decisions No 1719/2006/EC, No 1720/2006/EC and No 1298/2008/EC (Text with EEA relevance)Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilRegulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport and repealing Decisions No 1719/2006/EC, No 1720/2006/EC and No 1298/2008/EC (Text with EEA relevance)2020-12-11King's Printer of Acts of Parliamenthttps://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/eu-exit/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02013R1288-20181005texttext/xmlen2018-10-05 CHAPTER I <Strong> <Emphasis>General provisions</Emphasis> </Strong> Scope of the Programme Article 1 1 This Regulation establishes a programme for Union action in the field of education, training, youth and sport called 'Erasmus+' (the 'Programme'). 2 The Programme shall be implemented for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020. 3 The Programme shall cover the following fields, whilst respecting the structures and specific needs of the various sectors in the Member States: a education and training at all levels, in a lifelong learning perspective, including school education (Comenius), higher education (Erasmus), international higher education (Erasmus Mundus), vocational education and training (Leonardo da Vinci) and adult learning (Grundtvig); b youth (Youth in Action), particularly in the context of non-formal and informal learning; c sport, in particular grassroots sport. 4 The Programme shall include an international dimension aimed at supporting the Union's external action, including its development objectives, through cooperation between the Union and partner countries. Definitions Article 2 For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply: 'lifelong learning' means all general education, vocational education and training, non-formal learning and informal learning undertaken throughout life, resulting in an improvement in knowledge, skills and competences or participation in society within a personal, civic, cultural, social and/or employment-related perspective, including the provision of counselling and guidance services; 'non-formal learning' means learning which takes place through planned activities (in terms of learning objectives and learning time) where some form of learning support is present (e.g. a student-teacher relationship), but which is not part of the formal education and training system; 'informal learning' means learning resulting from daily activities related to work, family or leisure which is not organised or structured in terms of objectives, time or learning support; it may be unintentional from the learner's perspective; 'structured dialogue' means the dialogue with young people and youth organisations which serves as a forum for continuous joint reflection on the priorities, implementation and follow-up of European cooperation in the youth field; 'transnational' relates, unless otherwise indicated, to any action involving at least two Programme countries as referred to in Article 24(1); 'international' relates to any action involving at least one Programme country and at least one third country ('partner country'); 'learning mobility' means moving physically to a country other than the country of residence, in order to undertake study, training or non-formal or informal learning; it may take the form of traineeships, apprenticeships, youth exchanges, volunteering, teaching or participation in a professional development activity, and may include preparatory activities, such as training in the host language, as well as sending, hosting and follow-up activities; 'cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices' means transnational and international cooperation projects involving organisations active in the fields of education, training and/or youth, and may include other organisations; 'support for policy reform' means any type of activity aimed at supporting and facilitating the modernisation of education and training systems, as well as support for the development of European youth policy, through the process of policy cooperation between Member States, in particular the Open Method of Coordination and the structured dialogue with young people; 'virtual mobility' means a set of activities supported by information and communications technology, including e-learning, organised at institutional level, that realise or facilitate transnational and/or international, collaborative experiences in a context of teaching and/or learning; 'staff' means persons who, on either a professional or a voluntary basis, are involved in education, training or youth non-formal learning, and may include professors, teachers, trainers, school leaders, youth workers and non-educational staff; 'youth worker' means a professional or a volunteer involved in non-formal learning who supports young people in their personal socio-educational and professional development; 'young people' means individuals aged between 13 and 30; 'higher education institution' means: any type of higher education institution which, in accordance with national law or practice, offers recognised degrees or other recognised tertiary level qualifications, whatever such establishment may be called; any institution which, in accordance with national law or practice, offers vocational education or training at tertiary level; 'joint degrees' means an integrated study programme offered by at least two higher education institutions resulting in a single degree certificate issued and signed by all the participating institutions jointly and recognised officially in the countries where the participating institutions are located; 'double degree/multiple degree' means a study programme offered by at least two (double) or more (multiple) higher education institutions whereby the student receives, upon completion of the study programme, a separate degree certificate from each of the participating institutions; 'youth activity' means an out-of-school activity (such as youth exchange, volunteering or youth training) carried out by a young person, either individually or in a group, in particular through youth organisations, and characterised by a non-formal learning approach; 'partnership' means an agreement between a group of institutions and/or organisations in different Programme countries to carry out joint European activities in the fields of education, training, youth and sport or establishing a formal or informal network in a relevant field such as joint learning projects for pupils and their teachers in the form of class exchanges and individual long-term mobility, intensive programmes in higher education and cooperation between regional and local authorities to foster inter-regional, including cross-border, cooperation; it may be extended to institutions and/or organisations from partner countries with a view to strengthening the quality of the partnership; 'key competences' means the basic set of knowledge, skills and attitudes which all individuals need for personal fulfilment and development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employment, as described in Recommendation 2006/962/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council; 'Open Method of Coordination' (OMC) means an intergovernmental method providing a framework for cooperation between the Member States, whose national policies can thus be directed towards certain common objectives; within the scope of the Programme, the OMC applies to education, training and youth; 'Union transparency and recognition tools' means instruments that help stakeholders to understand, appreciate and, as appropriate, recognise learning outcomes and qualifications throughout the Union; 'neighbourhood countries' means the countries and territories covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy; 'dual career' means the combination of high-level sports training with general education or work; 'grassroots sport' means organised sport practised at local level by amateur sportspeople, and sport for all. European added value Article 3 1 The Programme shall support only those actions and activities which present a potential European added value and which contribute to the achievement of the general objective as referred to in Article 4. 2 The European added value of the actions and activities of the Programme shall be ensured in particular through their: a transnational character, particularly with regard to mobility and cooperation aimed at achieving a sustainable systemic impact; b complementarity and synergy with other programmes and policies at national, Union and international level; c contribution to the effective use of Union transparency and recognition tools. General objective of the Programme Article 4 The Programme shall contribute to the achievement of: the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy, including the headline education target; the objectives of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training ('ET 2020'), including the corresponding benchmarks; the sustainable development of partner countries in the field of higher education; the overall objectives of the renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018); the objective of developing the European dimension in sport, in particular grassroots sport, in line with the Union work plan for sport; and the promotion of European values in accordance with Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. Recommendation 2006/962/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning (OJ L 394, 30.12.2006, p. 10).