WRITTEN QUESTION E-1475/00

by Gilles Savary (PSE) to the Commission

(11 May 2000)

Subject: Nationalisation of Leonardo programme

It appears that the hiving-off to national agencies of an important share of the Leonardo programme has resulted in changes to the rules for allocating student-mobility aid.

That aid has in effect been nationalised and is no longer available to provide placements for foreign students, but only to assist national students going abroad.

This means that students from countries and universities insufficiently familiar with European procedures, in particular those from countries applying for EU accession, are being denied the opportunity to apply for placements in European Union countries.

If this state of affairs, already widespread in France in particular, is confirmed also in other countries, what action will the European Commission take to rectify it, in accordance with the spirit of the Leonardo programme and its founding objectives?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(26 June 2000)

Council Decision 1999/382/EC of 26 April 1999 establishing the second phase of the Community vocational training action programme Leonardo da Vinci(1), provides for an annual global grant to be allocated to each Member State to support the mobility measure. This grant is allocated to each Member State on the basis of an operational plan which must set out clearly the arrangements for managing the financial support, the steps to be taken to assist the organisers and appropriate measures to be taken in the interests of sound preparation, organisation and follow-up of placements and exchanges. The Commission must approve this plan in advance. It is then up to the national agencies to launch calls for proposals and to select projects on the basis of specifications drawn up at Community level.

The Commission, having consulted the members of the programme committee, has specified in the various implementation documents for the mobility measure (application forms and guides for promoters) that only organisations of origin can promote a mobility project. However, these documents also state that the share of the budget earmarked for project management and follow-up costs can be distributed amongst the various project partners, including the host organisations. The aim of this provision was to provide appropriate support for initiatives to promote the hosting of beneficiaries of Leonardo da Vinci mobility measures.

The Commission is monitoring compliance with the objectives of the programme and the principles of transnationality and life-long learning. If the risk mentioned in the Honourable Member's question were to arise in practice, the Commission would remind the Leonardo da Vinci monitoring committee of its responsibility for implementing the programme.

Finally, on 24 May the Commission adopted mobility programmes for 2000 from Member States and countries in the European Economic Area (Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland). The programmes from the applicant countries will be formally approved once the decisions of the Association Councils on these countries' participation in Community programmes in the areas of education, training and youth have come into force.

(1) OJ L 146, 11.6.1999.