WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1474/97 by Amedeo AMADEO to the Commission. Community initiatives
10. 2. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 45/39 (98/C 45/46) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1463/97 by Helena Torres Marques (PSE) to the Commission (28 April 1997) Subject: Socrates programme Mrs Edith Cresson, Member of the Commission, has said that the Socrates programme has a crucial role to play in developing education and in training young people in Europe, and the programme has proved a great success. Can the Commission say how many young people have benefited from this programme, broken down by nationality, and how many applications have not been accepted, also broken down by nationality? Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission (11 June 1997) Socrates, the Community action programme in the field of education approved on 14 March 1995, targets young people, with particular emphasis on measures to promote mobility (grants) or participation in projects arising from partnerships between educational institutions. The table sent direct to the Honourable Member and to the Secretariat of Parliament contains information on the number of young people participating in these activities in 1995 and 1996. Some of the data are still provisional. As regards higher education (Socrates/Erasmus), mobility grants are awarded in the Member States to students wishing to undertake a period of study abroad. In addition, a process of cooperation established under the programme enables students without grants to benefit also from mobility. Young people participating in school exchanges within the framework of joint educational projects become involved in activities to promote language learning (Socrates/Lingua). With regard to school partnerships (Socrates/Comenius), the table shows the number of schools participating in partnerships in 1995 and 1996. The number of pupils actually taking part in projects conducted through partnerships may be estimated on the basis of the average number of classes participating in each school. Generally speaking, demand for participation in mobility-oriented activities under the Socrates programme exceeds availability by some 35% to 40%. (98/C 45/47) WRITTEN QUESTION E-1474/97 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission (30 April 1997) Subject: Community initiatives Having been informed of the questions by Mrs Garc ·a Arias (Questions E-0493/97, E-0494/97, E-0495/97 and E-0496/97) (1) concerning the Retex, Konver, Resider and Rechar II programmes, can the Commission supply, in addition to the number of projects implemented by Italy since the commencement of these programmes, details of projects implemented in 1996 and 1997? (1) OJ C 319, 18. 10. 1997, p. 91. Answer given by Ms Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (13 June 1997) The Commission has approved six operational programmes under the Community Initiatives Konver, Resider II, Rechar II and Retex in Italy. The national and regional governments are responsible for implementing these programmes and for choosing which projects to fund