CELEX: 51985PC0756
Language: en
Date: 1985-12-20
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION ADOPTING ERASMUS: THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY ACTION SCHEME FOR THE MOBILITY OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

No C 73/4                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                                    2.4.86
                                                  COMMISSION
               Proposal for a Council Decision adopting the European Community Action Scheme for the
                                           Mobility of University Students (Erasmus)
                                                       COM(85) 756 final
                                (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 3 January 1986)
                                                          (86/C 73/04)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            Whereas the Council and Ministers of Education
                                                                    meeting within the Council of 2 June 1983 (3) adopted
                                                                    conclusions concerning the promotion of mobility in
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European               higher education which already comprise first initiatives
Economic Community, and in particular Article 128                   for action in fields such as funding for study abroad
thereof,                                                            within the Community, academic recognition of
                                                                    diplomas and of periods of study, and development of
Having regard to Council Decision 63/266/EEC of 2                   university cooperation;
April 1963 laying down general principles for
implementing a common vocational training policy ('),               Whereas the Council and Ministers of Education
                                                                    meeting within the Council on 3 June 1985 (4) confirmed
                                                                    the importance which they attached to promoting an
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                  intensification of inter-university cooperation in the
                                                                    Community           and        noted           with     satisfaction     the
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-                   Commission's intention to submit proposals in this
liament,                                                            regard before the end of 1985;
                                                                    Whereas measures have been adopted with a view to
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                    strengthening technological cooperation at Community
Social Committee,                                                   level and providing the necessary human resources for
                                                                    this purpose, notably through the action programme of
Whereas the fundamental objectives of the common                    the Community in Education and Training for
vocational training policy set down in the second                   Technology — 'Comett' ( 5 );
principle of Decision 63/266/EEC refer in particular to
possibilities for a citizen to receive the highest possible         Whereas the European Parliament on 13 March 1984
level of vocational training which is necessary for his             adopted a Resolution on higher education and the
professional activity and refer also to broadening                  development of cooperation between higher education
vocational training to meet requirements arising from               establishments ( 6 );
technical progress relating closely the different forms of
vocational training to social and economic developments;
                                                                    Whereas the European Parliament on 14 March 1984
                                                                    adopted a Resolution on the academic recognition of
Whereas on the basis of the sixth principle of that                 diplomas and of periods of study (7);
Decision it is the Commission's responsibility to
encourage direct exchanges of vocational training                   Whereas the European Council at its meeting of 28/29
specialists in order to enable them to acquaint themselves          June 1985 (8) adopted the report of the ad hoc
with and study the achievements and new developments                Committee on a People's Europe (9) and mandated the
in the other countries of the Community;                            Commission and the Council, acting within their
                                                                    respective powers, to ensure the implementation of the
                                                                    proposals contained therein;
Whereas the action programme in the field of education
contained in the Resolution of the Council and Ministers
of Education meeting within the Council of 9 February
1976 (2) enabled the Commission to implement initial                ;3) Council D o c u m e n t 7 5 3 3 / 8 3 ( E D U C 57).
measures for the promotion of university cooperation in             M
                                                                      ) Council D o c u m e n t 7179/85 ( P V / C O N S E D U C 35) and
the Community;                                                          Council D o c u m e n t 6 8 5 9 / 8 5 E D U C 29.
                                                                    ;5) C O M ( 8 5 ) 431 final.
                                                                    ;6) O J N o C 104, 16. 4. 1984, p. 50.
                                                                    7) O J N o C 104, 16. 4. 1984, p. 64.
O OJ No 63, 20. 4. 1963, p. 1338/63.                                ;8) SI(85) 500.
O O J N o C 38, 19. 2. 1976, p. 1.                                  ;9) SN/2536/3/85.
