spent a lot of his time inside printing workshops. The idea of promoting cultural, social, and academic exchanges between European students originated in 1969, with Italian Sofia Corradi (nicknamed "Mamma Erasmus"), an educator and scientific consultant for the permanent conference of Italian university rectors. Her role allowed her to raise awareness about this idea and make it known in the academic and institutional spheres. The project was born after an initiative of the EGEE student association (now AEGEE) founded by Franck Biancheri (who later became president of the trans-European movement Newropeans) which in 1986–1987 convinced French president François Mitterrand to support the creation of the Erasmus programme. This active collaboration between AEGEE and the European Commission and especially Domenico Lenarduzzi, Ministry of Public Education, allowed the approval of the Erasmus programme in 1987. It became an integral part of the Socrates I (1994–1999) and Socrates II (2000–2006) programmes. From 2007 it became one of the elements of the Lifelong Learning Programme (2007–2013). In June 1984, the European Council decided in Fontainebleau to establish an ad-hoc European citizens' committee with the mission to make proposals in order to improve the image of the European Union. Each council member would select a member and together they should present a set of proposals to be approved at a future European Council. Under the chairmanship of Pietro Adonnino, the committee presented two successive reports that were approved at the Council session in Milano on the 28–29 of June 1985. Under the proposals that were advanced in these reports was the suggestion (to be found in the second report from number 5.6: University Cooperation) that the ministers for education and universities and higher-education establishments should establish a cross-frontier cooperation enabling students to pursue part of their studies in an establishment in a member state other than their own; should implement, a comprehensive European inter-university programme of exchanges and studies aimed at giving this opportunity to a significant section of the EU's student population. These suggestions were advanced by the Belgian member Prosper Thuysbaert and were discussed and approved by the committee. 1987 European Commission proposal By the time the Erasmus Programme was adopted in June 1987, the European Commission had been supporting pilot student exchanges for six years. It proposed the original Erasmus Programme in early 1986, but reaction from the then member states varied: those with substantial exchange programmes of their own (essentially France,