Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision establishing the second phase of the Community action programme in the field of education 'Socrates'
Date: 1998-05-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU action, continuing education, integration into employment, labour market, young person

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

•à 

A v v* 

Brussels, 27.05.1998 
COM(1998) 329  final 

98/0195 (COD) 

Proposal for a 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL  DECISION 

establishing the second phase of the Community action programme 
in the field of education "Socrates" 

(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

INTRODUCTION 

In presenting  its three decision  proposals  in the  field  of  education,  training and 
youth, extending and broadening the scope of the current Community action programmes 
which  finish  on  31  December  1999, the  Commission  is  making  concrete  the  strategic 
guidelines  announced  in  "Agenda 2000" and,  in  the  three  domains  in  question,  in  its 
Communication  of  November  1997  "Towards a  Europe  of  Knowledge"1.  In  that 
document,  the  Commission  has  already  indicated  what  should  be  the  principal 
dimensions and strategic axes of Community action aiming to contribute to a progressive 
construction  of  a  European  educational  space  oriented  towards  the  development  of 
competences,  the  enrichment  of  citizenship  and  the  development  of  employability 
through  the  acquisition  of  competences.  The  central  common  objective  of  these  three 
proposals is to support, at all levels, the process of lifelong education and training. 

These  three  proposals  translate  the willingness  to  implement  an  integrated 
approach:  together  they  translate  the  political  will  to  stress  the  central  objective  of 
lifelong  education  and training  in  a European  context  characterised  by the  progressive 
construction  of  a  European  educational  space  oriented  towards  the  development  of 
knowledge, the enrichment of citizenship and the development of employability through 
the  acquisition  of  competences.  The joint  actions  envisaged  in  each  decision  proposal 
will  contribute  to  strengthening  this  integration.  In  a world  which  is  rapidly  changing, 
notably from the effects of technological evolution and the information society, the divide 
between "education" and "training" is becoming more and more porous; the same goes 
for the distinction between initial and continuing training or even the distinction between 
"formal" and "informal" education. 

The  same  approach  is  envisaged  for  implementation  and  management.  As 
compared  to the current programmes, they translate  the  same  desire  for  simplification, 
concentration, and decentralisation whilst ensuring greater transparency which is likely to 
strengthen access for those using the programmes. 

Different  elements have been taken into account in the approach proposed: 

,* 
The  acquired  experience  of  the  programmes:  all  the  current  programmes 
(as well as the preceding ones) have been the subject of in-depth evaluations which have 
brought  out  the  impact  of  the  three  programmes  on  the  policies  and  systems  of 
Member States  in  the  domains  concerned.  They  have  also  highlighted  the  European 
added  value  of  the  actions  undertaken  in  the  different  programmes  both  in  terms  of 
mobility  for  the different  groups targeted  in the domains  of  education, training,  and in 
terms  of  transnational  cooperation  partnerships.  They  have  also  drawn  attention  to  a 
certain number of weaknesses - essentially arising from  the complexity and slowness of 
procedures which the present proposals intend to correct. In this respect the table below 

COM(97) 563  final. 

shows  how  and  in  what  ways  the  decision  proposals  take  into  account  this  desire  for 
concentration, simplification  and transparency. 

* 
Complementarity  and coherence with the other interventions  of the  Community 
in the domains covered by these three proposals: as much with the policy of knowledge -
the  Fifth  Framework  Programme  for  Research  and  Technological 
in  particular 
Development  - as other  domains  such as culture  and  audio-visual,  the  completion  of the 
internal market, the information  society, environment, consumer protection,  SMEs, social 
policies, employment  and  public health,  it is necessary  to ensure  this  coherence  and  this 
complementarity  in  order  to  reinforce  the  effectiveness  of  interventions  and  the  value 
added of Community action. 

In this context, the three proposals also stress, notably as far as vocational  training 
is concerned, the close and continuing link to be implemented  at Community  level and in 
the  Member  States  with  the  interventions  of  the  Structural  Funds,  in  particular  those 
relevant to the European  Social Fund. Education  and training, as well  as the full  exercise 
of citizenship, contribute to strengthening economic and social cohesion. 

* 
The new context introduced  by the coordinated strategy for employment: this 
strategy,  defined  by  the  extraordinary  European  Council  on  employment  in  November 
1997,  and  the  Employment  Guidelines  which  resulted  from  this,  clearly  indicate  that 
formal  and  informal  education  as  well  as  training,  taken  in  the  widest  sense,  are  an 
essential  dimension  of  employability  and  adaptability;  they  can  strongly  support  the 
development  processes  of the  capacity  for  entrepreneurship  and  are a significant  support 
for  equal  opportunities.  The  three  decision  proposals  strongly  integrate  this  dimension  -
notably  as  to  the  nature  of  the  contribution  of  these  three  programmes  (in particular 
Leonardo  da  Vinci)  to  the  implementation  of  a  Community  strategy  for  small  and 
medium-sized  enterprises. 

* 
The opening of the programmes: extending the cooperation  already entered into 
with the EFTA/EEE countries and the associated countries of Central  and Eastern  Europe 
as  well  as  with  Cyprus,  which,  thanks  to  a  considerable  effort,  have  already  resulted  in 
active  participation  in  the  current  programmes,  the  three  proposals  clearly  indicate 
(Article  10) the  willingness  to  open  up  the  Community  action  programmes  to  applicant 
States  in  the  pre-accession  phase.  The  three  domains  concerned,  do  indeed  provide  a 
positive  and  concrete  support  mechanism  for  the  process  of  enlargement.  The  same 
approach is proposed for Turkey and Malta in the context of their association agreements. 

* 
The  principle  of  subsidiarity  and  the  European  added-value  of  Community 
action: the Community  actions and measures proposed  in each of the decision  proposals 
do  not  do  not  call  into  question,  in  accordance  with  the  treaty  provisions,  the 
competences of Member States. In fact,  Community action supports and complements the 
actions  undertaken  by  Member  States,  and  the  procedures  proposed  for  implementation 
and management strengthen cooperation in this respect by ensuring a greater transparency 
in  the  running  of  the  programmes.  Conversely,  the  European  dimension  of  the  actions 
implemented,  notably  in  terms  of  physical  and  virtual  mobility  in  the  form  of 
transnational  pilot  projects  and  European  networks  as  well  as  the  support  for  actions  to 
promote 
in 
Member States. 

linguistic  competences  enrich  education 

training  practices 

and 

I. 

A. 

PUTTING  IN PLACE A KNOWLEDGE  POLICY 

A priority  objective 

Both  the  Treaty  of  Amsterdam  and  Agenda  2000  resolutely  place  knowledge  policy  at 
in  the  European  Union:  "knowledge  policies, 
the heart  of  future  developments 
research, innovation,  education  and  training  -  are  of  decisive  importance  for 
the 
future  of  the  Union...  Like  research,  education  and  training  represent  essential 
immaterial investments ". 

As  stated  in  the  Commission  communication  Towards  a  Europe  of  Knowledge,  the 
objective  is  to  "promote  the  highest  level  of  knowledge  [...Jthrough  broad  access  to 
education and its permanent  updating". 

Education, lifelong training and yuuth-related policy involve three objectives: 

to  promote  employment,  in  line  with  the  Luxembourg  European  Council 
(a) 
decisions,  by  developing  the  skills  and  competences  and  an  enterprise  culture  which 
changes in work and its organisation have made necessary; 

to  increase  the  potential  of knowledge  in  order  to  create  the  social  and  technical 
(b) 
conditions  of  innovation  which  represents  a  major  asset  for  economic  growth  and  for 
improving standards of living; 

to  guarantee  citizens  access  to  a  European  experience  likely  to  strengthen  a 

(c) 
common feeling  of identity with and belonging to a Common space. 

B. 

A coordinated and simplified  approach 

The proposals  submitted  take the utmost  account  of what  has been  achieved  through  the 
programmes now coming to an end, particularly with regard to three major  aspects: 
I 
(a) 
by experience, it sets out clearly the Community's responsibilities in this area, 

a legal basis: drawn up for  these programmes  and these actions, and  underpinned 

implementation  which has constantly  sought  to act as a fulcrum  for  action  by the 

(b) 
Member States, 

a  common  core  of  activities  which  has  built  up  on  the  basis  of  six  measures: 
(c) 
physical  and  virtual  mobility,  importance  of  networking,  promotion  of  language  skills, 
support for innovatory projects  and products, better knowledge of systems. 

The  partnerships  formed  at  the  European  level  have  by  and  large  raised  the  profile  of 
Community  action  by  improving  us  quality  and  opening  up  opportunities  for  access  to 
knowledge  for  the citizens  of Europe. Thanks  inter alia  to this experience, two thirds  of 
them  today  would  like  to  see  Europe  play  a  specific  role  in  the  areas  of  education, 
vocational training and youth. 

In  the  context  of  the  implementation  of  these  three  programmes,  the  Commission  will 
also put  in place working  groups made up of well known people from  the relevant  areas. 
When these groups are  set up, the  Commission  will  aim  to ensure  an equal  participation 

of women  and men and will  encourage the Member  States to do the  same when  forming 
the programme  Committees. 

The expectations of the various publics and players concerned by these programmes have 
prompted  the  Commission  to  present  them  in  a  coordinated  manner,  which  means  that 
after  31 December  1999 ,it  will  be  possible  to  better  cater  for  the  major  objectives  of 
Community  action  in  the  areas  of  education  and  vocational  training  and  in  youth-
related matters. 

In  its  communication  Towards  a  Europe  of  Knowledge,  the  Commission  set  out  the 
advantages of closely coordinating the three decisions in an overall  approach. To do this, 
it used the experience  amassed  and which at all  levels of involvement  points to the need 
to  develop  common  'channels'  and  'bridges'  conducive  to  the  emergence  of  a  genuine 
European education area. 

The proposals submitted to attain the objective  of lifelong  education and training reflect  a 
more coordinated approach which comes out at three levels: 

(a) 
Firstly, the  implementation  of the three  programmes  sets  out  clearly to  gradually 
build up this European education area as an open and dynamic framework  giving tangible 
expression to the objective of lifelong  education and training. While each programme has 
specific  actions  as  a  function  of  the  objectives  pursued,  these  actions  are  nevertheless 
implemented by using one or more of the six measures: 

•  physical mobility for people undergoing training and for teachers; 

•  various forms of virtual mobility and arrangements for using the new ICTs, 

• 

• 

• 

• 

the development  of cooperation networks at European level; 

the promotion of language and cultural skills; 

the  development  of  innovation  through  European  cooperation  using  pilot  projects 
based on transnational  partnerships; 

the  constant  improvement  of  Community  references  for  the  systems  and  policies 
relating  to  education,  training  and  youth  in  the  Member  States  (data  base, 
good practices). 

(b) 
Secondly, the proposals for European Parliament and Council decisions in each of 
these  three  fields,  and  therefore  the  features  of  the  formal  arrangements  proposed,  while 
not being absolutely identical on account of the specific  characteristics  of these areas, are 
assembled along the same lines and contents, and are based on arrangements which  often 
differ  little on essential points, e.g. committee procedures. 

Lastly, 

(c) 
joint actions. 

these 

three  proposals  contain  spécifie  provisions 

for 

launching 

The  Commission  will  accordingly  be putting  forward  appropriate  initiatives,  in the  form 
of  joint  calls  for  proposals,  for  instance,  in  close  cooperation  with  the  programme 
committees concerned. 

These joint actions should in particular make it possible to develop: 

•  a common information  system; 

•  a  coordinated  system  for  observing  good  practices  with  regard  to  lifelong  education 

and training; 

•  joint actions on education and training multimedia; 

•  European knowledge centres located regionally. 

II. 

THE "SOCRATES" PROPOSAL 

INTRODUCTION 

The present proposal concerns the second phase of the Community action programme 
in the field of education, entitled  Socrates2. The aim  of the programme  is to  promote 
the  quality  of  education  by  encouraging  cooperation,  increasing  mobility  and 
developing  the European  dimension  in all sectors of education.  Its contribution to the 
further development of the European Community is threefold: 

•  Socrates  is a cornerstone  of the policy to bring the European  Community  closer to 
all its citizens. Some 70 million young people in the Community are taught by over 
4  million  teachers.  Some  11  million  students  are  studying  at  over  5  000  higher 
education  institutions  and millions  of adult  learners  are attending  full-  or part-time 
classes. The potential  of Socrates  for  encouraging  a positive  sense of  identification 
with the process of building Europe is manifest. 

•  Socrates has a vital role to play in developing  high-quality  human  resources, a key 
factor  in stimulating employment, promoting competitiveness  and achieving greater 
economic growth. 

f  Socrates is centre-stage  in the process of enlarging the Community  to embrace the 
wider  Europe  through  the  pre-accession  extension  of  strategically  important 
programmes to the associated  countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Cyprus. 
Six  pre-accession  countries  are  already  fully  participating  in  the  programme, 
which is likely to be opened to other countries before long. 

On  the  basis  of  the  experience  gained  during  the  first  phase  of  the  programme 
(Report on the first two  years  of  the  programme  -  COM(97)99  final),  the  results  of  the 
interim  evaluation  and  the  evaluations  of  the  preceding  programmes,  as  well  as  the 
reactions to the abovementioned  Commission communication on a Europe of knowledge, 
the proposal  for  a decision  stresses  Community  action  designed  to  contribute  to  quality 
education  in  support  of  and  as  a  complement  to  action  taken  in  and  by  the 
Member States. 

Decision  819/95/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  14  March  1995,  OJ  L 87, 
20.4.1995, p. 10, as modified  by Decision 576/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
23 February  1998, OJ L 77,  14.3.1998, p.l. 

6 

It is proposed that Community action be focused on four  objectives: 

• 
• 
• 
• 

to strengthen the European dimension in education at all levels; 
to promote cooperation in all sectors and at all levels of education; 
to help remove the obstacles to such cooperation; 
to encourage educational innovation in the Community. 

A. 

The salient elements  of the programme's first  phase 

(a) 

Very promising  results 

•  The  first  phase  of  the  Socrates  programme  produced  a  significant  quantitative  and 
qualitative  boost  to  European  cooperation,  especially  in  areas  such  as  school 
education, adult education and open and distance learning. 

•  During the discussions  on increasing the funding  of the Socrates programme  for  the 
last two years of its first phase, the European Parliament  and the Council referred  in 
1998  to  the  "outstanding  results  achieved  by  the  programme  during  the  first  two 
years  following  its  adoption".  Noting  that  Socrates  "has  been  particularly  well 
received  in  the  educational  community,  and  that  there  is  a  need  to  maintain  its 
institutions 
forward  momentum 
unequivocally  recognised  how 
the 
taking 
construction of Europe into the new millennium. 

towards  achieving 

the  programme 

its  objectives", 

two 
is  for 

important 

the 

•  The programme has in particular: 

0  helped to bring about a substantial  intensification  of mobility: the grants awarded 
have allowed up to 496 000 higher education students to follow a course in one of 
the participating  countries; more than 60 000 teachers and assistants have carried 
out  teaching  placements  to  another  country;  around  110  000  young  people  have 
taken part  in joint  projects  and  exchanges  to  encourage  them  to  communicate  in 
other  European  languages;  almost  30  000  people  have  taken  part  in  continuing 
training courses for teachers, including language teachers in particular; 

0  stimulated  large-scale  cooperation  between  educational  institutions  of  all  levels: 
nearly  1  500  universities  have  received  institutional  contracts  to  promote  their 
European  dimension  activities;  2 800  partnerships  have  been  established 
involving  some  8 800  schools;  over  650  transnational  projects  have  been 
launched, involving almost 3 900 establishments in all fields of education; 

0  given new impetus  to the  academic  recognition  of periods  of  study  spent  abroad 

and qualifications  obtained there, especially in higher education; 

0  promoted the teaching and learning of the languages of the Community, especially 

those that are less widely used and taught. 