 ---pagebreak--- 2.4. 86                                Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 73/5
Whereas the Commission, in following up the People's                                         Article 2
Europe initiative of the European Council, has attached
the highest priority to university cooperation;                   In the context of Erasmus, the term 'university' shall be
                                                                  used in its general sense to indicate all types of post-
Whereas in following up the European Council meeting              secondary education and training establishments which
in June 1984 the Commission has drawn up a proposal               offer, where appropriate within the framework of
for a Council Directive on a general system for the               advanced training, qualifications or diplomas of that
recognition of higher education diplomas for pro-                 level, whatever such establishments may be called in the
fessional activities which is directly linked to the              Member States.
vocational training periods that precede professional
activities (');
                                                                                             Article 3
Whereas the further development of the European
Community depends to a large extent on its being able             The objectives of Erasmus shall be as follows:
to draw on a high number of graduates who have had
direct experience of studying and living in another
Member State;
                                                                    (i) to promote broad and intensive cooperation
                                                                        between universities in all Member States of the
Whereas the competitiveness of the Community in world                   Community;
markets depends on ensuring that the entire intellectual
resources of the universities in all Member States are
harnessed to provide top quality levels of training for the
mutual benefit of the Community as a whole;                        (ii) to enable an increasing number of students —
                                                                        reaching a minimum of 10 % of the total student
                                                                        population by 1992 — to acquire initial training by
Whereas the intellectual potential of the individual
                                                                        spending an integrated period of study in another
universities throughout the Community could be much
                                                                        Member State, in order that the Community may
more effectively exploited by providing a network for
                                                                        draw upon an adequate pool of manpower with
increasing student and university teacher mobility and
                                                                        first-hand experience of economic and social aspects
other forms of inter-university cooperation throughout
the Community;                                                          of other Member States, while ensuring equality of
                                                                        opportunity for male and female students as regards
                                                                        participation in such mobility;
Whereas the Conference on Higher Education
Cooperation in the European Community, convened by
the Commission at the initiative of the European Par-
liament on 27-29 November 1985, called for urgent and             (iii) to harness the full intellectual potential of the
comprehensive action to boost support for university                    universities in the Community by means of an
cooperation and in particular the mobility of students in               increased mobility of university teaching staff,
the Community;                                                          thereby improving the quality of the education and
                                                                        training provided by the universities in the
                                                                        Community with a view to securing the
Whereas the 10 years of pilot Community funding have
                                                                        competitiveness of the Community in the world
generated a significant body of relevant experience in the
                                                                        market;
field of practical cooperation between universities,
thereby providing the basis for the measures set out in
this Decision;
                                                                  (iv) to strengthen the interaction between citizens in
Whereas the commitment entered into at Community                        different    Member States with a view to
level as regards the stimulation of student mobility also               consolidating the concept of a People's Europe;
involves the Member States, who are called upon to
make their contribution to the effort which is necessary
for the objectives of Erasmus to be fulfilled,                     (v) to ensure the development of a pool of graduates
                                                                        with     direct   experience    of intra-Community
                                                                        cooperation, thereby creating the basis upon which
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:                                              intensified cooperation in the economic and social
                                                                        sectors can develop at Community level.
                          Article 1
The European Community Action Scheme for the
Mobility of University Students (Erasmus) is hereby                                          Article 4
adopted, as set out in the Annex. It shall be implemented
from 1 January 1987.                                              In order to achieve the objectives set out in Article 3,
                                                                  Community support currently estimated at 175 million
                                                                  ECU shall be provided during the period 1987-1989. The
                                                                  current estimate of the amount needed in 1987 is 25
(') COM(85) 355 final.                                            million ECU.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 73/6                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                     2.4.86
                          Article 5                                     4.    In seeking the committee's views, the Commission
                                                                        may specify the deadlines by which these views shall be
1.    The Commission shall implement the                Erasmus         submitted.
Programme in accordance with the Annex.
                                                                        5.    An annual report on the functioning of the Erasmus
2.    In performing this task, the Commission shall be                  programme shall be submitted by the Commission to the
assisted by a committee. The committee shall be                         Council, the European Parliament, the Advisory
composed of two representatives per Member State, at                    Committee on Vocational Training and the Education
least one of whom shall be drawn from the academic                      Committee.
community; the members of the committee shall be
nominated by the Commission on the basis of proposals                   6.    The Commission shall ensure coherence between
from the Member State concerned; the committee shall                    the Erasmus programme and the other actions already
be chaired by a representative of the Commission. The                   scheduled at Community level.
secretariat of the committee shall be provided by the
Commission.
