CELEX: 51992PC0407
Language: en
Date: 1992-10-01
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION adopting the second phase of the Trans-European Cooperation Scheme for Higher Education (Tempus II) (1994-1998)

27 . 11 . 92                                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 311 / 1
                                                                         II
                                                               (Preparatory Acts)
                                                          COMMISSION
                Proposal for a Council Decision adopting the second phase of the Trans-European Cooperation
                                          Scheme for Higher Education (Tempus II) ( 1994-1998 )
                                                                ( 92 / C 311 / 01 )
                                                             COM (92) 407 final
                                             (submitted by the Commission on 1 October 1992)
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                                   context of aid measures for their current process of
                                                                             economic and social reform and have accorded priority to
                                                                            the development of the university sector through
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                       cooperation with the European Community;
 Community , and in particular Article 235 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,                         Whereas Poland , Hungary and Czechoslovakia have signed
                                                                            association agreements (3 ) with the Community which
Having regard to            the    opinion      of the European             specify that the Tempus Scheme provides a framework for
Parliament,                                                                 cooperation in the field of education and training;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee,                                                                  Whereas cooperation in higher education is conducive to
                                                                            closer economic and cultural relations between the different
                                                                            peoples of Europe ;
Whereas the Council adopted on 18 December 1989
Regulation ( EEC ) No 3906 / 89 ( J ) on economic aid to the
Republic of Hungary and the Polish People's Republic, as
last amended by ( EEC ) No 3800 / 91 of 23 December                         Whereas the experience and expertise gained within the
1991 ( 2), which provides for aid to support the process of                 Community in the areas particularly of inter-university
economic      and   social    reform     in   central  and   eastern        cooperation and student exchange as well as of
European countries in areas including training ;                            industry-university cooperation have been drawn on to
                                                                            develop cooperation and mobility between the Community
                                                                            and the countries of central and eastern Europe in the field
Whereas experience gained in the management of the Phare                    of higher education as well as to promote mutually
programme of aid to central and eastern Europe points to                    beneficial contacts in the field of education and training;
the need to adapt and further diversify forms of assistance
according to national needs and priorities for structural
reform and to adopt where possible a multiannual
                                                                            Whereas in its Decision 90 / 233 / EEC (4 ), as amended by
approach to the programming of aid ;                                        Decision 92 / 240 / EEC ( 5 ), the Council established a
                                                                            Trans-European Mobility Scheme for University Studies
Whereas the countries of central and eastern Europe have
recognised the importance of higher education in the
                                                                            (3 ) Europe Agreements , signed 16 . 12 . 1991 .
0 ) OJ No L 375 , 23 . 12 . 1989, p. 11 .                                   (4) OJ No L 131 , 23 . 5 . 1990 , p. 21 .
(2 ) OJ No L 357 , 28 . 12 . 1991 , p . 10 .                                ( 5 ) OJ No L 122 , 7 . 5 . 1992 , p. 43 .
 ---pagebreak--- No C 311 / 2                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                   27 . 11 . 92
( Tempus), within a perspective of five years , for an initial       HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS :
pilot phase of four years beginning on 1 July 1990 ;
                                                                                                 Article 1
Whereas Article 11 of Decision 90 / 233 / EEC provides that
                                                                                        Duration of Tempus II
before 31 December 1992 , the Commission shall submit to
the Council , the European Parliament and the Economic
and Social Committee an interim report, including the                The second phase of the Trans-European Cooperation
results of the evaluation as well as a proposal for the              Scheme for Higher Education ( hereinafter referred to as
continuation or adaptation of Tempus as a whole beyond               'Tempus II') is hereby adopted for a period of four years as
the initial pilot phase ;                                            of 1 July 1994 .
