Socrates Committee Meeting of 7-8 November 2002

Brussels, 4 November 2002

Socrates Committee meeting of 7-8 November 2002

INFORMATION NOTE

(Point 3 of agenda)

• State of play of TCPs 2002

After the consultation of the Socrates Committee and the right of inspection of the EP, the Commission decision on the selection of TCPs was taken on 17 July. Consequently, applicants, National Agencies and Committee members were informed of the decision. Contracts were sent to beneficiaries in the month of September. Advance payments are now being made upon counter-signature of the contracts by the Commission. Action-specific meetings with project co-ordinators take place between October 2002 and February 2003.

• Action 6.1: state of play of 2002 projects and preparation of Call for proposals 2003

56 applications were submitted under the 2002 call for proposals. The Committee has given a positive opinion on the Commission’s proposal to select six projects covering three themes: definition and acquisition of basic skills; learning mathematics, science and technology; overall trends in education systems. The overall funding proposal amounts to € 1,763,985, half of which will be committed in 2002, the other half in 2003.

The next call for proposals to be published in early 2003 will cover both Action 6.1.2 and 6.2. In accordance with the Socrates Decision, the “themes of common interest” to be covered will be determined by the Council, probably in December. The themes to be chosen will contribute to the implementation of the detailed work programme of the “Objectives Report”. The Socrates Committee will be consulted by written procedure.

• State of play of Joint Actions projects 2001 and 2002

All projects selected in 2001 are under way. Project meetings have taken place and progress is monitored. For more information please see the minutes of the latest meeting of the inter-committee working group on Joint Actions (SOC/COM/02/053).

Following the Call for proposals on Joint Actions in 2002, the Commission received a total of 191 applications of which 153 were considered eligible. On the basis of the evaluations carried out by independent experts, a selection committee comprising representatives from the three programmes suggested 15 projects for selection. A majority of members of the Socrates Committee gave a favourable opinion on the proposed selection by written procedure. The Commission plans to communicate the results of the selection to the project co-ordinators in December 2002 after the European Parliament will have exercised its right of inspection. Contracts will be issued in late 2002.

As for the Call 2003, the Commission submitted the new themes to the inter-committee working group on Joint Actions and subsequently to the Socrates Committee which issued a positive opinion by written consultation. The Commission plans to publish the new Call for proposals on Joint Actions by February 2003.

• State of play of Accompanying Measures projects 2002

71 Accompanying Measures project proposals were received by the deadline of 1 October 2002, a 70% increase compared with the June round. A breakdown by country and by type of project is attached. The evaluation process is underway. The Commission will consult the Committee on the selection proposal by written procedure.

As far as the February and June 2002 projects are concerned, the contracts for all the projects selected following the February deadline have been issued. The European Parliament's right of inspection for the June 2002 projects finished at the end of September, following which the formal Commission funding decision was taken. The funds for these projects are in the process of being committed, and the contracts will be issued as soon as possible.

As agreed with the Committee at the June meeting, candidate countries participating in Socrates were invited to submit applications for grants to support information events on the Objectives process, by means of a letter addressed to the Mission of each country. The Committee earmarked a maximum budget of EUR 240,000 for this activity (see paper SOC/COM/02/36). 8 applications were submitted (BG, CY, CZ, HU, MT, PL, SI, SK), for a total of EUR 140,000. The Commission is in the process of analysing the applications and will issue the contracts in the coming weeks.

• International co-operation: Japan and Australia

Japan

Following a series of bilateral contacts and against the background of the adoption of a new EU/Japan action plan in 2001, the Commission and the Japanese authorities agreed the terms of a cooperation initiative in the field of higher education and launched a joint call for proposals for a pilot project in this field in March 2002. The deadline for applications was 31 May 2002.

The agreed focus of the pilot project was student exchanges at postgraduate level in the framework of strong structural co-operation ensuring, inter alia, credit recognition of periods of study. Four applications were received in response to the call for proposals, three of which were eligible.

As a result of the parallel evaluation process, both the Commission and Japanese authorities ranked first the proposal submitted by Ecole d'architecture Paris la-Villette. Subsequent to the completion of respective internal procedures (which on the EC side included the consultation of the Socrates Committee) this proposal was granted financial support by the Commission (299.682 Euro) and by the Japanese authorities for a three year period.

Australia

Over recent years, the Commission and the Australian authorities have been in contact on the issue of co-operation in the field of education. In April 2002 a joint call for proposals for a pilot co-operation project in the field of higher education was published.

The Commission sought to ensure consistency between this initiative and that undertaken with Japan. Therefore, the terms of this call were very similar to those of the EC/Japan call. Fifteen proposals were submitted. Following a parallel evaluation process, representatives from the Commission and from the Australian Department of Education met in July in Canberra for the joint selection of a project.

