Proposal for a Council Decision concerning the Community position within the Association Council on the participation of the Slovak Republic in Community programmes in the fields of training, youth and education (COM(97)0422 - C4-0629/97 - 97/0225(CNS))

The proposal was approved with the following amendments:

(Amendment 6)

Fourth recital a (new)

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Having regard to the agreement between Parliament and the Commission on keeping Parliament informed of the work of the Commission's committees and attendance by Parliament at meetings of those committees, the terms of which are set out in Parliament's resolution of 24 October 1996 on the draft general budget of the European Communities for the financial year 1997 - Section III - Commission(1).

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(1) OJ C 347, 18.11.1996, p. 125.

(Amendment 7)

Enabling provision, 2nd and 3rd paragraphs (new)

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Should the budget of the European Union be required to fund a financial supplement, pursuant to Article 3 of the Additional Protocol to the agreements between the European Community and the country concerned (the Slovak Republic), the Commission shall inform the budgetary authority thereof in advance.

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The amounts concerned and the terms for the annual co-financing of the action shall appear in the remarks in Section III, Part B, Annex IV of the budget.

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Terms and conditions for the participation of the Slovak Republic in the Leonardo da Vinci, Youth for Europe and Socrates programmes

(Amendment 8)

Article 2, 2nd paragraph

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Language preparation and training activities concern the official languages of the Community. In exceptional circumstances, other languages could be accepted if the implementation of the programmes so requires.

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Language preparation and training activities concern the official languages of the Community

and, with a view to a global approach to integration in the EU, the official languages of the CEECs (future EU Member States), especially as some of them have officially recognised regional language status in the EU (e.g. Slovene in Austria and Italy).

(Amendment 9)

Article 3

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To ensure the Community dimension of the programmes, transnational projects and activities proposed by the Slovak Republic will be required to include a minimum number of partners from the Member States of the Community. This minimum number will be decided in the framework of the implementation of the programmes, taking into account the nature of the various activities, the number of partners in a given project, and the number of countries participating in the programme. Projects and activities carried out solely between the Slovak Republic and the EFTA-EEA States or any other third country, including those with an association agreement with the Community, to which participation in the programmes is open, shall not be eligible for Community financial support.

>Text following EP vote>

To ensure the Community dimension of the programmes, transnational projects and activities proposed by the Slovak Republic will be required to include a minimum number of partners from the Member States of the Community. This minimum number will be decided in the framework of the implementation of the programmes, taking into account the nature of the various activities, the number of partners in a given project, and the number of countries participating in the programme.

The Slovak Republic shall be involved from the outset in such decisions. Projects and activities carried out solely between the Slovak Republic and the EFTA-EEA States or any other third country, including those with an association agreement with the Community, to which participation in the programmes is open, shall not be eligible for Community financial support.

(Amendment 10)

Article 7

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>Text following EP vote>

At the end of the programme, a steering committee shall draw up an extremely precise assessment of the activities undertaken and of their impact on the adaptation of school and university educational systems, training and the integration of young people into working life, their integration in terms of European citizenship and their situation in general.

Legislative resolution embodying Parliament's opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision concerning the Community position within the Association Council on the participation of the Slovak Republic in Community programmes in the fields of training, youth and education (COM(97)0422 - C4-0629/97 - 97/0225(CNS))(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council, COM(97)0422 - 97/0225(CNS) ((OJ C 337, 7.11.1997, p. 24.)),

- having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Articles 126, 127 and 228(3), first subparagraph of the EC Treaty (C4-0629/97),

- having regard to Rule 58 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A4-0057/98),

1. Approves the Commission proposal, subject to Parliament's amendments;

2. Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 189a(2) of the EC Treaty;

3. Calls on the Council to incorporate Parliament's amendments in the common position that it adopts in accordance with Article 189c(a) of the EC Treaty;

4. Calls for the conciliation procedure to be opened should the Council intend to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

5. Asks to be consulted again should the Council intend to make substantial modifications to the Commission proposal;

6. Instructs its President to forward this opinion to the Council and Commission.