WRITTEN QUESTION E-4050/00 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Support classes in Greek secondary schools.
Date: 2001-01-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Greece, backwardness at school, educational reform, higher education, operational programme

3.7.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 187 E/121

Directive 85/337/EEC, as amended, concerns projects. The aim of the Directive is to prevent the creation
of pollution or nuisances at source, rather than subsequently trying to counteract their effects. The
principle on which it is based is that development consent for public and private projects likely to have
significant effects on the environment should be granted only after prior assessment has been made of the
likely significant environmental effects of those projects. In contrast, the works the Honourable Member
refers to have been already carried out. They are no longer projects. In this specific case, an environmental
impact assessment (EIA) procedure is not justified under the EIA Directive because it would be useful only
in verifying the environmental impact but could in no way affect the development consent. Therefore, no
provision is found in Directive 85/337/EEC, as amended, to justify an obligation to carry out an EIA
procedure in respect of the works in question.

In addition, it should be stressed that the Directive applies to the classes of projects listed in Annexes I and
II to the Directive. On the basis of the information given by the Honourable Member, it is not possible to
assess whether the works in question fall into one of the classes listed in those annexes.

Should the said works fall within a proposed Site of Community Importance (pSCI) under Council
Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and
flora (4), or within a Special Protection Area (SPA) under Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on
the conservation of wild birds (5), the provisions of Article 6 of Directive 92/43/EEC could be considered
relevant.

With reference to pSCIs under Directive 92/43/EEC, Member States have certain obligations to act in such
a way as to ensure that the aims of the Directive are not jeopardised. Even in the absence of a Community
list, Member States(cid:146) authorities are therefore advised to at least abstain from all activities that may cause
a site on the national list to deteriorate.

With reference to SPAs, Member States are obliged to take appropriate steps to avoid, in the special areas
of conservation, the deterioration of natural habitats and the habitats of species as well as disturbance of
the species for which the areas have been designated, in so far as such disturbance could be significant in
relation to the objectives of the Directive. In addition, any plan or project likely to have a significant effect
on the area, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects, should have been subject to
appropriate assessment of its implications for the area.

However, on the basis of the information given, it is not possible to identify which and how many of the
works mentioned fall within pSCIs or SPAs; nor is it possible to assess whether and how the amnesty in
question can be considered a measure that may cause a deterioration of natural habitats or the habitats of
species or disturbance of the species for which the areas have been designated.

Therefore, due to a lack of grounds for complaint regarding the application of Community law, no breach
of that law can be identified at present. It should also be noted that the regional law in question is at this
stage only a proposal and, as such, cannot breach Community law.

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.
(2) OJ L 175, 5.7.1985.
(3) OJ L 73, 14.3.1997.
(4) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.
(5) OJ L 103, 25.4.1979.

(2001/C 187 E/128)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4050/00

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Support classes in Greek secondary schools

(9 January 2001)

The support classes offered in the last years of Greek secondary school comprise lessons outside school
in the manner of private educational establishments, aimed at combating school failure in the
hours,

C 187 E/122

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.7.2001

comprehensive system and enabling pupils both to continue and complete their studies. The project is
financed under Measure 1.2 Comprehensive School of Sub-programme 1, General and Technical Educa-
tion, under the Operational Programme. The programme, however, appears to be in decline in the light of
the number of pupils taking part and the take-up rate of funding, though there continues to be demand
from pupils, especially those from families on low incomes or from remote areas.

Is the Commission aware of the reasons which have led pupils to withdraw from the programme and

1.
what measures does it propose to make the programme more attractive and effective for pupils?

2.
Are there similar pupil support programmes to combat school failure in other Member States? If so,
what form do they take, who are the teachers involved and what is their relation to teachers in schools.
Does the Commission consider that this programme can also contribute to combating unemployment
among teachers?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(8 March 2001)

Within the framework of the operational programme (cid:145)Education and Initial Training(cid:146) of the Greek
Community Support Framework 1994-1999, the European Social Fund co-funded remedial courses for
students of lyceums (upper secondary education).

The courses were introduced on a pilot basis in March 1998 with a view to supporting educational reform
(i.e. the establishment of the Comprehensive Lyceum, progressive abolition of entrance examinations to
tertiary education) and reducing school failure and dropout rates. In the school years 1998-1999 and
1999-2000, the measure was extended to more subjects and more classes and students and also covered
technical and vocational education.

In the period under consideration and according to information provided by the Greek Ministry of
Education, the total number of students who benefited from the measure is estimated at 140 000, the
overall expenditure at € 23 million and the number of teachers involved at 23 000.

Concerning the attractiveness of the courses, it is estimated that in the school year 1999-2000 about 8 %
of students abandoned the remedial courses. The problem is concentrated mainly in large urban areas.
However, the number of participating students did not fall in insular and remote regions or in evening
schools.

The external evaluator of the operational programme and the scientific committee of the project have
assessed the implementation of the measure so far and have proposed a number of educational, managerial
and organisational improvements. These will be taken into account in the new programming period 2000-
2006. Furthermore, efforts will be made to better focus the new remedial courses so as to avoid school
failure and reduce dropout rates,
in particular in disadvantaged regions. To this end, the Ministry of
Education envisages the development of special educational material, better teacher training and better use
of the new network technologies. The Ministry believes that these measures will make the remedial courses
more attractive to students as well as more efficient.

The measures applied in other Member States to fight school failure (cid:129) as well as the particularities of their
education systems (cid:129) differ from Member State to Member State and they are not easily comparable. In any
case, in the framework of its partnership work with Member States, the Commission will encourage Greece
to consider existing international experience and best practices.