Whereas the results of the evaluation of the first year and a                                    Article 2
half of the pilot phase, carried out in accordance with
Article 11 , have confirmed that, for each country                                          Eligible countries
concerned , the objectives of Tempus should be more
clearly targetted whether on the long-term reform of higher          Tempus II shall concern the countries of central and eastern
education or on the shorter term needs of economic                   Europe designated as eligible for economic aid by
restructuring;                                                       Regulation (EEC ) No 3906 / 89 and the Republics of the
                                                                     former Soviet Union as defined in Regulation (EEC ,
                                                                     Euratom) No 2157 / 91 . These countries shall be referred to
                                                                     hereinafter as 'the eligible countries'. Participation shall be
Whereas the competent authorities in the countries of                decided by the national authorities in agreement with the
central and eastern Europe have expressed positive views             Commission in the context of the national programming of
on Tempus and will in future take account of the                     Community assistance for economic reform .
evaluation in defining their priorities for Phare assistance
and their particular strategy and needs in the context of the
 Tempus Scheme ;
                                                                                                 Article 3
                                                                                               Definitions
Whereas the Council adopted on 15 July 1991 Regulation
(EEC , Euratom ) No 2157 / 91 concerning the provision of
technical assistance to economic reform and recovery in the          In the context of Tempus II:
 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( ! );
                                                                     a) the term 'university' shall be used to cover all types of
                                                                         post-secondary educational and vocational training
                                                                         establishments which offer , where appropriate within
Whereas the Ministers of Education of certain Republics of               the framework of advanced education and training,
the former Soviet Union have expressed their wish to                     qualifications or diplomas of that level , whatever such
participate in Tempus as an appropriate instrument for the               establishments may be called ;
transformation of their higher education systems in the
context of economic reform and recovery and that the first           b ) the terms 'industry' and 'enterprise' shall be used to
three years of the implementation of the Tempus Scheme                   indicate all types of economic activity, whatever their
have generated appropriate experience and insight into the               legal status, public and local authorities, independent
problems of higher education transformation which are                    economic organizations , chambers of commerce and
 directly relevant for these Republics;                                  industry and / or their equivalents, professional
                                                                         associations, organizations representing employers or
                                                                         employees, as well as private training bodies of the
                                                                         above* mentioned istitutions and organizations .
Whereas there exist in the Community and in third
 countries regional and / or national , public and / or private
 facilities which can be called upon to assist in the effective
                                                                                                 Article 4
provision of financial support in the area of training at
 higher education level ;                                                                       Objectives
                                                                     In the broader context of economic and social reform , the
 Whereas the Treaty does not provide, for the action                 objectives of Tempus II are the following:
 concerned , powers other than those of Article 235 ,
                                                                      a) to promote the structural development and to facilitate
                                                                         the adaptation of higher education systems in the
                                                                         eligible countries, in particular through cooperation
 (!) OJ No L 201 , 24 . 7 . 1991 , p. 2 .                                and interaction with partners in the Member States of
 ---pagebreak--- 27 . 11 . 92                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 311 / 3
    the European Community taking into consideration the           4 . The committee shall deliver its opinion on these draft
     priorities laid down by each of the eligible countries ;      measures within a time limit which the chairman may lay
                                                                   down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary
b ) to help address specific manpower and skill shortages          by taking a vote .
     during economic reform and
                                                                   The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes ; in addition ,
c ) to promote exchanges of young people between the               each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its
     Community and the eligible countries .                        position recorded in the minutes .
                                                                   5.  The Commission shall take the utmost account of the
In realising the objectives of the Tempus II Scheme the
Commission shall ensure respect of the Community's                 opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the
general policy on equal opportunity for men and women .            committee of the manner in which its opinion has been
                                                                   taken into account .
The same shall apply for disadvantaged groups , such as
handicapped . In addition , account shall be taken of the
need to ensure that as many regions as possible are able to                                   Article 6
participate in the Scheme .
                                                                              Cooperation with the relevant agencies
                                                                   1 . The Commission shall cooperate with appropriate
                            Article 5                              agencies in each of the eligible countries , designated or set
                           Committee                               up to coordinate the links and structures necessary for the
                                                                   effective implementation of Tempus II, including the
                                                                   allocation of funds made available by the eligible countries
1 . The Commission shall implement the Tempus II                   themselves .