                                                                                                   Article 6
3.    The Commission may consult the committee on all                   Erasmus shall be implemented on a permanent basis,
questions concerning the implementation of the                          subject to periodic review. A report on the progress
programme, The Commission shall consult the                             achieved during the first three years (1987-1989) shall be
committee on:                                                           submitted by the Commission to the Council and to the
— the general approach concerning               the    measures         European Parliament not later than 31 December 1990.
    provided for by the programme,
                                                                                                   Article 7
— questions of general balance between the various
    types of actions.                                                   This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
                                                                ANNEX
                                                        To draft Council Decision
             Actions to be undertaken in the Framework of the European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility
                                                    of University Students (Erasmus)
             The purpose of Erasmus is to stimulate greater mobility of students between universities in the Community.
             The measures to be introduced to this end will be as follows:
             Action 1:     Mobility Support for individual Students: the European Community Student Grants Scheme
                           and Intensive Teaching Programmes
                           The Community will introduce a scheme for the direct financial support of students
                           acquiring initial training by carrying out a period of study in another Member State,
                           comprising provision for two types of such support:
                           — Partial EC Grants of on average 2 000 ECU to cover all the costs of mobility (5 000
                               partial grants will be provided in 1987, 10 000 in 1988 and 25 000 in 1989);
                           — Full EC Grants: a limited number of such grants, of an average 5 000 ECU, will be
                               provided (500 awards in 1987, 1 000 in 1988 and 2 500 in 1989).
                           Both types of Community grants will be administered through appropriate authorities in the
                           Member States, each of them being assigned quantitative objectives proportional to the total
                           student population in the Member State concerned.
                           Grants of 20 000 ECU will be awarded to universities organizing intensive teaching
                           programmes of short duration, involving students from several EC countries.
             Action 2:     Establishment and Operation of a European University Network
                           The Community will introduce a network for university cooperation designed to stimulate
                           Community-wide exchanges of students, notably through the medium of Inter-University
                           Student Exchange Programmes. Priority will be given to programmes involving an integrated
                           and fully recognized period of study in another Member State. The participating universities
                           will be provided with grants of 10 000 ECU per year.
 ---pagebreak--- 2 . 4 . 86                              Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s           No C 73/7
           Action 3:   Measures to improve Academic Recognition of Diplomas and Periods of Study
                       The Community will undertake the following actions in order to improve arrangements
                       whereby academic recognition is provided for initial training acquired by means of study in
                       another Member State:
           Action 3.1: the creation of the European Community Course Credit Transfer System (ECTS) in order to
                       provide a means by which students undergoing or having completed initial training may
                       receive credit for such training carried out at universities in other Member States. Grants of
                       20 000 ECU per year will be awarded to the universities participating in the System;
           Action 3.2: further development of the European Community Network of National Academic Recognition
                       Information Centres; grants of 20 000 ECU per year will be awarded to the Centres to faci-
                       litate exchange of information, in particular by means of a computerized system for data
                       exchange;
           Action 3.3: measures to promote joint curriculum development between universities in different Member
                       States as a means of facilitating academic recognition and of contributing by means of an
                       exchange of experience and expertise to the process of innovation and improvement of
                       courses on an EC-wide basis. Grants of on average 20 000 ECU per year will be awarded to
                       each project involved.
           Action 4:   Complementary Measures to promote Student Mobility in the Community
           Action 4.1:  Contacts between University Teachers .in order to increase student mobility while maintaining
                       the highest academic standards, measures will be introduced to promote a greater mobility of
                       university teaching staff throughout the Community. In particular, support will be provided
                       for:
                       — University Teacher Exchange Programmes: priority will be given to programmes involving
                            a substantial and integrated input into courses at the host institution;
                       — European Community Travelling Scholars Programme: top level experts will conduct a
                            series of specialized lectures in several different Member States.
           Action 4.2:  Information Policy: to provide informational support for Erasmus and to increase mutual
                        awareness of university systems in the Community, Erasmus will support:
                       — Study Visit Grants to enable teaching staff and university administrators to acquaint
                            themselves more thoroughly with the current situation and future trends in other Member
                            States in their area of expertise;
                       — Support for University Associations, in particular with a view to making innovative
                            initiatives in specific fields better known through the Community;
                       — Publications designed to enhance awareness of study and teaching opportunities
                            elsewhere in the Community, to draw attention to important developments and
                            innovative models for university cooperation throughout the European Community;
                       — Erasmus Prizes to be awarded to students and staff members who have made an out-
                            standing contribution to the development of inter-university cooperation within the
                            Community.