•  Thus  86% of the persons  interviewed  in the context  of the  interim  evaluation  of the 
programme  considered  that  Socrates  had  contributed  -  in  accordance  with  the 
programme's  central  objective  -  to  an  improvement  of  educational  quality  in  the 
Community.  This figure even  reached  97% in the  school  sector, where  furthermore 
95% expressed the view the programme had broadened the mentality  of participants 

and  87% saw it as having  strengthened  the concept  of citizenship  and reinforced  the 
sense  of  European  identity.  Organisations  representing  both  sides  of  industry 
expressed very positive views concerning the value of the programme. 

(b) 

Certain  difficulties  have  been  encountered 

In spite of this globally positive  assessment,  the implementation  of the first phase  of the 
programme  has  nevertheless  had  to  face  a number  of obstacles  which  have  prevented  it 
from  attaining  its  objectives  in  full.  Over  and  above  the  difficulties  resulting  from  the 
nature and diversity of educational systems or the administrative practices and regulations 
at Member State level, the evaluations carried out have revealed two types of obstacle: 

• 

the  lack  of  financial  resources,  a  problem  that  came  to  light  in  several  ways,  in 
particular: 

0  with  regard  to  students:  the  real  level  of  Community  scholarships  is  around 
ECU  100,  whereas  the  true  cost  of  their  mobility  is  normally  some  five  times 
this figure; 

0  the  support  given  to  schools  participating  in  partnerships  is  only  around 

ECU 2 000, whereas their needs are far higher; 

0  the amounts awarded to universities for their institutional contracts - an average of 
some  ECU  16 000  for  their  entire  European  dimension  activities  -  have  been 
found to be  insufficient; 

0  with regard to the national structures for the administration  of the programme, the 

Community provides limited support for information  activities only; 

• 

the structure and operational functioning  of the programme itself, for example: 

0  the  proliferation  of  actions  supported  under  the programme  seems  to  have  given 

an impression of over-diversification  and even disjointedness; 

0  the  intended  synergies  between  the  various  parts  of  the  programme  did  not 

materialise  sufficiently; 

0  difficulties  were  encountered  in  coordination  between  the  (sometimes  too 
numerous)  management  structures  at national  level  and  in  the  information  flows 
between these structures and the Commission; 

, 

0  the  plethora  of  procedures  and  administrative 

rules  was 

sometimes 

deemed  cumbersome; 

0  insufficient  information  on  the  grants  available,  especially  at  the  beginning  of 

the programme; 

0  inadequate  dissemination  of the results of the projects  supported,  thus  potentially 

reducing the lasting impact of the products. 

B. 

Key elements of the second phase 

• 

In summary, it may be stated that the second phase will ensure inter alia: 

0  Underpinning  the  achievements  of  the  first  phase  and  introduce  major 
innovations,  e.g.  action  on the education  of  adults  and persons  who  left  school 
with no qualifications. 

0  Rationalising  the  structure  of  the  programme  by  merging  or  withdrawing 

certain actions. 

0  Greater  decentralisation  of management  by strengthening  arrangements  in the 
Member States (integrated management structures at national level) and a higher 
degree of involvement of local and regional structures. 

0  Streamlining  the  programme's  operational  procedures  around  two  selection 

options, viz. "decentralised" or "centralised". 

0  Combining action under this programme with action based on the Community's 
vocational  training  and  youth  programmes,  e.g.  through  joint  actions  and  the 
creation of  European Knowledge Centres'. 

•  All the consultations - and they were numerous - held before this proposal was drawn 
up emphasised  the need  to  give the education  community  in Europe more time to 
familiarise itself with the programme in its current form. However, they also stressed 
the  need  to  place  more  emphasis  on  innovative  activities,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
respond positively to new needs emerging from a society undergoing swift  evolution 
from an economic, social, cultural, scientific and educational point of view. 

•  The present proposal is structured in accordance with the general orientations set out 

in the communication "Towards a Europe of knowledge". 

1. 

A more accessible, visible and user-friendly programme 

0  The  objectives  of  the  programme  have  been  reduced  from  nine  to  four:  to 
strengthen  the  European  dimension  in  education  at  all  levels,  to  promote 
European  cooperation  in all sectors of education, to help to remove obstacles to 
this cooperation and to encourage innovation. These objectives are supplemented 
by a firm commitment to equal opportunities; 

0  the programme's structure comprises eight (instead of 27) actions covering the 
three fundamental  stages of lifelong  learning  (school, university and others) and 
the horizontal  policies (languages, multimedia, information  exchange, etc.). This 
has clarified the structure of the programme as a whole; . 

0  the  types  of  activity  eligible  for  Community  support  are  clearly  set  out  in 

the Decision: 

(a)  mobility of individuals within Europe; 

(b)  promotion  of  critical  and  effective  use  of  the  new  information  and 

communication technologies in order to promote virtual mobility; 

(c)  European partnerships and networks; 

(d)  promotion of language skills; 

(e)  the targeted development of innovation; 

(f) 

the dissemination  of good practices  and the monitoring  and  dissemination  of 
the results; 

0  the  application  and  selection  procedures  have  been  considerably  simplified.  In 
the  future,  there  will  be  only  two  instead  of  five,  for  the  centralised  and 
decentralised actions of the programme respectively. 

2. 

Improved interactivity of the Community  measures 

A considerable  effort  is made to improve the interactivity  and  interrelationships  between 
the various  Community  measures. The  aim  is not  only to permit  optimum  use  of  all  the 
available funds,  but also, and above all, to seek genuine synergy at several levels. To this 
end, a series of provisions are included in order to promote: 

- 

- 

- 

projects  creating  bridges  between  the  various  sectors  of  education  with  a  view  to 
encouraging lifelong  learning; 

support for joint measures in the areas of education, vocational training and youth; 

the  application  of  certain  parts  of  Socrates  in  close  cooperation  with  other 
Community  programmes,  especially  as  regards  language  learning,  the  use  of 
multimedia and the monitoring of education systems and developments. 

3. 

Enhanced partnership  between the Community and the Member  States 

The  success  of  Community  action  in the  area  of  education  depends  largely  on  the  solid 
and effective  partnership between the Community bodies and the competent authorities in 
the Member  States. This partnership must  concern  not only the joint  management  of the 
programme  (decentralised  actions,  committee)  and  the  joint  funding  of  the  projects 
supported,  but  must  also  facilitate  more  generally,  the  establishment  of  the  right 
conditions  for  ensuring  the  broadest  possible  access  to  the  programme  (information 
measures),  effective  implementation  (relaxing  of  administrative  measures  that  tend  to 
discourage active participation and the recognition of the experience gained) and a lasting 
impact  through  the  use  of  the  products  and  good  practices  developed  (measures  for 
disseminating and transferring  the results). 

In order to derive maximum  benefit  from  the  support  of the competent  authorities  in the 
Member  States,  it  is  proposed  to  bolster  the  regular  bilateral  consultations  between  the 
Commission and these authorities, to establish national  objectives  for the  implementation 
of the programme, and  to invite  each Member  State to draw up a report  every  two  years 
on  its  contribution  to  the  achievement  of  the  programme's  objectives  and  to  the  actual 
establishment of the European education area during the period in question. 

Efforts  will  also  be  made  to  step  up  cooperation  at  regional  and  local  levels  in  order  to 
bring the programme closer to the people and to ensure that the results of the projects and 
other  activities  funded  by  Socrates  are  reflected  to" a  greater  extent  in  the  fabric  of 

10 

education.  To this end, the Commission  will  encourage,  in cooperation  with  the  national 
structures,  the  establishment  of  "European  Knowledge  Centres",  which  will  group 
together  at  regional  and/or  local  level  the  various  activities  supported  within  the 
programme. The purpose of these "Centres", account being taken of the specific  needs of 
the regions,  is to  facilitate  access  to the  programme  for  the  largest  number  of  end-users 
possible by real dissemination  of information  and results. The "Centres" could also cover 
the the activities  supported  within  the vocational  training  and youth programmes  as well 
as other Community actions. 

In  order  to  streamline  the  programme's  implementation,  the  Commission  proposes  that 
all  forms  of  individual  mobility  carried  out  within  the  programme  be  the  subject  of 
decentralised  management,  apart  from  "Arion"  visits  for  educational  decision-makers, 
which are more a form  of multilateral  cooperation. 

Certain  aspects  of  the  formulas  for  distributing  Community  funds  to  the  Member  States 
will  be  slightly  altered  in  order  to  ensure  that  reliable  and  comparable  statistics  are 
available for all the Member  States for all the parameters listed. 

At  the  same  time,  several  aspects  of  the  programme's  system  of  decentralised 
management  will  require  improvement  in  the  second  phase  in  order  to  ensure  the 
optimum  conditions  for  the  funds  managed  in  this  way  (the  vast  majority  of  the 
programme's budget). To this end, the Member States will guarantee: 

- 

the introduction  of an "integrated  management  structure" for the programme, thereby 
ensuring  improved  coordination  at national  level  and  more  effective  interaction  with 
the Commission and the management structures in the other Member States; 

-  widespread dissemination of information  and of outputs. 

4. 

Closer links  with the players  on the ground 

In order to ensure greater transparency  in access to Socrates, a new article sets out cleariy 
the  'players'  who  could  become  involved  in  the  various  actions  of the  programme.  The 
Commission  would  like  to  see  greater  cooperation  with  and  between  all  the  players 
working  in the  area  of  education,  including  parents. To  this  end,  the  consultation  of  the 
players  remains  a requirement  in  the Decision.  Provision  is  also  made  for  support  to  be 
given  to  the  associations  working  at  European  level  in  the  area  of  education  or  to  the 
national  and  regional  associations  that  wish  to  strengthen  the  European  dimension  of 
their  work.  The national  structures  should  attach  greater  importance  to  cooperation  with 
the national branches of the European associations. 

5. 

Funding  consonant  with  the  programme's  objectives,  and  the  principle 
of  complementarity 

If the programme is to achieve its objectives, the level of funding  must be consonant  with 
the  volume  and  scale  of  the  planned  actions.  This  is  the  only  way  to  avoid  creating 
unrealistic  expectations, to ensure that  the activities  supported  achieve  a critical  mass as 
regards  the  target  groups  and  that  the  projects  selected  have  sufficient  resources  to 
achieve significant  results. 

11 

The  Commission's  budgetary  proposal  for  the  second  phase  of  the  programme  is  the 
minimum  amount  required  to  meet  its  stated  objectives.  It  reflects  the  higher  priority 
given to  education  in the  financial  perspectives  for  2000-2006  and  in Agenda  2000,  and 
will  facilitate  a favourable  response  to  the  major  role  which  education  is  called  upon  to 
play in implementing  the coordinated national employment  policy strategy adopted at the 
extraordinary European Council on Employment in November  1997. 

However,  the  funding  earmarked  for  the programme  will  not  be  enough  to  ensure that  a 
genuine  Europe  of  knowledge  emerges.  This  makes  it  necessary  for  the  responsible 
authorities in the Member  States to ensure improved  complementarity  with other national 
initiatives. At European level, the task of ensuring this dovetailing with other  Community 
initiatives  will  be one  of the  main priorities  in programme  implementation.  This  applies 
particularly  to the dovetailing  at Community level  with  the measures  provided  for  under 
the  Structural Funds, and with the programmes  in the areas of research and  technological 
development, vocational training and youth, culture and audiovisual policy. 

6. 

Opening up the programme  to the pre-accession  associated  countries 

The  fact  that  Community  action  in  the  area  of  education  is,  in  principle,  open  to  the 
participation  of  a  significant  number  of  European  countries,  notably  the  associated 
countries  of  Central  and  Eastern  Europe  that  are  currently  in  the  pre-accession  phase, 
constitutes  a  major  challenge  for  the  programme,  not  only  for  the  management  of  the 
Community measures  in this area, but also  in order to ensure that  implementation  allows 
all  the  participating  countries  to  derive  maximum  benefit  from  the  wide  range  of 
opportunities for cooperation on  offer. 

C. 

Conclusions 

The first phase of the Socrates programme has made a good  start on preparing people  for 
life  in  the  Europe  of  tomorrow.  The  programme  has  shown  its  potential  for  improving 
quality, creativity and the spirit of innovation in education. 

The Commission  believes the second  phase  of the programme  will  consolidate  activities 
that have proved successful  and will enable new activities to be launched which will help 
to make Europe an open education area. 

12 

SOCRATES PROGRAMME : INNOVATIONS FOR THE SECOND PHASE 

While preserving a strong basis of continuity, the second phase of the Socrates Programme will be distinguished from the first by a number of innovative 
aspects - from a substantive as well as formal point of view: 

Phase 1 

9 objectives 

3 chapters 
8 Actions 
16 sub-actions 

School-related measures dispersed 

^ 
Teacher-related measures dispersed 

| 

| 

Phase II 

Clearer objectives 
4 objectives : 

- to strengthen the European dimension in education at all levels; 
- to promote cooperation in all sectors and at all levels of education; 
- to help remove the obstacles to such cooperation; 
- to encourage educational innovation. 

Rationalised structure 
8 actions 

Concentration of the measures targeting each 'player* 
Grouping of all school-related measures in one action, including various Lingua activities related 
to schools 
Possibility  for  schools to  include  all  the  projects  in  which they  wish  to  participate  across  the 
different  parts of the programme within their "Plan for inter-school cooperation in Europe" 
All  measures  relating  to  the  initial  and  in-service  training  of  school  staff,  including  various 
forms of practical training for future teachers, are grouped together within a single action 

Multiplicity of contracts with each university  Possibility  for  universities  to  include  in  their  institutional  contract  all  the  projects  which  they 
relating to its involvement in various different  coordinate across the various parts of the programme 
actions 

| 

13 

Limited action in the area of adult education 

Weak  links  with  the  programmes  relating  to 
vocational training and youth 
No  possibility  of 
actions which are not envisaged in advance 

introducing 

New actions 
Introduction  of  a  new  action  relating  to  new  non-formal  educational  approaches  designed  to 
facilitate  the acquisition of new competences throughout  life 
- 
____! 

Joint actions explicitly provided  for in the decision 
Joint launching of "European knowledge centres" at regional and local level 

innovative  Possibility  of developing  innovative  projects  guaranteeing  the  flexibility  of the programme  and 

its capacity to respond to new needs which may emerge during the life-span  of the programme 
More structured  provision for information  and dissemination  of results 

Absence  of measures  specifically  designed  to  An action specifically  designed to facilitate  dissemination of results 
facilitate  dissemination of results 
Dispersal  of  actions  relating  to  the  exchange  Activities  relating  to  the  exchange  of  information  and  experience,  including  the  Eurydice 
of information  and experience 
Absence  of  relay  points  at  regional  and  local  Recognition of the important role which regional  authorities and other local bodies could play in 
linking the programme's  end-users, in particular by encouraging the establishment  of  "European 
level 
knowledge centres" 
Simplified administration 
2 selection procedures 

5 selection procedures 
7  actions  to  be  managed  on  a  decentralised  4  consolidated  actions  to  be  managed  by  the  national  structures  (2  for  schools  and  2  for 
basis 
Multiplicity of structures at national level 

network, will be grouped together to form  an instrument for observing the field of education 

universities) 
Integrated management  structure 

Weakness  of  links  between  the  Commission 
and  the  Integrated  management  structures  at 
national level 

- 

- 

Increased Community co-financing  of these management  structures 

On-line electronic communication  systems 

14 

Proposal for a 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL DECISION 

establishing the second phase of the Community action programme 
in the field of education "Socrates" 

THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE 
EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community  and  in  particular 
Articles  126 and  127 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission3, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee4, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions5, 

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article  189b of the Treaty6, 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Whereas  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community  stipulates  that  the 
latter's  action  shall  inter  alia  contribute  to the  development  of  quality  education 
and  training;  whereas  this  was  resolutely  reiterated  by  the  Amsterdam  Treaty 
signed on 2 October  1997, which states that the Community's  objective  is also to 
promote  the  highest  possible  level  of  knowledge  for  its  peoples  through  wide 
access to education and through a continuous updating of knowledge; 

Whereas Decision No 819/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council7, 
as  amended  by  Decision  No  576/98/EC8,  establishes  the  Community  action 
programme Socrates; 

the  extraordinary  European  Council  on  Employment  held 

Whereas 
in 
Luxembourg  on  20  and  21 November  1997  adopted  a  coordinated  employment 
strategy in which lifelong  education  and training have a fundamental  role to play 
in implementing guidelines9 for the Member States' employment policies in order 
to  enhance  employability,  adaptability,  and  the  culture  of  entrepreneurship10 and 
to promote equal opportunities; 

3 
4 
5 
6 
7  OJL  87, 20.4.1995, p. 10. 
8  OJ L 77, 14.3.1998, p. 1. 
9  OJL 30, 28. LI 998, p. 1. 
10  Communication from the Commission to the European Council "Fostering entrepreneurship  in Europe: 

priorities for the future" (COM(1998) 222 final/2  of 21 April  1998). 