The selected proposal focuses on sustainable agriculture. It brings together a strong consortium of eight partners (Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, DK[1]; University of Wales, UK; Wageningen University and Research Centre, NL; University of Kassel, DE; University of Western Sydney, New South Wales; University of New England, New South Wales; University of Western Australia, Western Australia; University of Queensland, Queensland) and provides for structured, recognised study periods abroad, a joint introduction and evaluation model and a common ‘web room’.

The grant provided by the Commission is 295.000 Euro (funded from budget line B7-830 for Co-operation with third countries). The Australian side of the consortium will receive an equivalent amount of funding. The duration of the project is three years.

Next steps and conclusions

The Commission will seek to renew the co-operation with Japan and Australia along the present lines. The use of different legal bases should be seen as a way to maximise the value of this experience. The lessons drawn will also serve as a basis for potential new bilateral agreements, and to enrich reflection on the geographical scope and activities of the new education programme as well as on the implementation of the partnerships within Erasmus World.

• Dissemination Call for proposals (deadline 1 October 2002)

The deadline for submitting proposals under the “Dissemination Call” was 1 October. The Commission received 36 proposals. 34 eligible proposals were assessed by independent experts from 21 to 25 October. On the basis of this assessment, the Commission selection committee will most likely suggest to select around 5 proposals. The Socrates Committee will be consulted on the selection proposal in late November by written procedure. Contracts will be issued in early 2003.

• 2002 selection rounds for decentralised projects

After consultation of the Socrates Committee (SOC/COM/01/053), the Commission invited the Grundtvig National Agencies in June 2001 to draft selection notes on the first selection round of Grundtvig 2 Learning Partnerships. This initiative had two objectives: to monitor National Agencies’ activities and to standardise selection methods used by National Agencies. As this first pilot exercise was successful, the Commission decided to extend it to Comenius 1 and 2.2 as well as to Grundtvig 3 and to add it to the contractual obligations to be fulfilled by National Agencies.

Since last July the Commission has been receiving the Grundtvig selection notes from National Agencies. These notes are presently being analysed by the Commission and will be discussed with the National Agencies concerned. As for Comenius, the selection notes were due by the end of August. After analysis by the Commission they were discussed with the Comenius National Agencies in October and with the sub-committee for School Education on 4 November. The Comenius and Grundtvig analyses will be summarised in a document to be discussed with the Socrates Committee in January.

• Finalised evaluations NARIC, Eurydice and Arion

The first three evaluations contracted out in the second half of 2001 - Arion, Eurydice and NARIC - have now been finalised. The Arion final report is still being revised following the Commission's remarks. The other two are final; their executive summaries have been sent to the Committee members for discussion as soon as possible at one of the following meetings. All evaluations will also be made accessible to the general public on the Europa site. The Commission will produce service documents summarising the Commission’s reactions to the evaluations. The views expressed by the Committee, the sub-committees and working groups will feed into these service documents.

The other specific evaluations are proceeding according to plan with the exception of the one on Erasmus CDs which had to be postponed to early 2003. On the other hand, the Grundtvig evaluation will be advanced to this year.

• Amendment of the Socrates Decision

The Commission’s proposal to amend the annex to the Socrates Decision (by replacing the specific obligation for grants not normally to exceed 75% of total project costs with a general co-financing requirement) was sent to the European Parliament and to the Council for co-decision on 29 April. The Parliament adopted a positive opinion by accelerated procedure at its plenary session on 3 September. The Education Committee has considered and approved the Commission’s proposal. At time of writing, the legislative text was expected to be adopted as an A-point at the Council meeting of 5 November. The Decision will then enter into force 20 days after it appears in the OJ.

• Preparation of new generation of programmes

The Commission is starting the process of developing its proposals for the new generation of programmes in education, training and youth to start in 2007.

The first stage is a major public consultation, which is planned to run from November 2002 to February 2003. The consultation is designed to give the Commission a full picture of the needs, ambitions and wishes of those involved in education, training and youth at European level. The results of the consultation will feed into the legislative proposals for new programmes that the Commission will prepare in late 2003.

The basis for the consultation is a document which invites responses on thirteen key issues concerning European co-operation in education, training and youth grouped into three main areas: the type of action to be supported through European programmes in the period after 2006; the geographical coverage of the programmes – which countries should be involved in which actions?; the design and structure of the new generation of programmes.

The consultation covers regional and local authorities of EU Member States; national, regional and local authorities of other countries, including the EEA and candidate countries; educational / training / youth institutions and individuals for whom the existing programmes are designed; European associations and foundations in the field; social partners, teacher/trainer associations, relevant NGOs, cultural associations and other groups making up civil society; partners in the voluntary sector; all those with an interest in our activities, even – especially – if they have not so far taken part.

• Celebration of 1 million Erasmus students

To celebrate the milestone of one million Erasmus students since the beginning of the student mobility programme in 1987, the Commission had organised a number of initiatives which took place in Brussels from 24 to 26 October. The Brussels event concluded a one-week celebration which had seen the involvement of all the 30 countries participating in Erasmus. As one of the high points of the Brussels event, Ms Reding welcomed 30 current and former Erasmus students and presented them with commemorative medals. During the official ceremony, held at the Erasmus house in Anderlecht, Mrs Reding officially launched the Erasmus Student Charter, a passport which outlines the main rights and obligations of Erasmus students in their home and host universities. Last but not least, Mr Prodi, Mr Fogh Rasmussen, President of the European Council, and Mr Cox, President of the European Parliament, met the 30 Erasmus "ambassadors" and joined them and Ms Reding for a unique photo opportunity.

• Negotiations with Turkey

Negotiations with the Turkish administration on the preparatory measures for their participation in Socrates are now almost complete. We expect that Turkey will participate fully from 2004 (i.e. for Erasmus University Charter applications in November 2003).

The State Planning Organisation has been designated as the host organisation for a single Turkish National Agency covering Socrates, Leonardo and Youth. At present staff are in the process of being recruited, and the Agency will be formally established as a legal entity through national legislation after the Turkish general election.

During 2003 there will be an extensive information and preparation campaign in Turkey. This will comprise the establishment and training of the National Agency, an information campaign for potential programme participants, and a series of small-scale pilot actions designed to test various aspects of the programme. These pilots will take place in the following areas: Comenius, Erasmus, Grundtvig, Arion and Preparatory Visits. In the same period, Turkish NARIC and Eurydice Units will be established.

• Call for experts

The Commission published a Call for applications to establish a list of experts whose services will be used to assess the proposals received in connection with the Socrates programme and other actions in the field of education. The Call was published in the OJ on 5 September. The text of the Call, the application forms and the model CV are available on the Europa server in the 11 official languages.

The Call is open to natural persons who are nationals of a country taking part in the Socrates programme. It is not limited in time. The attention of Committee members, National Agencies and experts we used to work with has been drawn to the Call. At the time of writing, the Commission had received 354 applications which are presently being assessed by the Commission. Applicants will be informed of the outcome of this assessment. The applicants’ data and competencies will be stored in a database which will be used from 2003 onwards and transferred into Symmetry later that year.

• Erasmus World

On 17 July 2002 the Commission adopted a proposal for a European Parliament and Council decision establishing a programme for the enhancement of quality in higher education and the promotion of intercultural understanding through co-operation with third countries (Erasmus World) (2004-2008). Consideration of the proposal is well under way in the Council. The European Parliament is likely to deliver its opinion in February/March 2003. The Commission envisages that the decision will be adopted in the second half of 2003.

Based on article 149 of the Treaty (and therefore clearly envisaged as an internal policy instrument), the proposal has to be seen against the background of the Bologna/Prague process. It follows on from the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on strengthening co-operation with third countries in the field of higher education, adopted on 18.07.2001 (COM (2001) 385).

Erasmus World seeks to address the challenges of preparing citizens for a global society, ensuring the EU’s balanced share of international student mobility, contributing to the EU’s lead position in educational developments, widening and deepening cultural understanding and enhancing the profile, accessibility and transparency of higher education in the EU.

Erasmus World is built around four main actions: European Union Masters Courses, which would be the central pillar of the programme; Scholarships (linked to the European Union Masters Courses); Partnerships between European Union Masters Courses and third country higher education institutions; and a fourth generic action aimed at enhancing the attractiveness of higher education in the EU.

The budget envisaged for the programme is 200 M€ and the proposed duration is five years. The proposal envisages the participation of EFTA / EEA States and that of candidate countries on the same level as EU Member States, as is the case in Socrates.

• Tempus

There are two main developments in the framework of the Tempus programme: the extension of the Tempus programme to the MEDA partners and the fundamental revision of the programme’s implementation modalities.

Tempus MEDA

The extension of the Tempus programme to the Mediterranean partners (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Lebanon and Israel[2]) seeks to fill a gap within the Euro-Mediterranean co-operation arrangements: the absence of a framework for co-operation in higher education. The extension has to be seen also in the context of the renewed priority given to the dialogue between cultures following the events of 11 September.

Following a proposal from the Commission, the Council adopted on 27.6.2002 a decision extending Tempus to the MEDA partners. The envisaged overall budget (to be provided from within existing MEDA allocations) is 106 M€ for 2004-2006. This decision leaves the basic design of the Tempus programme untouched while stressing co-operation with civil society and widening the possibilities for links with research. The Commission, having consulted the Tempus Committee, decided to launch the first call for proposals in 2002 (deadline 15/12/2002).

The Commission is currently conducting visits to national authorities in MEDA countries with a view to explaining the programme and discussing national priorities and the establishment of National Tempus Offices. In parallel, information sessions are being held.