9 Community action programmes in the fields
of education, training and youth
| (a)
(24610)
10051/03
COM(03) 273
(b)
(24616)
10184/03
COM(03) 272
|
Draft Decision establishing a Community action programme to promote bodies active at European level and support specific activities in the field of education and training.
Draft Decision establishing a Community action programme to promote bodies active at European level in the field of youth.
|
| Legal base | (a) Articles 149(4) and 150(4) EC; co-decision; QMV
(b) Article 149 (5) EC; co-decision; QMV
|
| Department | Education and Skills
|
| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 13 November 2003
|
| Previous Committee Report | HC 63-xxviii (2002-03), paragraph 1 (2 July 2003)
|
| To be discussed in Council | 24 November 2003
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | (Both) cleared
|
Background
9.1 The European Community currently supports bodies active at
a European level in the fields of education, training and youth.
This support generally takes the form of grants, administered
directly by the Commission. From next year, because of the move
to activity-based budgeting and by reason of the EC Financial
Regulation,[13] the payment
of the grants will require a specific legal base. These draft
Decisions would provide the base for the programmes of support
for bodies active in the fields of education, training and youth.
9.2 When we considered documents (a) and (b) in
July, the Government told us that it would be seeking amendments
to clarify and improve the drafting of both documents. [14]
Moreover, while the Government supported the provision in document
(a) for grants for the training of national judges in the application
of competition law, it would seek to have the training provided
by the European Judicial Training Network. Document (a) also proposes
that the education and training programme should be for the period
2004-2008. In the Government's view, the programme should run
until the end of 2006, when Member States could review the value
of the expenditure and decide whether it should continue. We decided
to keep documents (a) and (b) under scrutiny until we knew the
outcome of the Government's negotiations.
Document (a)
9.3 This draft Decision proposes an action programme
with a budget of €129.62 million to
promote bodies active at European level, and support specific
activities, in the field of education and training from 1 January
2004 until 31 December 2008.
9.4 The Annex to the draft Decision sets out the
constituent parts of the action programme. Action 1 concerns support
for specific institutions such as the College of Europe in Bruges
and Natolin, the European University Institute in Florence and
the European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education.
Action 2 concerns support for European associations active in
the field of education and sets out the criteria that must be
met for grants to be awarded to them. Action 3A relates to support
for activities in higher education concerning European integration.
Action 3B concerns support for activities related to the three
objectives of education and training systems in Europe agreed
by the European Council in 2001[15].
Action 3C concerns support for the training of national judges
in the application of European law. The Commission would have
discretion to entrust all or part of the management of the programme
to an executive agency in line with Article 55 of the Financial
Regulation.
Document (b)
9.5 The general objective of the programme proposed
in this draft Decision is to strengthen Community action in the
field of youth and increase its effectiveness by promoting the
bodies working in this field. The action programme would be in
two parts. Part 1 would support the permanent activities of the
European Youth Forum[16].
Part 2 would support the activities of bodies which contribute
to EU policies on youth. Bodies seeking support under either
Part would be selected by the Commission on the basis of applications
following calls for proposals.
9.6 The programme would have a budget of €11.52
million for the period 2004-2006. The Commission would have discretion
to delegate the management of the programme to an executive agency.
The Minister's letter
9.7 In his letter of 13 November 2003, the Minister
of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education (Mr
Alan Johnson) tells us about recent progress on the documents.
He also encloses copies of the revised texts, which take account
of the opinions of the European Parliament and the European Economic
and Social Committee and the views of Member States on the previous
texts.
9.8 Commenting on the revised text of document (a),
the Minister says that the Government has succeeded in obtaining
agreement that funding the organisations listed in the draft Decision
would be subject to the new Financial Regulation applicable to
the general budget of the European Communities. Provision for
this is included in the revised text. The Government is satisfied
that this provides a suitable method of monitoring the effectiveness
of each activity.
9.9 While the Government had suggested that the
proposed training for national judges in the application of competition
law could be provided by the European Judicial Training Network,
this cannot be specified in the Decision because the selection
of trainers is to be based on competition between prospective
training bodies.
9.10 The Government has also succeeded in securing
an amendment to document (a) which requires the Commission to
make an annual report on the implementation of the programme.
The Minister comments that this will provide a helpful mechanism
to monitor the programme's activities.
9.11 The revised text of document (a) reduces the
period of the programme to the three years from January 2004 to
the end of December 2006. It sets the budget at just over €70
million.
9.12 The Minister tells us that the drafting of
document (b) has been clarified and improved. The programme's
budget for the three-year period January 2004 to the end of January
2006 is set at €11.10 million. The revised text also requires
the Commission to make a report on the achievement of the objectives
of the programme not later than the end of 2006.
9.13 The Government considers that both documents
now meet the requirements of the Financial Regulation; that they
have an appropriate legal base; that they are more precisely drafted;
and that they are in compliance with the rules on State Aids.
Conclusion
9.14 We are grateful to the Minister for his helpful
letter. We agree that the revised texts of both draft Decisions
now meet the necessary financial and other requirements and that
the drafting of both has been improved. We have decided, therefore,
to clear documents (a) and (b) from scrutiny. We ask the Minister
to provide us with copies of the final texts when adopted.
13 OJ No L 248, 16.9.2002, p.1. Back
14
See headnote. Back
15
(22184) 5980/01; see HC 28-ix (2000-01), paragraph 12 (21 March
2001). Back
16
A body made up of national youth councils and the international
non-governmental youth organisations. Back
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