15 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

Whereas  the  Commission 
in  its  communication  "Towards  a  Europe  of 
Knowledge"u  set out  guidelines  on the gradual  creation  of  an open and  dynamic 
European  education  area capable  of achieving the objective  of  lifelong  education 
and training, defining  six types of measures to be developed  at Community level, 
focusing  on  transnational  cooperation  and  designed  to  bring  added  value  to  the 
action taken by the Member  States, in full  respect of the principle of subsidiarity, 
and in a context of simplified  procedures; 

Whereas the White Paper12 Teaching and learning - Towards the learning society 
states  that  the  emergence  of  the  learning  society  entails  encouraging  the 
acquisition  of  new  knowledge  and  to  this  end  providing  motivation  to  learn  at 
every opportunity;  and whereas the Green  Paper13 Education, training, research: 
the obstacles to transnational mobility highlighted  the advantages mobility brings 
to people and competitiveness in the Union; 

Whereas  there  is  a  need  to  promote  active  citizenship,  to  strengthen  the  links 
between measures pursued  under this programme, and to step up the fight  against 
exclusion  in  all  its  forms,  including  racism  and  xenophobia;  whereas  special 
attention should be focused  on removing all forms of inequality and on promoting 
equal opportunities for women and men; 

Whereas  the  Parliament  and  the  Council  in  their  Decision  No  XXX/99/EC 
[Youth]14  and  the  Council  in  its  Decision  No  XXX/99/EC [Training]15  have 
established  Community  action  programmes  for  the  youth  and  training  fields 
respectively,  which  contribute 
to 
together  with 
implementing a knowledge policy; 

the  Socrates  programme 

Whereas  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  reinforce  the  added  value  of  Community 
action  to  ensure,  at  all  levels,  a  coherence  and  a  complementarity  between  the 
actions  implemented  in  the  framework  of  this  Decision  and  the  Community 
interventions,  in  particular  in  the  domains  of  culture16,  audio-visual  media,  the 
completion  of  the  single  market,  the  environment,  consumer  protection,  the 
information  society, SMEs, social policies, employment and public health; 

11  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament,  the  Economic  and 
Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  -  Towards  a  Europe  of  knowledge, 
COM(97) 0563 final,  12 November  1997. 

12  Commission's  White  Paper: Education and training:  Teaching and learning -  Towards the learning 

society",  Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg,  1996. 

13  Commission's  Green  Paper:  Education,  training, research:  the  obstacles  to  transnational  mobility, 

COM(96) 462 final, 2 October  1996. 

14 
15 
16  Proposal  for  a  Parliament  and  Council  Decision  establishing  a  single  financing  and  programming 

instrument for cultural cooperation (Programme Culture 2000), OJ C 211, 7.7.1998, p. 18. 

16 

9.  Whereas  the  Commission's  proposals  for  reforming  the  Structural  Funds17, 
particularly the European  Social Fund, and the Community  initiatives  stemming 
therefrom,  are  based  on  objectives  designed  to  support  the  adaptation  and 
modernisation  of  policies  and  systems  relating  to  education,  training  and 
employment; 

10.  Whereas provision should be made to open up this programme to participation by 
the  associated  Central  and  Eastern  European  countries,  in  accordance  with  the 
conditions  established  in  the  relevant  association  agreements,  notably  the 
association  agreements  and  the  additional  protocols  to  these  agreements,  to 
Cyprus on the same terms as those applied to the EFTA/EEA countries as well as 
to Turkey and Malta according to procedures to be agreed with those countries; 

11.  Whereas  this  programme  should  be  monitored  and  continuously  evaluated  in 
cooperation between the Commission and the Member States in order to allow for 
readjustments, particularly in the priorities for implementing the measures; 

12.  Whereas, m accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality as 
defined  in  Article  3b  of  the  Treaty,  the  objectives  of  the  proposed  action 
concerning the contribution of European cooperation to quality education cannot 
be sufficiently  achieved by the Member States because inter alia of the need for 
multilateral  partnerships,  multilateral  mobility  of  people  and  Community-wide 
exchange  of  information,  and  can  therefore  be  better  achieved  by  the 
Community thanks  to  the  transnational  dimension  of  Community  actions  and 
measures; whereas this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve 
these objectives; 

13.  Whereas  this  Decision  establishes,  for  the  entire  duration  of  the  programme, 
a financial  framework  offering  the  budgetary  authority  the  principal  point 
of reference,  within  the  meaning  of  point  1  of  the  Declaration  by  the 
European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 6 March  199518, during 
the annual budgetary procedure; 

14.  Whereas an agreement on a modus vivendi between the European Parliament, the 
Council  and  the  Commission  concerning  the  implementing  measures  for  acts 
adopted  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Article  189b  of  the 
EC Treaty was reached on 20 December 199419, 

17  Agenda  2000  Reform  of  the  Structural  and  Cohesion  Funds  -  Pre-accession  structural  assistance  -

Pursuing  the  cohesion  effort  -  A  new  reform  of  the  Structural  Funds,  COM(1998)  131  final, 
18 March 1998. 

18  OJC  102,4.4.1996, p. 4. 
19  OJ C 102,4.4.1996, p. 1. 

17 

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 

Article  1. 
Establishment of the programme 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

This Decision  establishes  the  second  phase  of the  Community  action  programme 
in the field  of education "Socrates", hereinafter  referred  to as "this programme". 

This  programme  shall  be  implemented  in  the  period  starting  on  1 January  2000 
and ending on 31 December 2004. 

This  programme  shall  contribute  to  the  Community's  knowledge  policy  through 
the  implementation  of  a  European  education  area  fostering  the  development  of 
lifelong  education  and training. It shall permit the development  of the  knowledge 
and skills conducive to the full  exercise of citizenship. 

This  programme  shall  support  and  supplement  action  taken  by  and  in  the 
Member States,  while  fully  respecting  their  responsibility  for  the  content  of  the 
education "and  the  organisation  of  education  systems,  and  their  cultural  and 
linguistic diversity. 

Article 2 
Aims of the programme 

1. 

In  order  to  contribute  to  the  development  of  quality  education,  while  fully 
respecting  the  responsibility  of  the  Member  States,  the  aims  of  the  programme 
shall be: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

to  strengthen  the  European  dimension  in  education  at  all  levels,  in 
particular by granting wider access to European educational  resources and 
through  the  teaching  and  dissemination  of  languages,  while  promoting  a 
better gender balance throughout all fields  of education; 

to  promote  cooperation  in  the  field  of  education,  in  particular  by 
encouraging exchanges between educational  institutions and by promoting 
open and distance education; 

to  help  remove  the  obstacles  to  such  cooperation,  in  particular  by 
encouraging  improvements  in the  recognition  of  diplomas  and  periods  of 
study, and by developing the exchange of  information; 

(d) 

to encourage  innovation,  in particular where  such innovation  is associated 
with new technologies. 

2. 

In  implementing  these  objectives,  the  Commission  and  the  Member  States  shall 
ensure that action under the programme is consistent with the Community's  other 
actions  and  policies,  particularly  with  regard  to  employment,  to  the  removal  of 
inequalities, to equal opportunities for women and men, and to social policy. 

(2) 

18 

Article 3 
Community  actions 

1. 

The  aims  of this programme  shall  be pursued  through  the  following  actions,  the 
operational  content  and  the  application  procedures  of  which  are  described  in 
the Annex: 

(a) 

school education (Comenius); 

(b) 

higher education (Erasmus); 

(c) 

other educational pathways (Grundtvig); 

(d) 

teaching and learning of languages (Lingua"): 

(e) 

education and multimedia (Atlas); 

(f) 

observation and innovation; 

(g) 

loint actions; 

(h) 

accompanying measures. 

2. 

The actions  shall  be  implemented  through  the  following  types of measure,  in the 
form of operations which may use several of them in combination: 

(a) 

support for the mobility of people in the field  of education in Europe; 

(b) 

(c) 

promotion  of  virtual  mobility  in  the  context  of  education,  particularly  by 
promoting access to educational multimedia; 

support  for  the  development  of  European-level  cooperation  networks 
permitting the mutual exchange of experience and good practice; 

(d) 

promotion of language skills and understanding of different  cultures; 

(e) 

(f) 

support  for  innovatory  pilot  projects  based  on  transnational  partnerships 
designed to develop innovation  and quality  in education  in order to  create 
educational  products, instruments  of skills accreditation  or in order to test 
out any new approach; 

the  constant  improvement  of  the  Community  terms  of  reference  through 
support for the dissemination of good practice and through the observation 
and dissemination of innovation. 

Article 4 
Access to the programme 

1. 

Under the conditions and in accordance with the definitions  and  arrangements  for 
implementation specified  in the Annex, this programme is aimed in particular at: 

19 

(a) 

all pupils, students or other learners; 

(b) 

all categories of staff involved in education; 

(c) 

all types of educational  institutions; 

(d) 

the  people  and  bodies  responsible  for  education  systems  and  policies  at 
local, regional and national level within the Member States. 

2. 

Public  or private  bodies  cooperating  with  educational  institutions  may  also  take 
part or be actively involved in several actions under this programme, in particular: 

(a) 

local and regional bodies and organisations; 

(b) 

(c) 

associations  working 
parents' associations; 

in 

the 

field 

of 

education, 

including 

companies and consortia, trade organisations  and Chambers  of  Commerce 
and Industry; 

(d) 

organisations of both sides of industry at all levels; 

(e) 

research centres and bodies. 

3. 

Every Member State shall draw up a list of universities, types of schools and other 
educational institutions eligible to participate in the programme. 

Article 5 
Implementation  of the programme and cooperation with the Member States 

i 
1. 

2. 

1 

3. 

The  Commission  shall  ensure  the  implementation  of  the  Community  actions 
covered by this programme in accordance with the Annex. 

It shall  consult  both  sides of  industry  and  the competent  associations  in the field 
of  education  at  European  level  and  shall  inform  the  Committee  referred  to  in 
Article 7 of their opinions. 

In  conjunction  with  the  Member  States,  the  Commission  shall  take  the  steps 
described  in the Annex  to make the  best  use  of  what  has  been  achieved  through 
the action undertaken under the first phase of the Socrates programme. 

The  Member  States  shall  take  appropriate  action  to  secure,  nationally,  the 
coordination,  organisation  and  the  follow-up  needed  for  the  attainment  of  the 
objectives  of this programme, involving all the parties concerned  by education  in 
accordance with national practice. 

To  that  end,  they  shall  set  up  an  integrated  management  structure  for  the 
operational  implementation  of  the  programme's  actions  and  shall  ensure  that 
appropriate  information  and  publicity  is  provided  on  actions  co-financed  by 
the programme. 

20 

4. 

5. 

Each  Member  State  shall  endeavour  to  take  the  necessary  steps  to  ensure  the 
efficient  running  of  this programme  and  to  take  appropriate  measures  to  remove 
any obstacles to access to it. 

The  Commission,  in  conjunction  with  the  Member  States,  shall  ensure  the 
transition between those actions developed within the framework  of the preceding 
"Socrates"  programme  in  the  field  of  education  and  those  to  be  implemented 
under this programme. 

Article 6 
Joint actions 

As  part  of  the  process  of  building  up  a  Europe  of  knowledge,  the  measures  of  this 
programme  may be  implemented  as joint  actions  with  other  Community  actions  forming 
part  of  the  knowledge  policy,  particularly  Community  programmes  in  the  area  of 
vocational training and youth-related matters. 

Article 7 
Committee 

1. 

2. 

The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  a  committee  composed  of 
the 
representatives  of  the  Member  States  and  chaired  by  the  representative  of 
the Commission. 

The  committee  shall  be  assisted  by  two  subcommittees  in  the  areas  of  school 
education and higher education. They shall be composed  of representatives  of the 
the 
Member  States.  The  Commission  shall  ensure  coordination  between 
committee  and  the  subcommittees.  Specific  questions  may  be  referred  to  the 
subcommittees for final decision. 

3. 

The representative of the Commission  shall submit to the committee a draft  of the 
measures to be taken as regards: 

(a) 

(b) 

the  arrangements  for  implementing  this  programme,  including  where 
appropriate  the  annual  plan  of  work  for  the  implementation  of  the 
programme's actions; 

the  criteria  applicable  for  establishing  the  indicative  breakdown  of  funds 
among the Member  States for the purpose of the actions to be managed  on 
a decentralised basis; 

(c) 

the arrangements for evaluating the programme. 

4. 

The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft  within a time-limit  which the 
Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall 
be delivered by the majority  laid down in Article  148 (2) of the Treaty in the case 
of  decisions  which  the  Council  is  required  to  adopt  on  a  proposal  from  the 
Commission.  The  votes  of  the  representatives  of  the  Member  States  within  the 
Committee  shall  be weighted  in the manner  set out  in that Article. The  Chairman 
shall not vote. 

21 

5. 

The  Commission  shall  adopt measures  which  shall  apply  immediately.  However, 
if these  measures  are  not  in  accordance  with  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  they 
shall be communicated  by the Commission to the Council  forthwith. 

In that event, 

the  Commission  may  defer  application  of  the  measures  which  it 
has decided  for  a  period  of  up  to  one  month  from 
the  date  of 
such  communication; 

the  Council,  acting  by a qualified  majority,  may  take  a  different  decision 
within the time-limit referred  to in the first indent. 

6. 

The  Commission  may  consult  the  Committee  on  any  other  matter  concerning 
implementation of the programme. 

In  that  event,  the  Commission  representative  shall  submit  to  the  Committee  a 
draft  of the measures to be taken. The Committee  shall  deliver  its opinion  on the 
draft,  within  a  time-limit  which  the  Chairman  may  lay  down  according  to  the 
urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote. 

The  opinion  shall  be  recorded  in  the  minutes;  in  addition,  each  Member  State 
shall have the right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes. 

The  Commission  shall  take  the  utmost  account  of  the  opinion  delivered  by  the 
.  Committee. It shall inform  the Committee  of the manner  in which  its opinion has 

been taken into account. 

Article 8 
Funding 

1. 

2. 

1. 

The financial resources  for  the  implementation  of this programme  for  the  period 
specified  in Article  1  shall be set at ECU  1  400 million. 

The  annual  appropriations  shall  be  authorised  by  the  budgetary  authority  within 
the limits of the financial  perspectives. 

Article 9 
Consistency  and  complementarity 

The  Commission  shall,  in  conjunction  with  the  Member  States,  ensure  overall 
consistency  with  other  Community  policies  and  actions.  There  shall  be 
coordination  between  the  activities  of this programme  and  the  other  Community 
actions, in particular those covered by the knowledge policy. 

The  Commission  shall, 
in  conjunction  with  the  Member  States,  ensure 
consistency between implementation of this programme and the other Community 
actions relating to education  in the area of culture  and the audiovisual  sector, the 
completion  of  the  internal  market,  the  information  society,  environment, 
consumer protection, SMEs, social policies, employment, and public health. 

22 

2. 

3. 

1. 

The  Commission  shall  ensure  an  efficient  link-up  between  this  programme  and 
the  programmes  and  actions  in  the  area  of  education  undertaken  as  part  of  the 
Community's external relations. 

The  Commission  and  the  Member  States  shall  ensure  that  the  measures  of  this 
programme  are,  as  part  of  the  implementation  of  the  coordinated  employment 
strategy, consistent with the orientations established  annually  for  the  employment 
guidelines  and  in  conjunction  with  the  other  actions  contributing  to  the 
implementation of the action plans. 

