WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1463/97 by Helena TORRES MARQUES to the Commission. Socrates programme
Date: 1997-04-28
Institutions: European Parliament, TORRES MARQUES
Subjects: EU Member State, EU programme, action programme, education grant, education policy, educational exchange, language teaching, statistics, student mobility, teaching

10. 2. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 45/39

(98/C 45/46)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1463/97

by Helena Torres Marques (PSE) to the Commission

(28 April 1997)

Subject: Socrates programme

Mrs Edith Cresson, Member of the Commission, has said that the Socrates programme has a crucial role to play
in developing education and in training young people in Europe, and the programme has proved a great success.

Can  the  Commission  say  how  many  young  people  have  benefited  from  this  programme,  broken  down  by
nationality, and how many applications have not been accepted, also broken down by nationality?

Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission

(11 June 1997)

Socrates, the Community action programme in the field of education approved on 14 March 1995, targets young
people, with particular emphasis on measures to promote mobility (grants) or participation in projects arising
from partnerships between educational institutions.

The table sent direct to the Honourable Member and to the Secretariat of Parliament contains information on the
number of young people participating in these activities in 1995 and 1996. Some of the data are still provisional.

As regards higher education (Socrates/Erasmus), mobility grants are awarded in the Member States to students
wishing  to  undertake  a  period  of  study  abroad.  In  addition,  a  process  of  cooperation  established  under  the
programme enables students without grants to benefit also from mobility.

Young  people  participating  in  school  exchanges  within  the  framework  of  joint  educational  projects  become
involved in activities to promote language learning (Socrates/Lingua).

With regard to school partnerships (Socrates/Comenius), the table shows the number of schools participating in
partnerships  in  1995  and  1996.  The  number  of  pupils  actually  taking  part  in  projects  conducted  through
partnerships may be estimated on the basis of the average number of classes participating in each school.

Generally  speaking,  demand  for  participation  in  mobility-oriented  activities  under  the  Socrates  programme
exceeds availability by some 35% to 40%.

(98/C 45/47)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1474/97

by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission

(30 April 1997)

Subject: Community initiatives

Having been informed of the questions by Mrs Garc(cid:14)·a Arias (Questions E-0493/97, E-0494/97, E-0495/97 and
E-0496/97) (1) concerning the Retex, Konver, Resider and Rechar II programmes, can the Commission supply, in
addition to the number of projects implemented by Italy since the commencement of these programmes, details
of projects implemented in 1996 and 1997?

(1)  OJ C 319, 18.10.1997, p. 91.

Answer given by Ms Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission

(13 June 1997)

The Commission has approved six operational programmes under the Community Initiatives Konver, Resider II,
Rechar  II  and  Retex  in  Italy.  The  national  and  regional  governments  are  responsible  for  implementing  these
programmes and for choosing which projects to fund.