WRITTEN QUESTION E-0490/01 by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Jean Monnet Chairs and Centres.
Date: 2001-02-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European integration, higher education, professional qualifications, teacher

C 318 E/62

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(8 May 2001)

Fifty-three schools in Lancashire and Cumbria received a postal questionnaire. The age range was

1.
from 11 to 18.

2.

3.

The reply rate for the postal questionnaire was 30 %.

The main areas covered in the questionnaire were:

(cid:129) What were the schools(cid:146) main sources of Union information?

(cid:129) How often were the sources used?

(cid:129) Were the schools charged?

Schools were asked to:

(cid:129) evaluate the sources in terms of media, access, cost, quality, relevance.

(cid:129) supply information on how they used and disseminated the information.

(cid:129) supply information on what Union information they required and in what formats/media.

At the end of the project a Project Report was produced. A summary of its conclusions was
4.
published on page 29 of a booklet entitled (cid:145)Rural information and promotion carrefours: At the very heart
of Europe(cid:146).

The contents of the questionnaire are as described in point 3. Individual responses have not been

5.
kept.

The budgets of the carrefours all differ. The subsidy from the Commission to the Lancashire Carrefour was
ECU 10 000 in 1997 when the project was completed; now it is € 15 000.

The purpose of
the carrefour is to provide information on the Community and its policies and
programmes to the public in rural areas; to encourage dialogue and cooperation between the various
parties active at regional level, and between the different regions of Europe; to participate in the debate on
the Union, and to provide feedback to the Commission on the impact of its activities.

One of the major points raised by schools concerned inserting Union awareness into the national
curriculum. However, the national curriculum is a matter for the British government.

The Central Bureau for International Education and Training (part of the British Council) coordinates the
provision of information on the Union to the education sector in the United Kingdom.

(2001/C 318 E/064)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0490/01

by Daniel Hannan (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 February 2001)

Subject: Jean Monnet Chairs and Centres

What are the criteria for establishing Jean Monnet Chairs and Centres?

Does the Commission review the nature of the material taught rather than simply assess the volume
bearing a European element? Does it assess the history of the staff in terms of their longstanding
commitment to teaching about Europe?

What is meant by (cid:145)European integration studies(cid:146) in this context?

Can the Commission provide me with a list of those Centres and Chairs in the United Kingdom and their
course curricula?

13.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 318 E/63

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(26 April 2001)

The same basic criteria apply to the setting up of Jean Monnet Chairs and Jean Monnet Centres of
1.
excellence: the scientific quality and excellence of the project proposed; the feasibility of the project at the
level of the university; the teaching content and activities dealing specifically and entirely with European
integration issues.

A Jean Monnet Chair corresponds to a full time teaching post entirely devoted to the teaching of European
integration. A Jean Monnet Centre of excellence is a framework or structure, provided with a visible label
(the title (cid:145)Jean Monnet(cid:146)), within which one or several universities may pool their scientific, human and
documentary resources relating to European integration issues.

2.
Concerning the assessment of the project by the Commission, it should be noted that the selection
procedure involves an independent academic body, the European University Council for the Jean Monnet
Project, which represents the rectors/vice-chancellors of universities and the professors specialised in
European integration matters.

This body, composed of nine members, advises the Commission through recommendations on each
proposed project. This body is also responsible afterwards for the academic follow-up of the Jean Monnet
projects.

At the time of the selection, and as already mentioned, two main criteria apply:

(cid:129) the scientific quality of the project, assessed for the Jean Monnet Chair on the basis of the proposed
teaching programme (which must be devoted entirely to European integration matters), the curriculum
vitae of the proposed titleholder together with his/her list of publications (both showing a rather
longstanding commitment to European integration teaching and researching);

(cid:129) the academic feasibility of the project at the level of the university, especially important regarding the
implementation of Jean Monnet Centres of excellence which must demonstrate an involvement of all
the teaching staff specialised in European integration issues, an effort of synergy and co-ordination
between the different disciplines, the proposal for new and original activities aimed at civil society,
regional involvement, etc.

The term (cid:145)European integration studies(cid:146) is taken to mean the study of the construction of Europe and
3.
its related institutional, legal, political, economic and social developments i.e. the study of the phenomenon
of the integration process as the subject of policies at the level of the European institutions and of the
repercussions at the European and/or national level.

The Jean Monnet targets disciplines in which Community developments are an increasingly important part
of the subject studied, i.e.:

(cid:129) Community law;

(cid:129) European economic integration;

(cid:129) European political integration;

(cid:129) history of the European construction process.

A list of the 13 Jean Monnet Centres of excellence awarded in the United Kingdom since 1998,
4.
together with the names of the professors in charge of co-ordinating these centres, and a list of the 102
Jean Monnet Chairs in United Kingdom, with the title of the Chair, discipline and specialisation of each
professor is also available on the Europa website at the following address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg10/
university/ajm.