The  Commission  and 
complementarity  between  action  undertaken  under 
Community action under the Structural Funds. 

the  Member  States  shall  ensure  consistency  and 
this  programme  and 

Participation of the associated Central and Eastern European countries, 
Cyprus, Turkey and Malta 

Article 10 

This programme  shall  be  open  to  the participation  of  the  associated  Central  and 
Eastern European  countries  (CEEC)  in accordance  with the conditions  laid  down 
in  the  Europe  agreements  or  in  existing  or  anticipated  additional  protocols 
governing  the  participation  of  these  countries  in  Community  programmes.  This 
programme  shall  also  be  open  to  the  participation,  funded  by  additional 
appropriations, of Cyprus under the same rules as those applied to the countries of 
the  European  Free  Trade  Association 
the 
European Economic  Area  (EEA)  according  to  the  procedures  to  be  agreed  with 
this  country.  This  programme  shall  also  be  open  to  participation  by  Turkey 
according to the procedures to be established with that country. 

(EFTA)  which  belong 

to 

2. 

This  programme  shall  also  be  open  to  participation  by  Malta  according  to  the 
procedures to be agreed with that country. 

Article 11 
International  cooperation 

The  Commission  shall  strengthen  its  cooperation  with  non-Community  countries  and 
with the relevant international organisations, particularly the Council of Europe. 

Article 12 
Monitoring and  evaluation 

1. 

The  Commission  shall  continually  monitor  this  programme  in  cooperation  with 
the Member States. 

This  monitoring  shall  be  effected  through  the  reports  referred  to  in  paragraph  3 
and through specific  activities 
and  t h r n n ah  sner.iflr.  activities 

2. 

The Commission  shall  evaluate  this programme  periodically,  in conjunction  with 
the Member  States. The evaluation  shall  seek to  appraise  the  effectiveness  of the 
actions implemented, by reference to the objectives set out in Article 2. 

23 

The evaluation will also examine the complementarity between actions under this 
programme and those pursued  under other  Community programmes, particularly 
those supported by the European Social Fund. 

In  accordance  with  criteria  established  using  the  procedure  described  in 
Article 7(3), there  shall  be  periodical  external  evaluations  of  the  results  of the 
Community actions. 

Member  States  shall  submit  to  the  Commission  by  31  December  2002  and 
30 June  2005  respectively  reports  on  the  implementation  and  the  impact  of 
this programme. 

The  Commission  shall  submit  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: 

3. 

4. 

an interim evaluation report on the implementation of this programme no 
later than 30 June 2003; 

the" final report  on the  implementation  of this  programme,  no  later than 
31 December 2005. 

Article 13 
Entry into force 

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its publication in the Official Journal 
of the European Communities. 

pone at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

24 

ANNEX 

I. 

INTRODUCTION 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The actions proposed  in this Annex  contribute to the achievement  of the  objectives 
laid  down  in  Article  2  of  the  Decision  and  implemented  through  the  Community 
measures provided for in Article 3. 

Provisions  relating  to  the  timetable,  the  conditions  for  the  submission  of 
applications  and  the eligibility  criteria  are published  regularly  by the  Commission, 
following  consultation  of  the  programme  committee,  in  the  "Socrates  Guidelines 
for Applicants". 

In the context of activities  involving the mobility  of persons, there  should  be some 
linguistic preparation  so that the beneficiaries  possess  the necessary  competence  in 
the language(s) of instruction in the host establishment. 

4.  As  a general  rule,  Community  financial  assistance  granted  to  the  projects  selected 
under  this  programme  is  intended  to  partially  compensate  for  the  estimated  cost 
necessary  to  carry  out  projects  and  may  cover  a  maximum  period  of  three  years, 
subject  to an annual review of the results. Assistance may be granted  in advance to 
enable preparatory visits to the projects  in question. 

5. 

6. 

The  projects  coordinated  by  universities  under  the  various  actions  of  the 
programme  may  form  part  of  the  "institutional  contract"  of  the  institutions 
concerned, provided for in Action 2. 

In accordance with Article 2 paragraph 2 of the Decision, the projects  selected must 
respect  the  principle  of  equal  opportunities  and  avoid  any  type  of  exclusion. 
Positive  actions  may  be  introduced  in  some  areas  where  such  action  is  required. 
Projects  giving  special  emphasis to multicultural  aspects  will  be a priority,  and  the 
specific  needs  of  disabled  people  should  also  be  taken  into  account  when 
establishing the amount of financial  assistance. 

II.  COMMUNITY  ACTIONS 

This Annex  contains two main types of actions: 

the  first.  Actions  1-3, 
education  (school, university, others); 

are  aimed  at  the  three  basic  stages  of  lifelong 

the second, Actions  4-8,  concern transversal  measures such  as languages, 
multimedia  and  the  exchange  of  information,  as  well  as  matters  of 
horizontal  interest  such  as  innovation,  the  dissemination  of  results, 
joint  actions. 

25 

ACTION  1  "COMENIUS": SCHOOL  EDUCATION 

Action  1.1:  School  partnerships 

Action  1.2:  Staff involved in school  education 

ACTION 2:  "ERASMUS": HIGHER  EDUCATION 

Action 2.1:  European inter-university cooperation 

Action 2.2:  Mobility of students and teachers 

ACTION 3:  "GRUNDTVIG": OTHER EDUCATIONAL  PATHWAYS 

Action 3.1:  New educational  approaches 

Action 3.2:  Adult  education 

ACTION 4:  "LINGUA": TEACHING  AND LEARNING  OF LANGUAGES 

ACTION 5:  "ATLAS": EDUCATION AND MULTIMEDIA 

ACTION 6:  OBSERVATION  AND  INNOVATION 

Action 6.1:  Observation  of education systems and policies 

Action 6.2:  New innovatory  initiatives 

ACTION 7:  JOINT ACTIONS 
ACTION  1:  "COMENIUS": SCHOOL  EDUCATION 
ACTION 8:  ACCOMPANYING  MEASURES 
Comenius  seeks to  reinforce  the  European  dimension  of  school  education,  to  encourage 
transnational  cooperation and to promote the learning of languages. 

Comenius  also  promotes  the  creation  of  school  partnership  networks  and  partnership 
networks  for  the  training  of  school  education  staff  to  enable  cooperation  on  subjects  of 
mutual  interest,  the  dissemination  of  good  practice  and  discussion  of  qualitative  and 
innovatory  aspects  of  school  education.  The  staff  training  network  is to  be  developed  in 
close  cooperation  with  the  university  "thematic  networks"  provided  for 
in  the 
prasmus action. 

Action  1.1: 

School  partnerships 

1. 

2. 

The  Community  encourages  the  creation  of  multilateral  partnerships  between 
schools by making use of the facilities  offered  by multimedia and by, encouraging in 
particular those which also involve teacher training establishments, local  authorities 
and businesses, as well as parents. 

Schools  taking  part  in  one  or  more  of  the  activities  contained  in  this  Action  shall 
submit  a  "Plan  for  inter-school  cooperation  in  Europe"  covering  all  the  activities 
proposed.  The  plans  shall  be  examined  by  the  national  structures  set  up  in 

26 

accordance with Article 5, paragraph 3, of the Decision, involving, with due respect 
for national systems, the supervisory bodies at regional and local level, on the basis 
of  the  guidelines  established  by  the  Commission  in  consultation  with  the 
programme committee. 

3.  Activities eligible for Community assistance may include the  following: 

(a) 

partnerships  involving: 

the mobility  of teachers to prepare and monitor partnerships  or to teach 
abroad, including in-company placements; 

the  development  of 
good practice; 

teaching  material  and 

the  exchange  of 

the  involvement  of  pupils  in  partnership  activities,  including  mobility 
for a limited number of them; 

(b)  partnerships  aimed  specifically  at  promoting  the  Community's  official 
languages.  The partnerships  may  in  exceptional  circumstances  be  bilateral  if 
they target the less widely used  languages and may also include exchanges of 
pupils in addition to the activities referred  to in point (a); 

(c) 

cooperation  projects  meeting  the  specific  needs  of  the  children  of  migrant 
workers, gypsies and travellers and itinerant workers. 

Action  1.2: 

Staff involved in school  education 

1. 

2. 

This  action  seeks  to  contribute  to  the  career  development  of  staff  working  in  the 
school  education  sector,  by  reinforcing  the  European  dimension  in  initial  and 
continuing training. 

The  Community  supports  multilateral  projects  from  establishments  and  bodies 
involved  in  the  training  of  educational  staff,  also  by  making  use  of  the  facilities 
offered  by  multimedia.  The  participation  of  schools  and  other  players  involved  in 
the field of education - such as parents' representatives - and socio-economic  affairs 
is  encouraged,  as  is  the  involvement  of  supervisory  bodies  at  regional  and  local 
level, where appropriate. 

3.  Activities  eligible  for  Community  assistance  in  the  context  of  the  partnerships 

referred  to above may include the  following: 

(a) 

the  development  and/or  adaptation  of  curricula, 
European modules; 

teaching  material  or 

(b) 

aspects of school  management; 

(c) 

the mobility  of  school  staff  - future  or already  in  service  - for  the purpose  of 
initial  or continuing  teacher  training,  including  practical  training  periods  and 
language assistantships in schools or adult education centres; 

27 

(d) 

aspects  of  specific  training  relating  to  the  integration  of  the  children  of 
migrant workers, gypsies and travellers and itinerant workers. 

ACTION 2:  "ERASMUS": HIGHER  EDUCATION 

Erasmus  seeks to reinforce  the European  dimension  of higher  education  at all  levels  and 
to encourage transnational cooperation between universities. 

Participating  universities  conclude  "institutional  contracts"  with  the  Commission 
covering all the activities approved. 

Erasmus also promotes the development  and consolidation of thematic networks  enabling 
universities  to  cooperate  on  topics  relating  to  one  or  more  disciplines  or  on  matters  of 
mutual  interest  in order to facilitate  the spread  of good practice, encourage  discussion  of 
qualitative  and  innovative  aspects  of  higher  education,  improve  teaching  methods  and 
stimulate the development of joint programmes and specialised courses. The involvement 
of  representatives  of  learned  societies,  professional  associations  and  socio-economic 
circles is encouraged. 

Action 2.1:  European inter-university  cooperation 

1. 

2. 

The  Community  supports  inter-university  cooperation  activities  carried  out  by 
universities  in  conjunction  with  partners  in  other  Member  States,  with  the 
participation,  where  appropriate,  of  other  players  involved  in  education  and  the 
socio-economic world. 

The  following  inter-university  cooperation  activities,  which  should,  wherever 
possible,  make  use  of  the  facilities  offered  by  multimedia,  are  eligible  for 
Community assistance under the "institutional contract" referred  to above: 

(a) 

(b) 

the  organisation  of  mobility  of  students,  teachers  and  other  members  of 
university staff involved in European  cooperation; 

joint  development  and  implementation  of  curricula,  modules,  intensive 
courses or other  curricular  activities, in particular multidisciplinary  activities, 
including the teaching of subjects in other languages; 

(c) 

consolidation  of  the  European  Credit  Transfer  System  (ECTS),  designed  to 
facilitate  academic recognition. 

Action 2.2:  Mobility of students and university  teachers 

1. 

2. 

The  Community  encourages  the  mobility  of  students  and  teachers  between  the 
Member States, organised in the framework  of "institutional contracts". 

Students  benefiting  from  mobility  and  spending  significant  periods  of  study  in 
another  Member  State,  such  periods  being  fully  recognised  under  the  inter-
university agreements forming  part of the institutional  contracts, will be  considered 
as  Erasmus  students,  regardless  of  whether  or  not  an  "Erasmus  grant"  has  been 
allocated  in  accordance  with  point  3 below.  The  host  universities  will  not  charge 

28 

tuition  fees  to Erasmus  students  and  any  loans  or grants  which  they might  receive 
will continue to be paid during their stay abroad. 

3. 

The Community encourages the mobility of students and teachers by providing 
financial  support under Erasmus. 

ACTION 3:  "GRUNDTVIG": OTHER EDUCATIONAL  PATHWAYS 

The Grundtvig Action seeks to encourage lifelong  learning, in particular by offering  - as a 
complement to Actions  1 (school education) and 2 (higher education) - other  educational 
pathways for all citizens desirous of acquiring new knowledge. The Action  is targeted  in 
particular  at  young  people  who  have  left  the  school  system  with  insufficient  basic 
training,  those  who  wish  to  begin  or  resume  formal  studies  after  a  break  from  the 
education  system  and  adults  wishing  to  acquire  or  improve  their  knowledge  for 
personal reasons. 

Grundtvig  thus  encourages  the  creation  of  European  networks  to  strengthen  the  links 
between  the  various  parties  involved  in this  area to  enable  them  to cooperate  on  a more 
stable basis on matters of mutual interest. 

Action 3.1:  New educational  approaches 

1. 

This  action  seeks  to  encourage  initiatives  aimed  at  developing  more  flexible,  less 
formal  educational  methods  which  are  more  suited  to  the  specific  needs  of  each 
individual wishing to acquire recognised skills or qualifications. 

2. 

Community  financial  assistance  may  be  granted  in  particular  for  projects  seeking 
to promote: 

(a) 

the  development  of  new  educational  approaches,  making  use  in  particular 
of multimedia; 

(b) 

the development of appropriate teaching material; 

(c) 

the dissemination of innovatory approaches and good practice; 

(d) 

the development of accreditation, validation or certification  schemes for  skills 
acquired in this manner; 

(e) 

the training of educational staff working in this sector. 

Action 3.2:  Adult education 

1. 

The  aim  of  this  action  is  to  improve  the  quality  of  education  available  to  adult 
learners,  in  particular  by  reinforcing  cooperation  between  the  various  bodies 
working  in this field, and to strengthen  the European  dimension  of adult  education 
by highlighting  the richness  of the  linguistic  and  cultural  diversity  of nations, thus 
developing a sense of belonging to a European citizenship. 

2. 

The  Community  supports  projects  developed  by  multilateral  partnerships  whose 
purpose is in particular to: 

29 

(a) 

stimulate  adults'  individual  demand  for  learning,  so  that  they  continue  to 
remain active participants in a society undergoing rapid change; 

(b)  develop  support  services 

for  adult 

learners  and 

the'  providers  of 

such education; 

(c) 

develop  teaching  material  which  may  be  adapted  to  multimedia  methods  of 
learning and to exchange good practice; 

(d)  develop  accreditation,  validation  or  certification 

schemes 

for 

the 

skills acquired; 

(e) 

support the training of educational  staff working in this sector. 

ACTION 4:  "LINGUA" :  TEACHING  AND LEARNING  OF LANGUAGES 

1. 

2. 

The  aim  of  this  action  is  to  enable  the  Commission,  in  partnership  with  the 
Member States, to ensure the coordination and consolidation of measures relating to 
the  learning  of  languages,  with  a  view  to  promoting  and  maintaining  linguistic 
diversity  within  the  Community,  helping  to  improve  the  quality  of  language 
teaching  and  learning  and  promoting  easy  access  to  lifelong  language  learning 
opportunities tailored to individual requirements. 

In  this  context,  language  teaching  covers  the  teaching  and  learning  as  foreign 
languages  of  all  the  official  languages  of  the  Community,  including  Irish  and 
Luxembourgish.  Special  attention  will  usually  be  given  throughout  the  whole 
programme  to  the  teaching  of  the  least  widely  used  and  taught  languages  of 
the Community. 

3. 

Community  financial  assistance  may.be  allocated  in  the  context  of  this  action  to 
general transnational  language-learning projects  and activities, such as in particular: 

awareness-raising  activities; 

activities  seeking  to  promote  and/or  spread  innovations  such  as  the  early 
learning of languages or multilingual  comprehension; 

the development  and exchange  of curricula,  innovatory  teaching material  and 
methods and instruments for the recognition of language  proficiency; 

the networking of national, regional or local resource centres. 

ACTION 5:  "ATLAS": EDUCATION AND  MULTIMEDIA 

1. 

