The Commission has recently proposed a new way to organise the contract with universities for
cooperationwithinErasmus,fromtheInstitutionalContractapproachtotheErasmusUniversityCharter.Inthiscontextuniversitieswillberequiredtomakesurethatstudieswillberecognisedandstudentswillbe informed about their rights and obligations through an Erasmus Student Charter. These measurestogetherwithaclosermonitoringoftheimplementationofECTSwillimprovethesituationinthefuture.
Therearenorulesstipulatingwhichexamscanbetakenabroadandmustberecognisedbythehome
university.
WithinECTSthereisaLearningAgreementtobeagreedbetweenthesendingandreceivinguniversities
andthestudent.ThisLearningAgreementcontainsthecoursestobefollowedbythestudentatthehostinstitutionwhichwillberecognisedbythehostinstitutionafterthestudent’sreturn.
Itisamatterforthesendingandreceivinguniversitiestodecidewhichexamscanberecognisedforan
AustrianstudentgoingtoSpain.
ThemonitoringisdonethroughECTS.Thereportswillbecollectedandmadeavailableinthefuture.
(2004/C58E/007) WRITTENQUESTIONP-1320/02
byRobertaAngelilli(UEN)totheCommission
(29April2002)
Subject:Fundsforthebuildingofmonumentalchurchorgans
ManyEuropeancitiescompriseawealthofreligiousbuildingsofmajorhistoricalsignificanceinreligious,
culturalandartistic terms,containingvarious formsoffigurative art carried outbymaster-craftsmen,includingchurchorgans.TheEuropeanUnionhasaspecialinterestinprotectingtheculturalheritage
handed down by craft traditions. There is a project to build, in the recently restored church of San
DomenicoinRieti,a‘DomBedosdeCelles/dashFormentelli’organ,detailedplansforwhichweredrawnupin1780butwhichwasneverbuilt.
TheCommission:
/dash willitstatewhetherthereareanyprogrammesrelatingtoartisticcraftsmanshipandespeciallytothe
buildingofchurchorgans;
/dash arethereanypilotprojectswhichmightapplytothistypeoffunding;/dash whatisit’sviewonthematter?
AnswergivenbyMrsRedingonbehalfoftheCommission
(4June2002)
The Commission supports initiatives for cooperation in the cultural sector, including the protection,
preservationandenhancementoftheculturalheritageaspartof,andinaccordancewiththeselectioncriteriafor,the‘Culture2000’programme,whichistheonlyfinancingandprogramminginstrumentforculturalcooperationintheEU.ThereisnoCommunityprogrammespecificallyconcernedwithartisticcraftsmanshipingeneralorthebuildingoforgansinparticular,sincefundingintheculturalheritagefieldisprovidedonlyunderthe‘Culture2000’programme.
TheHonourableMembercanfindfurtherinformationonthisprogrammeatthefollowingInternetsite:
(http://europa.eu.int/comm/culture/eac/index_fr.html).
In2004,the‘Culture2000’programmewillbegivingprominencetotheculturalheritage.Thissector
comprisesmovableheritage,intangibleheritage,historicalarchivesandlibraries,archaeology,underwaterheritage,culturalsitesandlandscapes,apartfromtheculturalheritageofthemodernera.6.3.2004EN C58E/7 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
TheCommissionwouldfurthermoredrawtheHonourableMember’sattentiontothefactthatprojects
financed under the Structural Funds(1)oftenhave a cultural dimension,including the restorationand
utilisationofthearchitecturalandculturalheritage,thebuildingofculturalfacilities,thesetting-upofculturalandtouristservicesandtheprovisionoftrainingintheartsorinthemanagementofculturalactivities.
(1) More specifically: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the
EuropeanAgriculturalGuidanceandGuaranteeFund(EAGGF).
(2004/C58E/008) WRITTENQUESTIONP-2712/02
byMaríaIzquierdoRojo(PSE)totheCommission
(20September2002)
Subject:WelfarebenefitsforemigrantSpanishgrape-pickers
Morethan15000Spanishcasualworkersarecurrentlyemployedasgrape-pickersinFrance.Asfaras
theirrightsareconcerned,ithasbeenstatedthatforthepresentharvestingseasonof2002‘grape-pickersshallbeexemptedfromtheobligationtopaysicknessinsuranceandpensioncontributionsundertheFrenchsocialsecuritysystem’.Inaddition,theinformationbookletdistributedbytheSpanishMinistryofEmploymenttothegrape-pickersstatesclearlythat‘attheendofthecontract,workersshouldasktheir
employer to give them their pay receipts, which should include specification of the social security
paymentsmadeontheirbehalf’.Inthepresentcircumstances,itisdifficulttoseehowthisobligationcouldbemet.
CantheCommissionconfirmthatfortheharvestingseasonof2002grape-pickerswillbeexemptedfrom
theobligationtopaysicknessinsuranceandpensioncontributionsundertheFrenchsocialsecuritysystem,andwillthusnotbeentitledtothecorrespondingsocialandemploymentbenefits?DoestheCommissionnotconsiderthatthissituationpointsuptheineffectivenessoftheEUrulesonsocialsecurityandthefailuretorespecttheinternationalprinciplesgoverningwelfare?IsthisnotacaseofdiscriminationagainstworkersfromanotherMemberState?CantheCommissionprovideanestimateofthetotalsumoflostbenefitsfortheseworkers?
AnswergivenbyMrsDiamantopoulouonbehalfoftheCommission
(16October2002)
Community law, as laid down in Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14June 1971 on the
application of social security schemes to employed persons, self-employed persons and their familiesmovingwithintheCommunityandinCouncilRegulation(EEC)No574/72of21March1972fixingtheprocedure for its implementation(
1), provides only for coordination of Member States’ social security
systemswithaviewtoprovidingsocialprotectiontopersonsmovingwithintheUnion.Seasonalworkers,asdefinedinArticle1(c)ofRegulation(EEC)No1408/71,enjoythesamerightsandobligationsasanyothercategoryofworkers.ThisisclearfromArticle2(personscovered),Article3(principleofequaltreatmentforMemberStateandCommunitynationals)andArticle13(2)(a)(applicablelegislation)oftheRegulation.
AsfarasthespecificbenefitsreferredtointheHonourableMember’squestionareconcerned,itshouldbe
pointedoutthat,inthecaseofsicknessbenefits,Article18(2)ofRegulation(EEC)No1408/71statesclearlythattheprovisionsgoverningtheaggregationofinsuranceperiods,periodsofemploymentandperiodsofresidenceapplyalsotothistypeofworkers,providedonlythattheworkerconcernedhasnotceasedtobeinsuredforperiodexceedingfourmonths.Tothisend,theseasonalworkermustpresenttotheinstitutionintheplaceofresidenceacertifiedstatementissuedbythecompetentinstitutionandvalidforthesamedurationastheseasonalwork(
2).C58E/8 EN6.3.2004 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion