WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3600/97 by José BARROS MOURA to the Commission. Socrates programme
C 174/82 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 6. 98 Under the present European Union Treaty, the Commission has no right of initiative regarding police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The Amsterdam Treaty will give it this right of initiative. A Protocol to the Amsterdam Treaty covers the integration of the Schengen acquis into the European Union framework. Integration will take place when the Amsterdam Treaty comes into force, but it will not automatically extend the Schengen arrangements to the Member States not already applying them at the time of the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty. In the case of Member States which subsequently acceded to the Schengen Convention but where it was not implemented before that date, the Council will decide in due course when it is to be implemented. In the case of Member States which never acceded to the Schengen agreement, namely the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Protocol integrating the Schengen acquis into the framework of the European Union provides that they may request to participate in some or all of its provisions. The Council will decide on the request by unanimous decision of the Schengen States and the requesting Member State. (98/C 174/131) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3593/97 by Yves Verwaerde (PPE) to the Commission (13 November 1997) Subject: High-level group of experts on the social and societal aspects of the information society Would the Commission supply me with an initial summary of the findings of the high-level group of experts on the social and societal aspects of the information society. Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (9 January 1998) The high-level group of experts on the social and societal aspects of the information society has completed its work. It recently produced a final report, a copy of which is being sent directly to the Honourable Member and to the General Secretariat of the Parliament. A summary of the additional analyses which are mentioned in the annex to the final report and were carried out in parallel with the groupís work is being prepared and will become available at the beginning of this year. (98/C 174/132) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3600/97 by Jose· Barros Moura (PSE) to the Commission (13 November 1997) Subject: Socrates programme The Portuguese universities, like their counterparts elsewhere in the EU, have been raising major questions as to the institutional contracts proposed by the Commission for the academic year 1997-1998, in the context of the Socrates programme. In view of this, can the Commission state: 1. what factors explain the criticisms; 2. what aspects of its proposal it has agreed to review; 3. which universities have signed the institutional contract, and which universities have refused to sign? Does the Commission intend to cut the red tape which seems to characterize the Socrates programme by comparison with the Erasmus programme? Does the Commission not consider the average Community funding level of 15% to be insufficient for the objectives of the programme?