The aim  of this action  is to  ensure  the  coordination  and  consolidation  of  measures 
relating  to  open  and  distance  education  and  the  use  of  new  information  and 
multimedia  communication  technologies  in  the  field  of  education.  All  these 
measures  serve  a  dual  purpose:  to  promote  better  understanding  and  the  critical, 
responsible  use  of  tools  and  methods  which  apply  new  technologies,  and  -  at 
European  level - to promote the access to and enhance  the availability  of  improved 
educational resources. 

30 

2. 

Community  financial  assistance  may  be  granted  under  this  action  to  general 
transnational  projects  for  the  use  of  new  technologies  and/or  the  development  of 
open and distance education, in particular in the context of three types of measure: 

projects  and  studies  dealing  with  understanding  the  innovatory  processes 
under way and the development of quality criteria, in particular with regard to 
educational multimedia products; 

projects to develop pilot modules, methodologies and multimedia resources; 

to  develop 

projects 
information  services  and  systems  on  educational 
multimedia resources, and communication  systems to support the exchange of 
ideas  and  experience,  including  the  networking  of  resource  centres,  experts, 
decision-makers and project coordinators on subjects of mutual  interest. 

ACTION 6:  OBSERVATION AND INNOVATION 

Action 6.1:  Observation of education systems and policies 

1. 

The present  Action  contributes  to the transparency  of  education  systems  in  Europe 
through  the  exchange  of  information  and  experience  and  turns  the  specificity  of 
national  systems  into  a  source  of  quality  European  education.  It  is  based  on 
arrangements involving a variety of activities to be linked together and supported by 
the Community: 

creation of Community terms of reference; 

development  of  indicators  and  evaluation  of  the  quality  of  education,  in 
particular through the networking of the bodies involved and pilot projects; 

development and upkeep of databases of innovatory experiments; 

linking  up  the  organisations  engaged  in  analysing  educational  systems 
and policies; 

studies  and  pilot  projects  on  the  recognition  of  diplomas,  qualifications  and 
periods of learning at all educational  levels in other Member States. 

2. 

Community support is also granted to: 

the  European  education  information  network  "Eurydice",  comprising  the 
European Unit and national Units, set up by the Commission and the Member 
States  respectively,  to  enable  it  to  make  a  full  contribution  to  the 
implementation of this action; 

the organisation of and participation in "Arion" multilateral study visits; 

31 

the Community network of national  academic recognition  information  centres 
Naric,  in  order  to  enable  the  intensive  exchange  of  information  between  the 
various  parts  of  the  network  and  the  launch  of  pilot  projects  on  matters  of 
mutual interest designed to facilitate  recognition. 

3. 

Close  cooperation  with  the  Statistical  Office  of  the  European  Communities 
(Eurostat) is ensured in the implementation of the Action. 

Action 6.2:  New innovatory  initiatives 

In addition to the cooperation  activities provided  for  in the various  actions  of the present 
programme,  the  Community  also  supports  transnational  projects  aimed  at  developing 
innovations  in one  or more  specific  sectors  of  education.  The  subjects  given  priority  are 
reviewed  regularly  to  enable  adaptation  to  the  new  requirements  which  will  emerge 
during the period covered by this programme. 

ACTION 7:  JOINT ACTIONS 

1. 

2. 

For  the joint  actions  described  in  Article  6  of  this  Decision,  Community  support 
may be provided  for joint  actions with other actions under the knowledge policy, in 
particular Community vocational training and youth programmes designed to widen 
access to knowledge. 

Coordination  between  the three programmes  can be  achieved  by common  calls  for 
proposals. The Commission  intends in particular to develop a joint  information  and 
observation arrangement with regard to good practice in the field of knowledge, and 
joint  actions  on education  and training  multimedia.  These  projects  may  encompass 
a  range  of  measures  covering  several  sectors,  including  education.  They  may  be 
supported in a complementary manner by various Community programmes. 

3.  Appropriate  steps,  a  significant  one  being  the  setting  up  of  "European  knowledge 
centres", will be taken to ensure regional  and  local contact  and  interaction  between 
the  players  taking  part  in  this  programme  and  in  vocational  training  and  youth-
related  programmes.  This  will  contribute  to  the  implementation  of  a  policy  of 
lifelong  learning in the regions and local districts concerned. 

ACTION 8 :  ACCOMPANYING  MEASURES 

1. 

Financial assistance may be granted to initiatives aimed  at promoting the  objectives 
of  this  programme,  provided  that  such  initiatives  are  not  eligible  for  assistance 
under  other  actions  of  the  programme.  Community  assistance  may  be  given  to 
the  following: 

awareness-raising  activities  to promote  cooperation  in  the  field  of  education, 
including  support  for  the  organisation  of  the  "Europe  in  the  School" 
competition in cooperation with the Council of Europe; 

activities  aimed  at  training  the  persons  involved  in  the  management  of 
European cooperation projects in the field of education; 

32 

transnational  activities  carried  out  by  associations  and  other  non 
governmental bodies active in the field of education; 

conferences  and  symposia  on  innovations 
the programme; 

in  the  sectors  targeted  by 

measures  to  optimise  and  disseminate  the  results  of  projects  and  activities 
carried  out  with  the  support  of  this  programme  or  its  previous  phase, 
including by means of instruments such as the Ortelius information  system. 

2. 

3. 

Community  assistance  may  be  provided  to  carry  out  the  information  activities 
necessary  to  implement  the  programme,  support  the  activities  of  the  integrated 
management structures set up by the Member States in accordance with Article 5 of 
the  Decision,  and  to  ensure  an  effective  monitoring  and  evaluation  system  of  the 
actions contained in this Annex. 

In  carrying  out  the  programme  the  Commission  can  have  recourse  to  technical 
assistance  organisations  the  financing  of  which  may  be  provided  for  within  the 
overall  envelope  for  the  programme.  It  can,  under  the  same  conditions,  have 
recourse  to  experts.  Furthermore,  the  Commission  will  be  able  to  organise 
seminars,  colloquia  or  other  meetings  of  experts,  likely 
the 
implementation  of  the  programme.  The  Commission  can  also  take  forward 
information, publication and dissemination actions. 

to  facilitate 

III.  PROCEDURES 
OF PROJECTS 

FOR 

THE 

SUBMISSION 

AND 

SELECTION 

Procedures  for  the  proposal  and  selection  of  the  projects  referred  to  in  this  Annex  are 
as follows: 

i 

1.  Requests  for  financial  assistance  for  projects  submitted  under  Actions  1.1  and 
1.2 point  3(c), which  are considered  decentralised,  as well  as for  preparatory  visits 
under all Actions except Action 2, shall be submitted to the integrated  management 
structures  designated  by  the  Member  States  in  accordance  with  Article  5, 
paragraph 3, of the Decision. These  structures  shall  select the projects  and  allocate 
financial  assistance  to  the  selected  projects  in  accordance  with  the  general 
guidelines established under Article 7, paragraph 3, of the Decision. 

2. 

3. 

The  awarding  of  the  financial  assistance  provided  for  in  Action  2.2  point  3  to 
students  and  academic  teachers  carrying  out  mobility  assignments  within  the 
institutional  contracts  mentioned  in  Action  2.1,  shall  be  carried  out  by  the 
integrated  management  structures  designated  by  the  Member  States  in  accordance 
with  Article  5,  paragraph  3,  of  the  Decision,  in  accordance  with  the  general 
guidelines established under Article 7, paragraph 3, of the Decision. 

Requests  for  financial  assistance  for  projects  mentioned  in  other  parts  of  the 
programme,  considered  to  be  centralised,  shall  be  submitted  to  the  Commission 
which  will  forward  them  to  the  integrated  management  structures.  Decisions  on 
financial assistance  for  projects  shall  be  taken  by  the  Commission  after  receiving 
the  opinion  of  the  Committee  in  accordance  with  Article  7,  paragraph  6,  of 
the Decision. 

33 

IV. 

FINANCIAL PROVISIONS 

1.  The  Community  funds  intended  to  provide  financial  support  under  Actions  1.1, 
1.2 point  3(c)  and  2.2  point  3,  will  be  shared  out  between  the  Member  States 
according to the formulas contained in point 5 below. 

2. 

4. 

The  Community  funds  thus  distributed  shall  be  administered  by  the  national 
structures  provided  for  in  Article  5,  paragraph  3,  of  the  Decision.  These 
structures shall  also  ensure  coordination  with  the  financial  resources  available 
in the Member States 
in  European 
cooperation activities. 

at  encouraging  participation 

aimed 

The  Commission,  acting  in  cooperation  with  the  Member  States,  shall  take  the 
necessary measures to encourage balanced participation at Community, national and 
regional  level, and, in the case of higher education, in the various fields  of study. 
The  proportion  allocated  to  these  measures  must  not  exceed  10%  of  the  annual 
budget for financing each of the actions in question. 

In order to ensure as wide a distribution as possible in each Member State, and the 
efficient  monitoring  and  exchange  of  experience  between  the  projects  and  the 
activities  supported,  national  structures  shall  be  encouraged  to  work  in  close 
cooperation  with  the  appropriate  authorities  at  regional  and  local  level  in  their 
respective  countries.  They  may,  in  cooperation  with  the  Commission,  take 
initiatives  aimed  at  promoting  an  equitable  participation  of  the  various 
establishments at national or regional level, in particular through the dissemination 
of information and awareness-raising activities. 

5.  Distribution formula for  : 

Action 1.1 
Action 1.2 point 3(c) 
Action 2.2 point 3 

(a) 

a  minimum  amount  to  be  determined  in  accordance  with  budgetary 
availability will be allocated to each Member State; 

(b) 

the remainder will be allocated to the various Member States on the basis of: 

(i) 

the country's per capita gross domestic product; 

(ii) 

the  distance  between  the  Member  State  of  origin  and  the  host 
Member State; 

(iii)  the country's total number of: 

pupils  and  teachers  in  school  education  for  Action  1.1  and 
Action 1.2 point 3(c); 

students in higher education for Action 2.2 point 3 (students). The 
number of graduates could also be taken into account; 

teachers in higher education for Action 2.2 point 3 (teachers). 

34 

(3) 

6. 

The  arrangements  for  the  allocation  of  funds  to  each  Member  State  for  the 
support of  preparatory  visits  shall  be  decided  upon  by  the  Commission,  after 
receiving  the opinion  of the  Committee  in accordance  with Article  7, paragraph  6, 
of the Decision. 

V.  DEFINITIONS 

For the purposes of this programme : 

• 

• 

"lifelong  learning"  means  the  education  and  training  opportunities  offered  to 
individuals  throughout  their  lives  to  enable  them  continually  to  update  their 
knowledge and skills; 

"decision-makers"  includes  staff  with  managerial,  assessment,  training,  guidance 
and  inspection  duties  in the field of education,  persons  responsible  for  this  area  at 
local, regional and national level and within the ministries; 

"open  and  distance  education" means any type  of education  involving  the use of 
traditional  or advanced  information  and  communication  technologies  and  services, 
backed up by individualised counselling and tutoring; 

"pupil" means persons enrolled in that capacity at a school; 

"teacher/educational  staff  means persons  who  through  their  duties  are  involved 
directly  in  the  educational  process  in  the  Member  States,  in  accordance  with  the 
organisation of their respective education system; 

"company"  means  all  companies  in  the  public  or  private  sector  whatever  their 
size,  legal  status  or  the  economic  sector  in  which  they  operate,  and  all  types  of 
economic activities, including the social economy; 

"school"  means  all 
whether providing  general 
technical education; 

types  of 

institutions  providing 

education, 
(nursery,  primary  or  secondary),  vocational  or 

school 

"student" means persons registered  in universities, whatever their field of study, in 
order to follow  higher  education  studies  leading  to  a degree  or diploma,  up  to  and 
including the level of doctorate; 

"virtual  mobility"  means  all  the  resources,  methods,  services  and  simulations 
which  make  it  possible,  through  the  use  of  information 
technologies  and 
telecommunications  networks,  to  gain  access  to  information  available  in  other 
places, exchange ideas and cooperate with geographically distant partners; 

"both  sides  of  industry"  at  national  level  means  employers'  and  workers' 
organisations in conformity  with national laws and/or practices; at Community  level 
means  employers'  and  workers'  organisations  taking  part  in  the  social  dialogue  at 
Community level; 

35 

"European knowledge  centre" is the term used to denote a grouping together at 
regional  or  local  level  of  actors  participating  in  the  present  programme  and  the 
Community  programmes  in  the  fields  of  vocational  training  and  youth,  for  the 
purpose  of  supporting  regional  or  local  lifelong  learning policies  in particular by 
means  of  disseminating  information  and  results  and  promoting  active  interaction 
across the three programmes; 

"Community  terms  of  reference"  means  all  the  analyses,  studies,  surveys  and 
identification  of  good  practice  which  make  it  possible  to  locate,  at  Community 
level, the relative position of the various Member States and the progress made on a 
given subject or in a given area; 

"university"  means  any  type  of  higher  education  institution  which  offers 
qualifications or diplomas at that level, whatever such establishments may be called 
in the Member States. 

36 

SECOND PHASE OF THE COMMUNITY EDUCATION ACTION 
PROGRAMME "SOCRATES" 

FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

1.  TITLE OF OPERATION 

Second phase of the Community Action Programme  Socrates 

2. 

BUDGET  HEADING  INVOLVED 

B3-1001 and Part A 

3. 

LEGAL BASI'S 

Article  126 and  127 of the EC Treaty 

Parliament  and  Council  Decision No  99/.../EC  of  ../../1999 establishing  the  second 
phase of the Community Action Programme in the field of education  Socrates 

4. 

BUDGETARY  CHARACTERISTICS 

4.1.  Classification  of expenditure, Financial Regulation section 

Non-compulsory 
Regulation section: 3 

expenditure,"  differentiated 

appropriations,  Financial 

4.2.  Period covered and arrangements for renewal or extension 

The programme covers the period from  1  January 2000 to 31 December 2004. 

If  appropriate,  the  Commission  will  present  a  proposal  for  extension  of  the 
programme in accordance with Article  12 of the Decision. 

5. 

TYPE OF EXPENDITURE 

Generally  speaking:  grants,  co-financed  with  other  public  or private  sources,  some 
monetary,  some  not.  The  Community  aid  will  be  used  more  particularly  to  help 
cover  all  or  part  of  the  costs  constituting  a  genuine  burden  for  organisations 
involved  in  the  projects  (institutional  partnerships:  universities  and  schools, 
associations,  NGOs,  adult  education  establishments,  local  authorities,  businesses) 
and/or persons taking part in mobility schemes. Internal project resources (in the 

37 

form  of service provision, provision of staff, material or installations, for example) 
will be deemed complementary to the Community contribution. 

The Community funding  rate will depend on the co-financing  arrangements for the 
proposed  projects  and activities, although  it will  normally  not  exceed  75% of the 
total cost, which is the level which may apply in particular to projects: 

- 

- 

in a new field of action at European level, where the Community has a major 
interest in stimulating cooperation; 

involving organisations which would have trouble (because of their legal status 
or  nature)  in  acquiring  substantial  co-financing  and  organisations  which have 
little experience of European cooperation. 

100% financing is envisaged only for studies and analyses done by third parties, and 
in other exceptional cases where the grounds are fully justified. 

6.  NEED FOR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT; OBJECTIVES 

6.1.  Grounds  for  Community  involvement,  having  regard  to  the  principle 

of subsidiarity 

Pursuant to Article  126 of the Treaty, the  Socrates programme  supports and 
supplements  measures  taken  by  the  Member  States.  The  actions  under  the 
programme  are  designed  to  yield  -  principally  by  way  of  multilateral 
cooperation, transnational mobility and European networking - effects  which 
could not be achieved if the action were to be taken by only one Member State 
or on the basis of bilateral cooperation. 

The second phase has been designed having regard to the conclusions of the 
report  on  the  first  two  years  of  the  programme  (COM(97)  99  final  of 
14 March  1997),  and  the  feedback  from  the  interim  evaluation,  with  the 
Commission's interim report being due for 30 September 1998. 

