WRITTEN QUESTION E-2186/01

by José Gil-Robles Gil-Delgado (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(23 July 2001)

Subject: Inconsistent attitude to the Spanish language at the European Schools

According to my understanding, it is normal practice for category III children to be admitted to any section at any of the European Schools.

When the EP Committee on Petitions asked for information on this subject at its meeting of 26 May 1999, the Commission stated in reply that the Munich European School, the only Spanish-language educational establishment serving that city and its environs, was not discriminating against Spanish pupils by restricting their admission, given that there were so few category I pupils enrolled in the Spanish section.

The information in my possession suggests that the criteria governing the admission of category III pupils to other sections in 1999 were much more generous than in the Spanish section, even when the number of eligible children was lower. (Out of the three small sections, the Spanish, Dutch, and Greek sections, the Spanish section is the smallest, consisting as it does of just 32 children, 47 % of whom are category III pupils. The proportion of category III pupils in the Dutch and Greek sections, however, is higher, standing at 62 % and 66 % respectively).

Assuming that the above figures are correct, can the Commission say why the admission criteria vary according to nationality?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(2 October 2001)

The primary and continuing purpose of the establishment of a European school in Munich, authorised by the Protocol of 15 September 1975, is to educate the children of staff of the European Patents Office (EPO). Other children who are nationals of one of the Member States of the European Community

or one of the other States party to the European Patent Convention may also be admitted in accordance with rules laid down by the Board of Governors of the European Schools. Since this school has a special relationship with the EPO, that body provides most of its funding.

At its meeting on 25 and 26 May 1976, the Board of Governors took the following decision:

1. The children of staff of the EPO, including the children of staff of the Munich European School, should be admitted (Category I pupils).

2. If places are still available, children who are nationals of one of the Member States of the European Community or one of the other States party to the European Patent Convention (Category III pupils) may also be admitted. Places available means places in a class which may be taken up without that class having to be split.

The admission and grading of pupils are decided by the Headteacher of the School.

Concerning the specific question of whether the School has applied the admission criteria for Category III pupils equally rigorously and without distinguishing by nationalities, in particular in the Spanish, Dutch and Greek language sections, the Commission can provide the following information from the school management:

1. In the academic year 2001-02, there were 42 pupils (including 18 in Category III) in the Spanish section, 39 (18 in Category III) in the Greek section and 41 (25 in Category III) in the Dutch section.

The fact that the percentage of pupils in Category III, compared with the pupils in Category I, is not the same in the three language sections in question is not the result of a discriminatory policy by the School. It arises from other reasons including, for example, the lack of Category I pupils in certain classes of a language section. This was the case in the Spanish section, where there was no 1st-year class in 1997 or 2nd-year class in 1998 because no Category I pupils were enrolled in those classes. This is, following the Board of Governors' rules, the only condition allowing the opening of new classes.

2. The selection of Category III pupils to fill the places available in all the School's language sections is carried out by the School's management using the following criteria: children of diplomats of the Member States and the patent agents approved by the EPO, pupils transferred from other European Schools, and the siblings of pupils already enrolled in the School. The school management may also admit other pupils for educational reasons, such as a very small number of Category I pupils in a class, in which case selection is by ballot.

3. In the Munich European School, the Spanish and Greek sections exist only in the primary school while the Dutch section exists in both the primary and secondary schools. This section has three combined primary classes, while the Spanish and Greek sections have only two combined primary classes, which explains the slightly higher percentage of pupils in Category III in some Dutch section primary classes.

Taking all of these objective factors into account, the Commission can see no evidence of discrimination by nationality in the arrangements for the admission of Category III pupils that are applied by the Munich European School.