WRITTEN QUESTION E-0881/96 by Carles-Alfred Gasòliba i Böhm (ELDR) to the Council (19 April 1996)

Subject: Exchanges of non-university teachers under the Socrates programme

Under Action 1 of the Socrates programme, on partnerships between schools to develop European education projects, grants are available for exchanges of teaching staff for up to four weeks.

In the United Kingdom there appear to be almost insuperable difficulties in arranging such exchanges, as applications from other Community countries have been blocked following a statement by the authorities that no teachers are available for exchanges of this kind.

Does the Council not agree that the grounds for blocking applications from other Community countries should be investigated?

What measures does it propose to take to solve this problem, which goes against the spirit of the Socrates programme?

Reply (7 August 1996)

1. Article 126(1) of the EC Treaty stipulates that the contribution to the development of quality education is to be made in particular by encouraging cooperation between Member States "while fully respecting the responsibility of the Member States for the content of teaching and the organization of education systems and their cultural and linguistic diversity".

2. The first paragraph of Article 3 of the Decision on the Socrates programme reproduces the text of the aforementioned Article 126 of the EC Treaty.

3. Article 4 of that Decision lays down the operating procedures of the Committee to assist the Commission in implementing the programme. That Committee, composed of two members designated by each Member State and chaired by the Commission, is assisted by two subcommittees, one for higher education, the other for school education.

4. Article 5(4)(b) of the Decision, on implementation and the selection procedure, stipulates that requests for financial assistance for projects relating to the action referred to by the Honourable Member (partnerships between schools) are to be submitted to the structures designated by the Member States. The text in question adds that "these structures shall select and give Community financial assistance to the selected projects in accordance with the general guidelines established in accordance with Article 4."

5. Under Article 8 of the Socrates Decision:

"1. The Commission, in partnership with the Member States, shall ensure regular monitoring and evaluation of this programme with the objective, if necessary, of readjusting the programme in the light of the needs arising during its implementation.

The results of Community measures shall be evaluated by external bodies at regular intervals on the basis of the objectives referred to in Article 3, and the findings of those evaluations shall be submitted to the Committee, and also to the European Parliament and the Council.

2. The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, before 30 September 1998, an interim report on the launch phase, and, before 30 September 2000, a final report on the implementation of this programme."

6. In view of the above provisions the Council feels that the problems referred to by the Honourable Member should be resolved under the structures (Committee and subcommittee on school education) and procedures (monitoring and evaluation under Article 8) provided for in the Decision establishing the Socrates programme.