WRITTEN QUESTION P-1441/02 by James Fitzsimons (UEN) to the Commission. 'Europass' beneficiaries.
Date: 2002-05-15
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU initiative, action programme, activity report, apprenticeship, statistics, vocational training

C 229 E/214

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

26.9.2002

In April 2001, following regular and common procedures, the organisers were informed of the failure of
their applications.

The ‘European Student Council’ that would be elected by this project will not receive any form of
recognition by the Commission.

In the Higher Education sector, the Commission intends to continue its dialogue with student associations
which are members of the ‘European Liaison Group’, presently composed by the European Student
Information Bureau (ESIB), l’Association des Etats généraux des étudiants de l’Europe (AEGEE) and the
Erasmus Student Network (ESN). For questions linked to the youth policies in general, the Commission
cooperates with the ‘European Youth Forum’, a platform gathering several European and national
associations.

(2002/C 229 E/246)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1441/02

by James Fitzsimons (UEN) to the Commission

(15 May 2002)

Subject:

’Europass’ beneficiaries

The Commission has just announced that 20 000 ‘Europasses’ for training purposes have been allocated
since the initiative came into operation in 2000.

Will the Commission provide a break-down by nationality of this scheme and the type of courses
followed?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(10 June 2002)

The Commission thanks the Honourable Member for his interest in the ‘Europass Training’
initiative,
which was established by Decision 1999/51/EC of the Council of 21 December 1998 on the promotion of
including apprenticeship (1). The specific objective of the
European pathways in work-linked training,
Decision is to encourage periods of vocational training in other Member States and contribute to their
quality.

The Commission has adopted on 2 May 2002 and submitted to the Parliament and the Council its report
on the implementation of the Decision (2).

This report, which is required by Article 9 of the Decision 1999/51/EC, offers a picture of the first two
years of implementation. In particular, it contains information on the dissemination of ‘Europass-Training’
documents, including a break-down per country.

Table 3 of the Report (page 14) shows the break-down per country of origin (Union + European Economic
Area countries) of European pathways recorded by ‘Europass Training’ documents of November 2001:

Belgium

Denmark (1)

Germany

Greece

Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

332

1 300

9 614

450

(2)

2 698

54

602

100

26.9.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 229 E/215

Netherlands

Austria

Portugal

Finland

Sweden

United Kingdom

Liechtenstein

Iceland

Norway

EUR-18

275

980

54

500

409

1 868

11

13

42

19 302

(1) Number of documents requested by training bodies.
(2) Not available.

As concerning the type of course, about three quarters of ‘Europass Training’ holders were in education or
training at secondary or upper secondary level; lower and higher levels of education each account for
10-15 % of the cases.

Further findings include the following:

H the duration of the traineeships abroad varied between 3 and 15 weeks;

H a slight majority of ‘Europass Training’ holders were women (about 55 %);

H a strong majority of ‘Europass Training’ holders were between 17 and 23 years old.

A substantial number of European pathways come under the ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ programme, though the
proportion varies considerably from one country to another (30 to 100 %). In some countries bilateral or
national initiatives account for up to 50 % of the European pathways.

(1) The Decision was adopted on 21 December 1998, OJ L 17, 22.1.1999, it entered into force on 1 January 2000.
(2) Report from the Commission to the Parliament and the Council: ‘Report on the implementation of the Decision
1999/51/EC of the Council of 21 December 1998 on the promotion of European pathways in work-linked training,
including apprenticeship’, COM(2002) 214 final.

(2002/C 229 E/247)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1462/02

by Hans Karlsson (PSE) to the Commission

(22 May 2002)

Subject: Interpretation of directives on motorcycles

Problems have arisen in Sweden with the interpretation of directives concerning motorcycles, e.g. 92/61 (1)
and 97/24 (2).

It is reasonable for anyone buying a motorcycle to be able to make certain modifications provided they
have no adverse effect on safety or environmental features. Such changes may be made in order to adjust
the motorcycle to the person’s height, or be a matter of personal
taste concerning characteristics,
appearance and equipment.

In Sweden, the National Road Administration has issued instructions to the effect that vehicles must always
comply 100 % with the requirements of the directives concerned. Directive 97/24, on the other hand,
states that restrictions must be limited to ‘tampering which significantly modifies the vehicle’s performance
and pollutant and noise emissions’. The Swedish Motor Vehicle Inspection Company has also devised its
own interpretation. A letter to its inspection stations states that, in practice, the directives mean that it is
virtually impossible for an individual to make any substantial modifications to a vehicle and subsequently
demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the directives.