6.2.  General objective 

Following  on  from  the  objectives  set  out  by  the  Commission  in  its 
Communication  "For  a  Europe  of  Knowledge"  (COM(97)  563  final  of 
12 November  1997), the general objective of the programme is to contribute, 
in close conjunction with the programmes on vocational training and youth, to 
the implementation of a knowledge policy at Community level. The aim is to 
create a European educational area to encourage lifelong learning, with a view 
to developing knowledge, skills and citizenship. 

As far as Socrates is concerned, this involves contributing to the development 
of  high-quality  education  in  the  Community,  by  encouraging  cooperation 
between the Member States, and enhancing the capacity of teaching to adapt 
and anticipate in response to political, social, economic and 

38 

technological  change,  so  that  young  people  and  adult  learners  receive  an 
education  which  will  enable  them  to  live  and  work  in  a  European  Union 
which is becoming more and more integrated. 

6.3.  Specific  objectives 

With  a  view  to  contributing 
Community, the programme is concerned with: 

to  a  high-quality  education  within 

the 

(a) 

strengthening the European dimension of education at all levels; 

(b) 

promoting  cooperation  in  all  sectors  and  at  all  levels  in  the  field 
of education; 

(c) 

helping to remove obstacles to such cooperation; 

(d) 

encouraging innovation in education. 

6.4.  Target  populations 

target  groups  are  varied  and  numerous.  The  programme  can 

The 
potentially address: 

(a) 

any pupil, student or other learner; 

(b) 

any category of staff involved in education; 

(c) 

all types of educational  establishment; 

(d) 

persons and organisations responsible for education systems and 
policies at local, regional and national level within the Member  States. 

The programme  may also  involve  public  or private  organisations  cooperating 
with  educational  establishments  in pursuing  the programme's  objectives  (see 
Article 4 of the Decision). 

The structure of the programme reflects  the dual concern of reaching a critical 
mass  of  the  various  target  categories,  and  stressing  the  multiplier  and 
demonstration  effects.  There  are  today,  within  the  15  Member  States,  more 
or less: 

310 000 schools; 

4 million school teachers; 

5 000  higher  education  establishments, 
large-scale multidisciplinary universities; 

including  almost  2  000 

11 million students at these universities; 

800 000 university teachers. 

39 

In  order  to  have  a  significant  impact  on  these  populations,  the  following 
provision has been made: 

•  School  education 

-  support  from  the  start  of  the  programme  (in  the  year  2000)  for  some 
9 000  schools  within  3 000  school  partnerships.  Since  co-financing  is 
normally  limited  to  three  years,  it  will  be  possible  to  add  some 
4 000-5 000  extra  schools  each year, with  some  of the  schools  ceasing 
to receive aid, with the result that ( 4 x5  000 = ) 20 000 schools will be 
added  to the  initial  9 000. The  objective  then  is to  impinge  on  10% of 
all schools by the end of the programme; 

- 

in  order  to  keep  the  effect  of  support  measures  going,  even  after  the 
co-financing  period  has  elapsed,  provision  is  made  for  facilitating 
networking arrangements for schools which have already been  involved 
in partnerships; 

-  -arrangements are also envisaged  for training for  educational staff,  given 
their key role in the quality of education and their multiplier  effect; 

•  Higher education 

-  by 

the  end  of 

large-scale 
the  programme,  almost  all  of 
establishments  will have  signed  an institutional  contract, this being the 
new basic instrument governing the European cooperation  strategy; 

the 

- 

- 

to  achieve  the  direct  involvement  of  representatives  of  a  number  of 
faculties  and  disciplines  (a minimum  of something  like 20 teachers per 
university),  the  programme  will  contribute  to  the  mobility  -  covering 
something  like 30% of the cost  on average  - of  some  200 000 teachers 
during  the  second  five-year  phase,  i.e.  a  significant  proportion  of  the 
total of 800 000 university teachers; 

there will  be  support  for  subject-related  networks,  each  linking  dozens 
of  universities  within  a  specific  discipline.  Starting  with  40  networks 
and a moderate annual growth rate, it will be possible to cover virtually 
all of the major groups of university disciplines; 

-  as  far  as  students  are  concerned,  calculations  are  based  on  an  initial 
target  of  around  180 000  students.  Assuming  a  course  of  between 
four and five years, this would represent a participation rate of between 
7 and  8%.  With  a moderate  rate  of  increase,  and  a  fall  in the  drop-out 
rate  (thanks  to  an  improved  average  grant),  a  rate  of  10%  might  be 
achieved by the end of the second phase. At the same time, there will be 
consolidation  in  Erasmus  students'  status  (guaranteed  administrative 
supervision, with or without a grant). 

40 

For both school and university teaching, the use of the new technologies will 
enable the programme to reach a critical mass of the target population in all 
the 15 Member States. 

6.5.  Main characteristics and grounds for the various programme actions 

ACTION 1: SCHOOL EDUCATION (Comenius) 

This  was  a  new  instrument  under  Socrates  I,  involving  all  types  of 
establishment: pre-school, primary and secondary. Apart from  the sheer scale 
of the challenge (see 6.4), one of the problems is the lack of any real tradition 
of international cooperation among such establishments. 

Interim  evaluation  shows  that  the  Action  has  taken  root  strongly  and 
deserves to be continued.  To this end, and in response  to the  rationalisation 
suggested by the interim evaluation of Socrates I, the new Comenius Action 
will  incorporate  elements  from  the  old  "Lingua"  Action  applying  to  the 
school sector. 

Action 1.1: School partnerships 

together  a  number  of  establishments  from  at 

Bringing 
three 
Member States,  the  eligible  activities  are  concerned  mainly  with  involving 
pupils  closely  in  the  cooperation  arrangements  through  the  use  of  new 
technologies  and  new  means  of  communication,  accompanied  by  teacher 
exchange  schemes  and  visits  by  headmasters,  with  pupil  mobility  being 
restricted to a few specified situations. 

least 

As unit  costs are very low, the Action  offers  a high  cost-effectiveness  ratio 
and  a  lasting  effect  given  the  scale  of  the  target  population,  with  future 
generations  of  citizens  having  the  chance  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
process of building Europe. 

There will also be specific partnerships covering the educational needs of the 
children of migrant workers, Gypsies, Travellers and itinerant workers. 

Action 1.2: Educational staff in schools 

This  Action  has  enormous  multiplier  potential,  and  is  targeted  in  the first 
instance at professionals responsible for initial training and in-service training 
of  educational  staff.  The  practical  arrangements  seek  to  add  a  European 
dimension to training, to transfer  positive experiences and to create teaching 
material,  with  potential  for  substantial  economies  of  scale.  One  important 
aspect  concerns 
teachers  of 
disadvantaged persons. 

the  training  of  language 

teachers  and 

Having  institutions  from  different  countries  involved  in  preparing  courses, 
and with the participation of teachers in transnational courses, there is a very 
clear added value here compared with nationally organised training activities. 

41 

ACTION 2: HIGHER EDUCATION  (Erasmus) 

Action 2.1: European university  cooperation 

Erasmus  activities  have  been  rigorously  and  continuously  evaluated,  and  the 
repercussions  are  multiple.  Universities  achieve  higher  standards  of  teaching 
through shared expertise and experience. 

The  basic  instrument  underlying  this  Action  is  the  institutional  contract, 
which was introduced for the first time in  1997-98. Evaluation has shown very 
clearly  that  the  underlying  philosophy  of  making  the  institutions  responsible 
effectively  forces  universities  to  adopt  a  proper  strategy  on  European 
cooperation. Institutional contracts cover the following  activities: 

-  joint  curriculum  development:  European-scale  courses  designed  for  all 
students,  masters-type  study  programmes  (in  response 
targeted 
sectoral needs,  in  the  absence  of  such  courses  hitherto  in  Europe); 
European  modules;  integrated  courses  (specific  training  accompanied  by 
language learning); 

to 

- 

intensive  programmes',  exchanges  of 
development of shared teaching materials; 

ideas  and  experiences,  and 

-  support for  contacts between universities to ensure optimum quality of the 

organisational framework for  student and teacher mobility schemes', 

-  European  Credit Transfer System - ECTS: an evaluation of the pilot phase 
has  shown  the  scheme's  potential  for  facilitating  and  boosting  the  quality 
of student exchange arrangements. 

By  means  of  Thematic  Networks,  the  Community  not  only  supports 
cooperation  between  faculties,  but  also  encourages  longer-term  reflection  on 
the future  of particular disciplines. 

Action 2.2: Student and teacher mobility 

With  their  Erasmus  experience,  graduates  find  it  easier  to  get  work  and  are 
more  likely  to  be  recruited  to  jobs  requiring  international  knowledge  and 
experience.  The  need  to  manage  Erasmus  mobility  has  had  considerable 
effects  on  the  professionalism  of  the  departments  working  on  mobility 
schemes within universities. 

Regarding  teacher mobility (management  of this aspect  will  be  decentralised 
in  the  second  phase  of the programme),  the  cost-efficiency  ratio  is  a  double 
onebased  on  improved  curriculum  quality  and  methodologies,  and  the 
incorporation  of  a  European  experience  in  the  lives  of  students  who  cannot 
benefit themselves from  a mobility scheme. 

ACTION 3: OTHER EDUCATIONAL PATHWAYS (Grundtvig) 

This new Action addresses population  groups other than  school  or  university 
populations in the conventional sense of the term. 

42 

new 

uses 

3.1,  which 

approaches 
educational 
Under  Action 
teaching  material,  development  of 
(e.g. multimedia, specially  adapted 
accreditation/validation/certification  of  skills)  aid  will  be  available  to  people 
who  have  dropped  out  of  the  school  system  without  acquiring  an  adequate 
basis  of  education  or who  would  like to  get  back  into  the  system.  The  point 
is to  make  contact  between,  and  compare,  the  approaches  adopted  in  the 
15 Member States. 

Action  3.2  concerns  adult  education,  and  has  been  one  of  the  main  fields  of 
innovation in the Socrates programme. The aim is to strengthen  the European 
dimension in all adult education sectors - general, cultural and social. 

ACTION 4: TEACHING AND LEARNING OF LANGUAGES (Lingua) 

The  point  of  this  Action  is  to  boost  the  recognition  of  the  importance  of 
languages  in  a  Community  context  and  to  promote  cooperation  in  the 
production  of  teaching  material  and  methods  and  means  of  verifying  newly 
acquired skills, particularly for the less used and less widely taught languages. 

ACTION 5: EDUCATION AND MULTIMEDIA  (Atlas) 

in 

serves 
involved 

to 
support 
in  distance 

transnational  partnerships  between 
This  Action 
the  use  of  new 
teaching  or 
organisations 
educational 
technologies,  particularly 
information  and  communication 
multimedia.  As  confirmed  by 
the  Task  Force  on 
the 
"Educational and  Multimedia  Software",  Community  action  is  designed  to 
make  up  Europe's  quantitative  and  qualitative  shortfall  in  the  design  and 
production of teaching support media. The experience of Socrates I has shown 
clearly  that  we  are  on  course  for  generating  a  significant  increase  in  the 
volume  and  quality  of European  cooperation  in this  field,  more  especially  by 
facilitating  cooperation  between  a  wide  range  of  "players"  who  have  little 
previous tradition or experience of partnerships at European level. 

report  of 

ACTION 6: OBSERVATION AND  INNOVATION 

Action 6.1 covers the exchange of information  and experience by reference  to 
matters of common interest concerning education policy: 

-  analyses,  exchanges  of  experts  and  pilot  projects 

in  fields  such  as 
education  quality  assurance  relate  to  key  policy  aspects,  of  a  clearly 
European dimension, identified  in close conjunction  with the Council; 

- 

- 

the  Eurydice  network  supplies  comparative  data  on  the  development  of 
education  systems  and  policies.  The  network  is  highly  productive  in 
relation  to  cost,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  evaluation  of  the  first  two  years 
of Socrates; 

regarding Arion  study  visits,  the  feedback  from  thousands  of  reports  and 
the 
contact  meetings  with 
participants  themselves  has  shown  that  such  visits  give  experts  and 
decision-makers  a  unique  opportunity  to  discuss  their  concerns  on  a 
multilateral  basis.  Lasting  contacts  and  networking  arrangements  are  set 

local  organisers,  national  agencies  and 

43 

up  between  persons  occupying  key  positions 
participating countries; 

in  education 

in  the 

-  under  the  National  Academic  Recognition  Information  Centre  Network 
(NARIC), the Commission is responsible for the networking arrangements, 
generating enormous benefits at European level at minimum cost. 

Apart  from  the  cooperation  activities  provided  for  in  the  various  Actions 
covering  specific  education  sectors,  the  Community  will  provide  support, 
under Action 6.2,  for  targeted  innovation  transnational  projects  affecting  one 
or  more  education  sectors,  with  the  priority  themes  being  subject  to  regular 
review. More particularly, the Action will  seek to support projects  addressing 
a  number  of  educational  sectors  in  an  integrated  way  -  i.e.  the  transversal 
dimension  required  in the  context  of  lifelong  learning,  the  absence  of  which 
has often  been noted in the interim evaluation. 

ACTION 7: JOINT ACTIONS 

This new Action comprises two elements requiring Community support: 

- 

- 

integrated projects  aimed at promoting lifelong  learning by creating  closer 
links  between  education,  vocational  training  and  youth,  by  reference  to 
common themes; 

the  creation  of  "European  knowledge  centres"  to  promote  contact  and 
interaction  between  the  players  in  the  Socrates,  Leonardo  da  Vinci  and 
Youth  programmes,  with  a  view  to  creating  synergy,  and  promoting 
lifelong learning at regional and local levels. 

ACTION 8: ACCOMPANYING  MEASURES 

This is by its very nature a varied Action, pursuing the following aims: 

• 

to disseminate the results of projects  and activities run with the support of 
this programme or its previous phase; 

• 

to make target groups aware of the benefits  of European cooperation; 

• 

• 

to  promote  the  training  of  persons  involved  in  ru.ining  European 
cooperation projects; 

to  encourage  transnational  activities  run  by  associations  and  other  non 
governmental  organisations,  acting  as  a  major  go-between  with  the 
educational community; 

• 

to organise the necessary monitoring and evaluation activities; 

• 

• 

to  finance  studies,  meetings  of  experts,  conferences,  information  and 
publications required for the programme's  implementation; 

support 

to 
management structures; 

the 

activities  of 

44 

the  Member  States' 

integrated 

• 

to organise effective  technical assistance facilities  at Community level. For 
the  purposes  of  the  Socrates  programme  (together  with  the  Leonardo  da 
Vinci  and  Youth programmes), the  Commission  will  secure  the  help  of a 
joint  technical  assistance  office.  The  requisite  help  will  be  of  an 
administrative nature, and will be as follows: 

-  assistance  in  implementing  the  necessary  programme  logistics  (e.g. 
computer  back-up,  production  and  circulation  of  vade-mecums  and 
applicants' guides; 

-  assistance  in  receiving,  examining,  processing  and  assessing  some  of 
the  applications  for  funding  submitted  to  the  Commission  in  the 
framework  of the centralised procedure; 

-  preparation  of  financial  agreements  for  some  of  the  applications; 
projects will be selected by the Commission, and the agreements will be 
signed by the Commission; 

-  «making of payments and issue of recovery orders. 

The use of technical  assistance  facilities  is justified  by the  fact  that these 
are  "mass"  programmes  requiring  a  large  number  of  standardised 
transactions  covering, in most  cases, relatively  minor  amounts  of money. 
The  office  will  do  its  work  under  the  Commission's  guidance,  and  the 
procedure will not require the delegation of any public service tasks. 

The contribution  made by the  Socrates programme  to the  office's  annual 
operating  costs  will  not  exceed  3% of the  amount  set  aside  annually  for 
Socrates.  The  contract  with  the  office  will  include  clauses  on  sound 
practice  to  obviate  any  conflicts  of  interest,  lay  down  what  is deemed  to 
be incompatible, and imposé confidentiality  terms. 

