WRITTEN QUESTION E-3503/01

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(8 January 2002)

Subject: Draft organic law on universities (OLU) put forward by the Spanish Government

The Spanish Government has put forward a draft organic law on universities (OLU), currently being debated in the Senate following an urgent procedure in the Congress of Deputies, which has given rise to heated controversy throughout the academic community, with demonstrations and protests supported by the Conference of Rectors of Spanish universities, professors, students and administrative staff from all of Spain's state universities.

Given that the drafting of the law revealed a serious lack of dialogue with the academic world and the autonomous communities, the protests have been aimed at securing the withdrawal or thorough revision of the government bill. The questions raised by this bill are extremely serious and include the lack of provisions for improving

the funding of universities and grants, restrictions on university autonomy, the recentralisation of university powers assigned to the autonomous communities, measures likely to favour private over state universities and the politicisation of the procedure for electing university administrative bodies.

Three of these issues concern the integration of Spanish state universities into the university system in the European Union as part of the process of building a political and social Europe: the disregard for university autonomy and moves towards the domination of universities by the political power, the lack of financial flanking measures in view of the fact that Spanish state universities currently lag far behind universities in the remaining European states in terms of investment in education and state-funded research (the percentage of GDP earmarked for university education stands at around 1,1 % against an EU average of 2 %, while investment in R & D stands at around 0,38 % against a European average of 1,6 %, rising to 2,4 % in Germany) and, finally, the lack of guarantees regarding the creation of the European university area. As regards this last point, the OLU seeks to introduce a system of state qualifications for access to the profession of university lecturer which will tend to centralise the system and leave access in the hands of closed groups holding political and educational power in the centre of the state and the university system, contrary to the principles of the Magna Carta of European Universities.

What steps will the Commission take with regard to the Spanish state and the OLU in order to guarantee university autonomy, safeguard a democratic state education system providing equal opportunities in accordance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and remove the obstacles which are thereby being posed to the process of building a political and social Europe?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(4 February 2002)

In accordance with article 149 of the Treaty on European Union, the Community must fully respect the responsibility of the Member States for the organisation of the education systems. The Commission is therefore not considering any specific steps with regard to Spain and the draft Organic Law on Universities.