Scheme according to the national strategy and choice of
objectives worked out with the competent authorities in            2 . The Commission shall also cooperate closely in the
each participating country on the basis of the provisions of       implementation of Tempus II with the relevant national
the Annex and on the basis of detailed guidelines to be            bodies designated by the Member States .
adopted annually .
                                                                                              Article 7
2 . In the performance of that task , the Commission shall
be assisted by an advisory committee composed of two                           Links with other Community actions
representatives appointed by each Member State and at
least one of whom shall be drawn from the academic                 The Commission , in accordance with the procedure set out
community . The committee shall be chaired by the                  in Article 5 paragraph 3 of this Decision , and , where
Commission representative . The members of the committee           appropriate , with the procedure set out in Article 9 of
may be assisted by experts or advisers .                           Regulation (EEC ) No 3906 / 89 , shall ensure consistency
                                                                   and , where necessary, complementarity between Tempus II
                                                                   and other actions at Community level , both within the
The committee shall , in particular , assist the Commission        Community and in assistance to the eligible countries , with
in the implementation of the scheme having regard to the           particular reference to the activities of the European
objectives set out in Article 4 and shall coordinate work          Training Foundations .
with that of other committees covering the same field as
Tempus II.
                                                                                              Article 8
                                                                           Coordination with actions of third countries
3 . The Commission representative shall submit to the
committee drafts of measures concerning:                           1 . The Commission shall ensure the appropriate
                                                                   coordination with actions developed by countries which are
a ) the general guidelines governing Tempus II;                    not members of the Community or by universities and
                                                                   enterprises or other institutions or bodies in these countries
b ) the general guidelines on the financial assistance to be       which relate to the same field of action as Tempus II,
     provided by the Community ( amounts, duration and             including , where appropriate , participation in Tempus II
     recipients of assistance );                                   projects.
c) questions relating to the overall balance of Tempus II,
     including the breakdown between the various actions ;         2 . Such involvement can take various forms , including
                                                                   one or more of the following :
d) questions relating to the priority areas for support;           — participation in Tempus II projects via co-financing,
e) arrangements for the monitoring and evaluation of               — use of Tempus II facilities for the channelling of
     Tempus II.                                                        bilaterally-funded exchange actions ,
 ---pagebreak--- No C 311 / 4                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                 27 . 11 . 92
— coordination with Tempus II of those nationally-based                                        Article 10
    initiatives which are related to the same aims but which
    are financed and run separately,                                     Monitoring and evaluation arrangements — reports
— reciprocal exchange of information on all relevant                 The Commission shall , in accordance with the procedure
    initiatives in this field,                                       set out in Article 5 , paragraph 3 , establish arrangements
                                                                     for the monitoring and evaluation of the experience
— provision of funds at national level for Tempus II                 acquired in the implementation of Tempus II, taking into
    participation .                                                  account the particular objectives set out in Article 4 .
                             Article 9                               It shall submit an interim report, including the results of
                                                                     the evaluation , before 30 April 1996 , as well as possibly a
                          Annual report                              proposal for the continuation or adaptation of Tempus for
                                                                     the period beginning from 1 July 1998 .
An annual report on the functioning of Tempus II shall be
submitted by the Commission to the European Parliament,              A final report shall be presented by the Commission by
the Council , and the Economic and Social Committee.                 30 June 1999 .
 ---pagebreak--- 27 . 11 . 92                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                         No C 311 / 5
                                                                    ANNEX
                                                            Joint European Projects
             1 . The Community will provide support for Joint European Projects of maximum three years' duration linking
                 universities and / or enterprises in eligible countries with partners in the Community .
                 Joint European Projects will comprise at least one university from an eligible country, one university from a
                 Member State and one partner institution (university or enterprise) from another Member State.