6.6.  Changes vis-à-vis the first phase of the programme 

In the light of experience and evaluation of the first phase of the programme, a 
number of changes have been introduced, viz.: 

-  amalgamation  of  the  measures  concerned  with  the  initial  training  and 

continuing training of school staff under a single Action; 

-  new Action for "other educational pathways", including adult education; 

-  Lingua activities for schools now included in Comenius; 

-  coordinated  educational  observation  arrangements,  bringing  together  all 
activities  concerning  the  promotion  of  information  and  experience 
exchange, including the Eurydice network; 

- 

targeted innovation projects: flexible handling of new needs; 

-  European networks for the various programme Actions; 

45 

-  recognition  of  the  important  role  that  the  regions  and  other  territorial 
bodies could play as a meeting point for beneficiaries,  more especially by 
encouraging the creation of "European knowledge centres"; 

-  enhanced cooperation with programmes in the field of vocational training 

and youth. 

Educational  establishments  will be encouraged  to adopt  strategic  approaches 
to cooperation  at European  level. It will  thus  be possible  for  universities  to 
include  in  their  institutional  contracts  all  projects  which  they  coordinate 
within the various aspects of the programme. In the school sector, the concept 
of a "Plan for inter-school cooperation in Europe" will encourage each school 
to adopt a consolidated approach to its participation in cooperation activities. 

6.7.  Measures 

6.7.1.  Types of measure selected 

The  specific  objectives  (cf.  6.3)  will  be  pursued  by  means  of  the 
actions and  types of Community  measures  specified  in Article  3 of 
the Decision and set out in detail in the Annex. 

6.7.2.  Coordination  with  other  relevant  actions  at  Community and 

national levels 

The  Commission  will,  in  cooperation  with  the  Member  States,  be 
responsible  for  the  overall  consistency  with  other  Community 
policies and activities, pursuant to Article 9 of the Decision. 

7. 

FINANCIAL IMPACT 

7.1.  Method of calculating the cost 

7.1.1.  General context 

During  the  first  phase,  the  programme  was  faced  with  major 
budget shortfalls,  requiring  a  new  co-decision  midway  through 
the programme. 

The  programme  can  only  have  the  desired  impact  if  it  is  given 
adequate financial resources  to  reach  a  critical  mass  of  the  target 
groups. Equally, the average amount of  aid must not  fall  below the 
minimum  threshold  required  to  ensure  that  the  grant  is  effective 
and to  maintain  the  principle  of  equal  opportunities  as  set  out  in 
the Decision. 

46 

7.1.2.  Method of calculation 

this 

first  phase,  and, 

The  method  of  calculation  is  based,  firstly,  on  the  amount  judged 
appropriate  for  the  various  types  of  activity,  as  a  function  of  their 
specific characteristics and bearing in mind, where the measures were 
already  included  in  the  first  phase  of  the  programme,  of  experience 
from 
the  number  of 
projects/persons  constituting  a  critical  mass  for  each  of  the  Actions 
(see 6.4). Account  also has to be taken  of the need  to renew  support 
for  an  appropriate  period,  not  exceeding  three  years  in  total  in 
general,  and  to  support  a  sufficient  number  of  new  projects  to 
guarantee  the  programme's  innovative  effect.  The  approximate 
number  of beneficiaries  and the average  amounts  which  are  likely to 
be granted under the main Actions in 2000 are as follows. 

secondly,  on 

47 

Actions 

Action  1.1 - Partnerships 
Basic activities 
- participating  schools 
- coordinating  schools 
Mobility (including preparatory  visits) 
-  staff 
- pupils 
Networks of partnerships 
Action  1.2 -School educational  staff 
Partnerships/projects 
Mobility 
- initial  traineeships 
- continuing traineeships 
- assistantships 
Networks 
Total 

Action 2.1 - European  university  cooperation 
Institutional  contracts 
Thematic  networks 
Action 2.2 - Student and teacher  mobility 
Students 

Teachers 
Total 

ACTION  1 -  COMENIUS 

Number 

Average  amounts 
(ECU) 

Total 

5 800 
2 900 

8 700 
1 800 
15 

150 

3 000 
9 000 
800 
6 

1 655 
40 

1215 000 
months 
30 000 

2 200 
3 300 

500 
7 000 
48 000 

35 000 

700 
1 000 
4 200 
48 000 

12 570 
80 000 

ECU  70/month 

40.000.000 

12 760 000 
9 570 000 

4 350 000 
12 600 000 
720 000 
20 000 000 
5 250 000 

2  100 000 
9 000 000 
3 360 000 
290 000 
60 000 000 

24 000 000 
20 800 000 
3 200  000 
94 000 000 
85 000 000 

300 

9 000 000 
118 000 000 

1 per school 
20 pupils + 2 accompanying  teachers 

Sub-networks of the training network 

ACTION 2 - ERASMUS 

180 000 x 6.75 months per  student 

48 

Actions 

Action 3.1 - Other educational  pathways 
Projects 
Project  networking 
Action 3.2 - Adult  education 
Projects 
Project  networking 
Preparatory visits 
Total 

Projects 
Curricula and validation 

Total 

Projects 
Networking 
Preparatory visits 
Total 

ACTION 3 -  GRUNDTVIG 

Number 

Average  amounts 
(ECU) 

Total 

15 

70 

250 000 

80 000 

-

40 

95 000 

70 

103000 

4 000 000 
3 750 000 
250 000 
6 000 000 
5 600 000 
200  000 
200  000 
10 000 000 

3 800 000 
1  700 000 

5 500  000 

7 200 000 
100 000 
200 000 
7 500 000 

ACTION 4 - LINGUA 

Miscellaneous  activities 
innovations,  awareness-raising 
measures, utilisation and  networking 
of resource centres etc. 

ACTION 5 - ATLAS 

49 

Action 6.1 - Observation 
Transnational activities 

Eurydice 
Arion 
Networking  of  centres  specialising  in  the 
analysis of educational systems 
Naric 
Action 6.2 - New innovative initiatives 
Total 

ACTION 6 - OBSERVATION AND INNOVATION 

comparative  analyses,  study  visits, 
conferences,  exchanges  of  experts, 
pilot projects 
European Unit and national units 

22 

90 000 

1 380 

1 100 

15 

20 000 

8 000 000 
1 980 000 

-  . 

4 100 000 
1 520 000 
100 000 

300 000 
3 000 000 
11000 000 

50 

Actions 
Joint  projects  Education  -  Training  -
Youth 
European knowledge  centres 
Total 

ACTION 7 - JOINT  ACTIONS 

Number 

Average  amounts 

Total 

ACTION 8 - ACCOMPANYING  MEASURES 

150 

40 

15 

15 

12 500 

1 900 000 

30 000 

1 200  000 

80 000 

100 000 

1 500 000 
1 200 000 
5 700 000 
1 500 000 
13 000 000 

Awareness-relating  activities  and  support  for 
associations and NGOs 
Dissemination  and exploitation  of results 
on 
Dissemination 
programme 

information 

the 

of 

Technical  assistance 
Integrated national  structures 
Total 

- Community  level 
- Member  States 

51 

7.2.  Breakdown by Action elements (in million ECU) 

ACTION 

2000 

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

TOTAL 

ACTION 1 

School education  (Comenius) 

Action  1.1: 

School  partnerships 

Action  1.2: 

Education  staff 

ACTION 2 

Higher education  (Erasmus) 

Action  2.1: 

European university  cooperation 

Action 2.2: 

Student and teacher  mobility 

ACTION 3 

Other educational  pathways 

Action 3.1: 

New educational  approaches 

Action 3.2: 

Adult  education 

ACTION 4 

Language learning (Lingua) 

ACTION 5 

Education and multimedia  (Atlas) 

ACTION 6 

Observation and  innovation 

Action  6.1 

Observation 

Action  6.2 

Innovation 

ACTION7 

Joint Actions 

ACTION 8 

Accompanying  measures 

Total 

75 

50 

25 

139 

33 

106 

14 

6 

8 

6.5 

8.5 

15 

11 

4 

17 

275 

86 

60 

26 

158 

44 

114 

15 

7 

8 

9 

10 

17 

12 

5 

20 

315 

90 

62 

28 

170 

45 

125 

17 

8 

9 

10 

11 

17 

12 

5 

20 

335 

379 

258 

121 

713 

172 

541 

68 

30 

38 

37 

45 

73 

53 

20 

85 

1400 

60 

40 

20 

118 

24 

94 

10 

4 

6 

5.5 

7.5 

11 

8 

3 

13 

225 

68 

46 

22 

128 

26 

102 

12 

5 

7 

6 

8 

13 

10 

3 

15 

250 

52 

7.3.  Schedule of commitment appropriations/payment  appropriations 

Overall  budget  for  the  full  duration  of  the  second  phase  of  the  programme 
(principal reference): ECU  1  400 million. 

Period of application: 2000-2004 (in million ECU) 

2000 

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

225.0 

250.0 

275.0 

315.0 

335.0 

Total 

1 400.0 

CA 

in million ECU 

198.8 

26.2 

220.4 

29.6 

241.2 

33.8 

274.8 

40.2 

293.0 

42.0 

198.8 

246.6 

270.8 

308.6 

333.2 

42.0 

225.0 

250.0 

275.0 

315.0 

335.0 

1 400.0 

Commitment 
appropriations 

Payment 
appropriations 

2000 

2001 

2002 

2003. 

2004 

2005 

Total 

8.  FRAUD PREVENTION MEASURES 

All  contracts,  agreements  and  legal  undertakings  entered  into  by  the  Commission 
and the beneficiaries  provide for first-degree and second-degree in situ checks to be 
carried out (i.e. on the premises of the direct beneficiary of a Community grant or on 
the  premises  of  the  second-degree  beneficiary,  where  an  activity  is  managed 
decentrally) by the Commission and the Court of Auditors, and bestow the power to 
require  evidence  of  any  expenditure  made  under  such  contracts,  agreements  and 
legal  undertakings  for  a  period  of  five  years  following  the  end  of  the  contractual 
period.  Beneficiaries  are  subject  to  reporting  and  financial  accounting  obligations, 
and  these  are  analysed  from  the  point  of  view  of  content  and  eligibility  of 
expenditure,  bearing  in  mind  the  purpose  of  the  Community  funding,  and  taking 
account  of  contractual  obligations  and  of  the  principles  of  economy  and  sound 
financial management. 

Appended  to. the  financial  agreements  is  information  of  an  administrative  and 
financial  nature, designed to specify  the kind of expenditure which is eligible under 
such agreements. Where appropriate, Community coverage of certain cost  elements 
will  be  limited  to  items  which  are  real,  identifiable  and  verifiable  in  the 
beneficiary's  book-keeping  arrangements,  so  as  to  facilitate  checking  and  auditing 
(and evaluation for selection purposes) of projects in receipt of funding. 

Agreements entered  into between the Commission and the designated  organisations 
for  managing  decentralised  activities  specify  the  minimum  clauses  which  such 
organisations  must  insert  into  agreements  with  the  end  beneficiaries,  so  as  to 
provide the greatest possible protection of the interests both of the end  beneficiaries 

53 

and of the Community. These organisations  are invited  to  formulate  and apply an 
audit policy vis-à-vis the end beneficiaries. 

9.  MONITORING AND EVALUATION 

9.1.  Monitoring 

Ongoing programme monitoring is based on the information available directly 
to  the  Commission  (i.e. data  from  the projects  receiving  support  under  the 
centralised  actions)  and  on  the  information  submitted  by  the  national 
structures  (for  decentralised  actions).  The  beneficiaries  and  the  national 
management  structures  are  required  to  submit  annual  final  activity  and 
financial  reports  and,  where  appropriate,  interim  reports.  In  addition,  the 
Commission  regularly  convenes  monitoring  meetings  with  the  national 
structures and with the project coordinators. With a view to strengthening the 
monitoring  arrangements  and  facilitating  the  flow  of  information  and 
feedback  on the various parts of the programme, and especially those which 
are  managed  decentrally,  new  computerised  tools  have  been  developed: 
SocLink,  which  facilitates  unified  gathering  and  coding  of  data  and 
information  on  projects  throughout  the  Member  States,  and  Network for 
Education, Training and  Youth  (NETY), a  network  designed  to  improve 
communication between the national management structures, the Commission 
and the technical assistance office. 

9.2.  Selected performance indicators 

For purposes of illustration, the performance  indicators may include some of 
those  set  out  below.  The  data required  for  using  the  quantitative  indicators 
will  be  gathered  regularly  by  way  of  the  application  forms  and  from  the 
interim and financial reports  submitted  by the beneficiaries  and  the national 
management structures (see 9.1). 

9.2.1.  Output indicators 

9.2.1.1.  Quantitative indicators 

Action 1.1: 

- 

number of partnerships  and schools participating in 
the school partnership arrangements 

number  and  categories  of  persons  taking  part  in 
exchanges, traineeships and study visits 

Action 1.2: 

- 

number 
of 
organisations 

partnerships 

and 

participating 

number of persons on traineeships and courses 

Action 2.1: 

- 

number of faculties, students and teachers involved 

number  of  curricula,  products  and 
programmes organised 

intensive 

54 

number  of  universities  and  departments  using  the 
ECTS system 

Action 2.2 

number  of  student  grant-holders  and  students  on 
Erasmus mobility without a grant 

Action 3.1: 

Action 3.2: 

Action 4: 

Action 5: 

Action 6: 

average amount of the student grant 

number  and  average  amount  of  support  allocated  to 
mobility teachers 

number of new educational approaches developed 

number  of  projects,  participating  organisations  and 
results generated 

number  of  projects,  participating  organisations  and 
products developed 

number of networked resource centres 

number  of  projects,  participating  organisations  and 
results generated 

number  of  projects  run  and  products  generated  on 
education policy priority themes 

number  of  establishments  participating 
European network of analysis centres 

in 

the 

number of beneficiaries  of Arion study visits 

number 
Eurydice network 

of 

products 

arising 

from 

the 

number  of  cases  of  academic  recognition  facilitated 
by the Naric network 

number  of  targeted  innovation  projects,  number 
of participating  organisations 
and  number  of 
results generated 

Action 7: 

number  of  projects  and  participating  organisations 
from the education sector and results generated 

number  of European  centres  created  and  number  of 
participating educational  organisations 

Action 8: 

number  of  educational  associations 
of support 

in  receipt 

number of other awareness-raising activities run 

55 

scale of dissemination  activities 

9.2.1.2.  Qualitative indicators 

Action 1.1: 

nature  and  quality  of  results  emanating 
European partnerships 

from 

nature and relevance of mobility  activities 

Action 1.2: 

quality  and  relevance  of  results  generated  by 
partnerships 

Action 2.1. 

level of satisfaction  of establishments 

degree  of  penetration  of  European  cooperation  in 
the establishment 

quality  and  relevance  of  intensive  programmes, 
modules and curricula 

quality of ECTS arrangements 

Action 2.2: 

level  of  satisfaction  of  participating 
and teachers 

students 

Action 3.1. 

Action 3.2: 

Action 4: 

degree  of 
host establishment 

integration 

of 

teachers 

in 

the 

quality and relevance of new educational  approaches 
in receipt of support 

quality  and  relevance  of results  emanating  from  the 
projects 

quality  and  relevance  of  products  developed  by 
the projects 

nature  and 
resource centres 

intensity  of  cooperation  between 

Action 5: 

quality and relevance of results of projects 

Action 6.1: 

quality  and  relevance  of  activities 
of support 

in  receipt 

relevance  and validity  of data and  analyses  supplied 
by Eurydice 

relevance  of themes and  quality  of dissemination  of 
the results of Arion visits 

Action 6.2: 

quality and relevance of the results of projects 

56 

Action 7: 

- 

quality and relevance of the results of projects 

quality  and relevance  of  activities  of  the  European 
knowledge centres 

Action 8: 

- 

relevance  and  scale  of  information  and  awareness-
raising activities 

effectiveness 
of 
national structures 

relevance 
by associations 

and 

activities 

run 

by 

the 

quality 

of 

activities 

run 

effectiveness  of dissemination activities 

Indicators affecting all actions 

-  consideration of the needs of disabled teachers and learners 

-  consideration of the principle of equal opportunities for women and men 

-  degree of satisfaction with the implementation of actions 

-  degree of satisfaction with amounts granted 

9.2.2. 

