WRITTEN QUESTION E-0867/02

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(3 April 2002)

Subject: Attracting students from other Member States as a means of funding domestic educational institutes

1. Is the Commission aware of the uproar in the Netherlands because students are being enrolled by a number of higher educational institutes at the same time in order to obtain funding from the Ministry of Education and Science twice, and because most of those involved are foreign students?

2. Is the Commission also aware that, among other things, there is an arrangement whereby an educational institute in the Netherlands is formally responsible for the theoretical part of nautical training in Spain, whereas in fact only the practical part of the course takes place in the Netherlands and that, although there is little coordination between the two parts of the training, the funding is managed as if all the training took place in the Netherlands?

3. Does this influx of students from abroad arise from a policy to support efforts to standardise professional and academic training within the EU and award diplomas that are valid in all EU Member States?

4. Are there EU or EU-sponsored agreements between Member States which give the educational institutes concerned a commercial interest in enrolling as many students from other Member States as possible in order to solve their financial problems?

5. Do Member States other than the Netherlands encourage the enrolment of foreign students by granting generous and non-transparent government subsidies? If so, which Member States and on the basis of what criteria?

6. On the basis of what criteria does the Commission consider that studying in a Member State other than the Member State of origin is useful? Do the criteria include making educational bodies financially dependent on such foreign students?

7. Is the Commission prepared to take steps to ensure that inappropriate considerations such as obtaining more funding are no longer used as reasons for attracting foreign students in a non-transparent way?

Source: Dutch TV Channel 3, Nova news programme, 13.3.2002.

Answer given by Ms Reding on behalf of the Commission

(15 May 2002)

Regarding the first two points, the Commission is aware of the practice of dual enrolment operated by certain universities in the Netherlands. According to the information at its disposal, the Minister responsible has already called for a legal investigation.

As for the third point: mobility of students and teachers and academic recognition of diplomas is, indeed, one of the aims of Community action on education as referred to in the second indent of Article 149(2) of the EC Treaty. In this context, the Honourable Member is asked to refer in particular to the Community rules pertaining to the Erasmus programme, plus the recommendation on mobility within the Community for students, persons undergoing training, volunteers, teachers and trainers, adopted by the Parliament and the Council on 10 July 2002(1).

As regards the other points which relate to financial matters the Commission would point out that funding of education falls under national competence and not that of the Union institutions.

(1) OJ L 215, 9.8.2001.