                 Such projects may be linked, as appropriate, to existing networks , notably those funded in the framework
                 of the Erasmus , Comett and Lingua programmes , or to the other assistance programmes focused on related
                 aspects of economic and social reform .
             2 . Joint European Project grants may be awarded for a wide range of activities according to the specific needs
                 of the institutions concerned and according to the priorities laid down , including:
                 i)   cooperative education and training actions, notably curricular development and overhaul , the
                      development of universities' capacities to provide continuing education and retraining, the provision of
                      short, intensive courses and the development of open and distance learning capability;
                 ii)  the structural reform and development of higher education, notably via the restructuring of existing
                      higher education institutions, the upgrading of facilities, and, where appropriate, the provision of
                      technical and financial assistance to education authorities ;
                 iii) the promotion of university / industry cooperation in the eligible states via the development of
                      universities' capacities to cooperate with industry and cooperative university / industry training
                      actions ;
                 iv) equipment necessary for the implementation of a Joint European Project;
                 v)   the development of student and staff mobility within the framework of Joint European Projects;
                 vi) regional activities involving two or more eligible countries ;
                 vii) other actions answering specific needs identified in the eligible states.
             3 . Mobility within Joint European Projects
                 Within the framework of Joint European Projects the Community will provide support for student and staff
                 mobility as follows:
                 i)   grants will be awarded to students , up to and including at doctorate level and will be available both to
                      students from the eligible countries carrying out periods of study in the Community and to students
                      from the Community spending study periods in the eligible countries. Grants will be normally awarded
                      for a period of between three months and one year;
                 ii)  for students participating in Joint European Projects whose specific aim is to foster mobility , priority
                      will be given to students participating in projects where the period of study spent abroad will be
                      granted full recognition by the student's home university;
                 iii) for teaching/ administrative staff at universities or trainers from enterprises in Member States to carry
                      out teaching/ training assignments for periods from one week to one year in eligible countries and vice
                      versa;
                 iv) for teaching/ administrative staff at universities in the eligible countries to undertake retraining and
                      updating periods in the Community ;
                 v)   support for industrial or practical placements of one month to one year for teachers , trainers , students
                      and graduates between the end of their studies and first employment from the eligible countries to
                      undertake a practical training period in enterprises in the Community and vice-versa ;
                 vi) all types of mobility grant will include support for linguistic preparation where necessary.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 311 / 6                                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                        27 . 11 . 92
                                                   Individual Grants and Complementary Activities
              1 . The Community will also provide support for individual grants to teachers , trainers , university
                   administrators , senior Ministry officials , education planners and other training experts for a number of
                   activities , notably :
                   i)     short visits of one week to two months to a Member State or an eligible country designed to prepare
                         Joint European Projects , prepare teaching materials , collect and disseminate information , exchange
                          expert advice and increase mutual understanding of the higher education / training systems
                          concerned ;
                   ii )   teaching / training assignments in universities in the Community and in the eligible states for periods of
                          one week to one year ;
                   iii ) practical placements in enterprises or education authorities in the Community or in the eligible states
                         for periods of one month to one year;
                   iv ) retraining and updating for university staff from the eligible states in the Community for periods from
                         one week to one year .
             2.      Grants will be made available to enable eligible countries to participate in the activities of European
                     associations , notably university associations .
             3.      Support will be provided to facilitate publications and other information activities directly relevant to
                     supporting the development and renewal of the higher education systems of the eligible countries .
             4.      Support will be provided for activities (in particular technical assistance , training and studies) designed to
                     assist in the reform and development of higher education and training systems in the eligible countries.
             5.      Support will be provided to projects involving youth activities as well as exchanges of young people and
                    youth organisers between Member States and eligible countries .
                                                                 Support Activities
             1 . The necessary technical assistance will be provided to the Commission to underpin the activities undertaken
                  in accordance with the Decision , including the coordination of monitoring procedures .
            2 . Support will be provided for appropriate evaluation of the Tempus II Scheme.