Impact indicators 

Action 1.1:- 

changes  within  schools  (European  dimension 
curriculum and in school  life) 

in  the 

enhancement of skills and motivation to learn a language 

enhancement  of  educational  supply  to  the  children  of 
migrant and itinerant workers, Gypsies and Travellers 

Action 1.2:  - 

enhancement of skills of school education staff 

integration of training schemes  in receipt of  support in the 
national system 

Action 2.1:  - 

enhancement  of  the  quality  of  teaching  resulting  from 
institutional contracts 

availability and quality of services offered by institutions 

Action 2.2:  - 

imputable  to  student  mobility  (e.g.  academic 

effects 
aspects, employability) 

the  quality  of 

teaching  due 

to 

enhancement  of 
teacher mobility 

57 

Action 3.1:  - 

degree 
of 
educational approaches 

real 

or 

foreseeable 

use 

of 

new 

Action 3.2: - 

enhancement  of  the  quality  and  strengthening  of  the 
European dimension in adult education 

Action 4: 

- 

impact  on 
the 
language learning 

innovation  and  diversification  of 

Action 5: 

- 

diversified  use  of  approaches  based  on  open  and 
distance learning 

consideration of pedagogical needs in the multimedia 

teacher awareness of the new technologies 

recognition of qualifications  obtained by open and distance 
learning 

Action 6:  - 

use  of 
arrangements in the evolution of educational systems 

information  and  experience  exchange 

the 

enhancement  of  academic 
Naric network 

recognition  due 

to 

the 

use of the results of targeted innovation projects 

Action 7:  - 

use  of  the  results  of  projects  to  strengthen  cooperation 
between education, vocational training and the youth sector 

enhanced 
training  and  youth  under 
European centres 

interactivity  between  education,  vocational 
the 
the 

influence  of 

Action 8: 

- 

interest  shown  by 
European cooperation 

the  educational  community 

in 

use  of  the  results  of  the  programme  attributable  to 
dissemination measures 

performance of the integrated management structures 

enhancement of activities run by associations 

9.3.  Selected spin-off and multiplier effects expected 

Over and above its primary objectives, the programme  is of relevance to the 
process  of  enlargement  of  the  European  Union  to  take  in  the  new 
applicant countries. 

58 

By encouraging  educational  establishments  to  adopt  strategies,  administrative 
structures  and  staff  trained  in  transnational  cooperation,  the  programme 
fosters  the development  of external  cooperation  on the part of the  Community 
in general. 

9.4.  Main  factors  of  uncertainty  whicn  could  affect  the  specific  results  of 

the action 

Given the subsidiarity background  to the programme,  it will -  if it is to attain 
its  objectives  fully  -  need  to  receive  substantial  support  from  points  outside 
the jurisdiction of the Community instances, in terms  of: 

-  co-financing  by  Member  States'  public  and  private 

instances.  The 
economic situation will therefore  have an effect  on the way the programme 
is put into  effect; 

- 

the need  on the part of players in the programme to operate  in a propitious 
administrative  and judicial  environment.  The  competent  authorities  in  the 
Member  States  are  called  upon  to  take  the  necessary  measures  in  this 
regard, pursuant to the principles set out in the Decision. 

9.5.  Evaluation  arrangements 

Pursuant to Article  12 of the Decision, the Commission will regularly monitor 
the programme  in cooperation with the Member  States with a view to  making 
changes where necessary. 

The  interim  evaluation  will  be based  on  contributions  to  be  submitted  by the 
Member  States  by  31  December  2002,  and  on  an  external  evaluation.  It  will 
examine  the  initial  results,  the  relevance  of  the  objectives,  and  the  initial 
impact, as well as taking a look at the equal opportunities  aspect. It will take a 
look  at  how 
its 
complementarity  with  other  Community  action.  On  the  basis  of  the  Member 
States'  contributions  and  the  external  evaluation,  the  Commission  will  draw 
up an interim evaluation report by 30 June 2003 and -  along similar lines -  an 
ex-post evaluation report by 31 December 2005. 

the  programme  has  been  put 

into  effect  and  at 

The  Commission  is  required  to  present  to  the  European  Parliament,  the 
Council,  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of 
the Regions: 

-  by  30  June  2003:  the  interim  evaluation  report  on  the  implementation  of 

the present programme; 

-  by 31 December 2005: the ex-post evaluation report. 

59 

1 0. 

A D M I N I S T R A T I VE  E X P E N D I T U RE 

The  real  allocation  of  the  administrative  resources  needed  will  depend  on  the 
Commission's  annual  decision  on  the  allocation  of  resources,  considering  in 
particular the additional staffing  and financial levels agreed by the budget authority. 

10.1.  Effect on the number of jobs . 

Type of job 

Staff to be allocated to 
management  functions 

permanent 
jobs 

Temporary 
jobs 

A 
B 
C 

17 
6 
10 

Officials  or 
temporary agents 

Other resources 
(DNE - A7003) 
Total 

Of which 

Duration 

by recourse to 
additional resources 

by making use of 
existing resources 
within the DG or 
department concerned 
18 
6 
10 
2 

1 

2 

36 

36 

2000-2004 

10.2.  Overall financial  impact of human resources 

Officials20 
Temporary agents 
Other resources (DNE - A7003) 
|  Total 

I 

Amount 

Method of calculation 

(ecus) 

17 820 000  108 000 x 33 man/years x 5 years 
540 000  108 000 x  1  man/year x 5 years 
370 000  2 DNE = 2 x 37 000 x 5 years 

18 730 000  | 

| 

20  By using existing resources allocated to management functions  (calculation based on A-l, A-2,  A-4, 

A-5 and A-7) - annual cost. 

60 

10.3.  Financial 
the action 

impact  of  other 

operational  expenditure  resulting  from 

Budget  heading  (Number  and 
title) 
A-7010  Mission expenses 

A-7030  Cost of meetings 

A-7031  Cost of meetings of 

committees whose 
consultation is mandatory 

Amount 

Method of calculation 

(ecus) 

975 000  15  Member  States  x  20  missions  x 
ECU  650/mission  =  ECU  195 OOOx 
5 years 
See 1  below 

2 583 750  (2  meetings  x  4  participants  x  15 
Member  States  x  ECU  650)  + 
(30 meetings  x  1.5  participants  x 
15 Member  States  x  ECU  650)  x 
5 years 
See 2 below 

341 250  3 + (2x2) meetings x  1 participant x 
15  Member  States  x  ECU  650  x 
5 years 
See 3 below 

1  Total 

1 

3 900 000  1 

The appropriations will be found  in DG XXII's existing financial  envelope. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Based  on  the  number  of  missions  considered  necessary  under  the  current 
programme  and  bearing  in  mind  the  fact  that  there  will  be  more  recourse  to 
decentralised  management  arrangements  requiring  more  in  situ  monitoring,  the 
theoretical  estimate  of  some  20  days missions  per  Member  State  per  year  would 
seem to constitute a minimum. 

Covering  the  following  expenses:  two  meetings  per  year  of  the  integrated 
management structures of the programme to cover horizontal  questions relating to 
all  the  aspects  of  the programme,  involving  four  participants  per  Member  State; 
thirty  or  so  meetings  per  year  (covering  the  eight  programme  Actions)  of  the 
integrated  management  structures  relating  to  specific  problems,  involving  one  or 
two participants per Member State. 

Covering  the  following  expenses:  three  meetings  per  year  of  the  programme 
committee, requiring one representative per Member  State; two meetings per year 
of  each  of 
representative  per 
Member State. 

two  sub-committees, 

involving  one 

the 

61 

SME IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

Impact of the proposal on the business community, with particular emphasis on small and 
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) 

TITLE OF THE PROPOSAL 

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision establishing the second phase 
of the Community education programme "Socrates" 

Document reference number 

xxx 

The proposal 

1. 

In  the  light  of  the  principle  of  subsidiarity, why  is  Community  legislation 
necessary in this field and what are its main objectives? 

The  proposal  for  a  Decision  presented  by  the  Commission  follows  on  from  the 
Commission's Communication "Towards a Europe of knowledge" (COM(97) 563 final), 
backed up by the provisions of Articles  126 and  127 of the Treaty aimed  at promoting 
European cooperation in the fields of education, youth and vocational training. It builds 
on  the  experience  gained  from  the  first  phase  of  the  programme,  as  specified  in  the 
Commission's  report  on the first two years of operation  (COM(97) 99 final). Through 
greater European-level cooperation between the different  parties involved in the field of 
education, the aim is to create a European  education  area fostering  the development  of 
lifelong learning. 

The creation of this European area, within which lifelong  education and training should 
flourish, entails: 

•  giving  European  citizens  access  to  the  entire  spectrum  of  Europe's  education 
resources, both formal and informal, in support of and as a complement to the policies 
pursued in the Member States; 

•  innovation  in these resources, through the development  of new approaches based on 

the pooling of experience in different countries; 

•  wide  dissemination  of  good  practice  in  education,  training  and  active  individual 

participation, and better mutual awareness of systems and arrangements. 

In  accordance  with  Article  126  of  the  Treaty,  the  Socrates  programme  supports  and 
supplements  the action taken  by and  within  the  Member  States, while  fully  respecting 
their responsibility for the content of teaching and organisation of education systems, and 
their cultural and linguistic diversity. 

62 

The  operational  dimension  of  the  proposal  (in  particular,  the  six  transnational  measures 
described  in  Article  3  and  in  the  Annex  to  the  Decision)  ties  in  with  the  relevant 
provisions  of  the  Treaty  and  with  the  implementing  powers  thereby  conferred  on  the 
Commission. 

The  programme  is  geared  chiefly  to  raising  the  quality  of  education  by  reinforcing  the 
European dimension of education at every level; promoting cooperation  in all sectors and 
at  every  level  in  the  field  of  education;  developing  exchanges  of  information  and 
experience, and  encouraging  innovation  in the field of education  within  the  Community. 
The  transnational  nature  of  the  programme,  clearly  brought  out  by  these  objectives, 
ensures  strong overall  added value as a result of the activity  at Community  level. All  the 
Actions forming  part of the programme are devised in such a way as to engender - mainly 
through  multilateral  cooperation,  transnational  mobility  and  European  networking  -
effects  which would not be achievable through  action taken  either by the Member  States 
on their own or on the basis of bilateral  cooperation. 

2. 

Who will be affected by the proposal? 

The Commission's proposal is aimed at a large number of target groups, with the primary 
focus  on  those  involved  chiefly  in  the  education  field.  In  line  with  the  conditions  and 
implementing procedures  set out in the Annex to the Decision, the programme  focuses  in 
particular on: 

a) 
b) 
c) 
d) 

all pupils, students and adult learners; 
all categories of teaching  staff; 
all types of educational  establishment; 
individuals  and  bodies  responsible  for  education  systems  and  policies  at 
local, regional and national level within the Member States. 

Participation in, or active association with, various actions of the programme is open also 
to public  or private  bodies  cooperating  with  educational  establishments  in pursuit  of  the 
programme's objectives, including: 

local and regional authorities; 

- 
-  associated  bodies  active 

in 

the  education 

field, 

including  parents' 

associations; 

-  enterprises, groups of enterprises, professional  organisations  and chambers  of 

commerce and industry; 

-  organisations representing the social partners at all levels; 
- 

research centres and bodies. 

From  the  business  point  of  view,  the  programme  makes  no  distinction  in  terms  of  a 
company's  size. SMEs are therefore  placed on the same footing  as large companies and -
in view of the nature of the programme's  actions (see below) - are expected to participate 
fully,  interacting  closely  with the  educational  establishments  in their  respective  regions. 
Such involvement on the part of SMEs will be all the more significant,  given the  strategic 
importance  of  the  European  education  area  in  conjunction  with  the  development  of  a 
coordinated  strategy  for  employment  (as decided  by  the  Luxembourg  European  Council 
in November  1997) and enterprise policy, with SMEs being the main players. 

63 

3. 

What measures  will  companies  be  required  to  take  in  order  to  comply  with  the 
proposal? 

Companies  and/or  professional  organisations  representing  them  at  different 
levels 
(including  European  level)  can  participate  in  various  actions  under  the  programme,  and 
their active involvement is welcomed. The main actions are as follows: 

-  school partnerships  (Action  1.1):  short-term  company placements  for  school  teachers, 
with  wide-ranging  contacts  between  schools  and  businesses  geared  to  familiarising 
teachers and pupils with the realities of the world of work in another Member State; 

-  cooperation  by  companies  within  higher-education  thematic  networks,  aimed  mainly 
at fostering  innovation and making departments and faculties  more aware of economic 
requirements (Action 2); 

- 

- 

involvement  of  companies  in  transnational  activities  to  develop  university  curricula, 
especially  in the  areas  characterised  by  lack  of  suitably  qualified  human  resources  in 
Europe (Action 2.1); 

trainee  placements  for  students,  insofar  as  such  placements  form  an  integral  part  of 
their  studies  and  are  conducted  in  cooperation  with  a  university  in  the  host  country 
(Action 2.2); 

-  participation  by companies  in projects  targeting  people who left  the education  system 

without adequate  basic qualifications  (Action 3.1); 

-  participation  by  companies  in  innovative  pilot  projects  supported  jointly  by  the 
Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci (vocational training ) and Youth programmes (Action 7); 

-  collaboration  between  companies  and the other partners within  "European  knowledge 
centres"  bringing  together  participants  in  the  three  programmes  (Socrates,  Leonardo 
da Vinci, Youth) at regional and local level (Action 7); 

-  participation, within various actions, by types of company themselves operating in the 
education  field,  such  as  publishing  houses  or  businesses  producing  educational 
software. 

SMEs  (and  their  representative  organisations)  will  feature  prominently  among  the 
companies thus participating  in the programme. 

The  actions  implemented  in  the  field  by  means  of  partnerships  will  greatly  encourage 
companies  to  comply  with  the  general  common  principles  of  quality  underlying  the 
programme,  as  regards  objectives  and  methods  of  implementation.  This  applies 
especially  to  the  procedures  for  educational  follow-up  and  supervision  of  trainees,  and 
evaluation of the products and methods deriving from the partnerships. 

64 

4. 

What economic effects is the proposal  likely to have? 

(a) 

on employment 

The  development  of  knowledge  and  skills  on  a  lifelong  basis,  and  in  particular  the 
capacity  to  operate  in  a European  context  (command  of  other  languages,  inter-cultural 
awareness, direct experience of other Member States, etc.), is highly likely to enhance the 
employability  of  the  people  concerned,  thus  supporting  the  Community  and  national 
measures  geared to  maintaining  and creating  employment,  with particular  emphasis  on 
the Community Guidelines and the National Action Plans. 

(b) 

on the competitiveness of businesses 

The  competitiveness  of  businesses  stems  as  much  from  the  knowledge  and  skills 
mobilised  by  workers  as from the  methods  of  work  organisation  and production.  Seen 
from  a longer-term perspective, the Socrates programme contributes appreciably towards 
improving  the quality  of  human resources,  thereby  fostering  innovation  and,  indirectly, 
the competitiveness of businesses and of the Community as a whole. 

5. 

Does  the proposal  contain measures to  take account of the specific  situation  of 
small and medium-sized enterprises (reduced or different requirements, etc.)? 

Not applicable (see para. 2 above). 

Consultation 

6. 

Organisations  which have  been  consulted  about  the proposal  and  summary  of 
their main viewpoints 

The  Commission's  Communication  "Towards  a Europe  of  knowledge" (see  above)  has 
been  discussed  within  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee.  The  social  partners  have 
been consulted at European level in regard to their experience with the first phase of the 
programme  and  their  wishes  for  the  second  phase.  They  have  stressed  the  importance 
which  they  attach  to  the  programme,  particularly  as  an  instrument  for  upgrading  the 
quality of human resources in terms of European skills. 

It  should  be  noted  that,  as  for  the  first  phase  of  the  programme,  the  proposal  for  a 
Decision  establishing  the  second  phase  of  Socrates  provides  for  compulsory  regular 
consultation of the social partners' representatives at Community level. 

65 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(98) 329 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

15  16 

Catalogue number  : CB-CO-98-363-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-36939-X 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

L-2985 Luxembourg 

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