52002DC0323

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS, THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS - Tempus (Phare/CARDS and Tacis) Annual Report 2000

Table of contents 2000

GLOSSARY

1. PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENTS IN 2000

1.1 The end of 'Tempus II bis'

1.2 The implementation of Tempus III

1.3 The entry of Croatia and the re-entry of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

1.3.1 Croatia

1.3.2 The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY)

1.4 The development of regional policy

1.4.1 Tempus regional seminar on "The Link Between Strategic University Management and Higher Education Policy", Sarajevo, June 15-16, 2000

1.4.2 Tempus regional seminar on "Institution Building" (IB), Skopje, November 26-26, 2000

2. THE 2000 SELECTION RESULTS

2.1 Phare/CARDS JEP/NP selection results

2.2 Tacis JEP/NP selection results

2.3 Phare/CARDS and Tacis IMG selection results

ANNEXES:

Annex 1 - Overall Statistics

Annex 2 - List of Tempus publications

GLOSSARY

EC // European Commission (the Commission)

DG EAC // Directorate-General Education and Culture

ETF // European Training Foundation (the Foundation, Turin, Italy)

JEP // Joint European Project

NP // Networking Project

IMG // Individual Mobility Grant

NCP // National Contact Point

NTO // National Tempus Office

TIP // Tempus Information Point

Partner countries // In 2000 Selection:

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Georgia

Kazakhstahn

Kyrgyzstan

Moldova

Mongolia

Russian Federation

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Ukraine

Uzbekistan

Albania

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Croatia

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

1. PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENTS IN 2000

1.1 The end of 'Tempus II bis'

'Tempus II bis' covered the extension period of the Tempus II programme from June 1998 until 30 June 2000. In this period the ten Candidate Countries of Central and Eastern Europe continued fully to participate in the Tempus programme, together with the non-associated countries of the Western Balkans and the New Independent States and Mongolia. However, as of 2000, the Candidate Countries became eligible to participate in Community programmes in the areas of education, training and youth in the context of pre-accession. As a result, their status within the Tempus programme changed significantly. From 1 July onwards, institutions from the Candidate Countries could still participate in Joint European Projects, but only on a co-financing basis. Moreover, the National Tempus Offices in these countries had to be closed down. This change in status was clearly to be welcomed as proof positive of the successful transition process which the Tempus programme did so much to encourage. It was also a significant 'first' for the Tempus programme. In particular, the programme had never before lost so many members of the Tempus family in one such fell swoop, and considerable thought has therefore been given by the Commission to how the expertise built up in the candidate countries could be retained and put to the advantage of the programme.

For the Candidate Countries, the 1998-2000 period was characterised by a strong focus on projects with pre-accession themes. Indeed, the majority of projects were in the area of Institution Building, which aimed at reinforcing the capacity of non-academic sectors to participate fully in the European Union in a near future.

Following the end of 'Tempus II bis', many of the National Tempus Offices in the Candidate countries carried out targeted studies on the impact of the Tempus Programme in their respective countries in the period 1990-2000. Similarly, many held closing conferences in which speakers and participants were invited to reflect on the impact of Tempus over the years and in particular to what extent the Programme had influenced the Higher Education Sector. On all of these occasions the general conclusion was that Tempus had been very successful and much valued. The Commission has since commissioned a general report, 'Tempus at Ten', which will summarise the achievements of the programme in the Candidate Countries (scheduled for publication in early 2002).

1.2 The implementation of Tempus III

On 29 April 1999 the Council of Ministers of the European Union adopted the latest phase of the programme, 'Tempus III'. This new phase of the programme, which formally started on 1 July 2000, covers the period 2000-2006 and addresses two groups of countries: the New Independent States and Mongolia, on the one hand, and the non-associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe on the other (namely, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - as will be seen below, these three were joined by Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the course of 2000).

Under this new phase of the Programme, and in line with the Annex to the 'Tempus III' decision, Tempus continues to contribute to the reform of higher education structures and institutions and their management through targeted projects in clearly specified areas including University Management, Curriculum Development, Institution Building, Networking and Mobility Projects. In addition, Individual Mobility Grants have been made available to eligible inidividuals in all countries eligible under Tempus III.

1.3 The entry of Croatia and the re-entry of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

1.3.1 Croatia

A 17 July 2000 Council Decision amending the Tempus III Council Decision of 29 April 1999 made it formally possible for Croatia to become a partner country in the programme. This was very much a technical amendment. Once the EU's political authorities had indicated that Croatia could join, speed became of the essence, with a view to Croatia being able to participate in the 2000 selection round. Thus, once the Commission had tabled its proposal to include Croatia in March 2000, preparatory activities were begun in parallel with the legislative process. An Information Day was organised in Zagreb in March 2000 and the deadline for applications was set for 31st March 31, 2000, one month after the general deadline for Tempus applications. Despite the very short period of time involved, an encouraging total of 39 applications was received. The academic expert meeting to assess project applications was held in Turin on 20-28 May 2000. Two Croatian and two international experts assessed the 36 eligible applications. The budget available was set at Euro 1.5 Million, and five projects were duly selected for funding.

1.3.2 The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY)

On 5 December 2000 the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was declared eligible for participation in the Tempus Programme. Yugoslavia had participated in the Tempus programme in 1991/92 and so its renewed eligibility was something of a homecoming. As with Croatian eligibility, the emphasis was on speed, so as to enable Yugoslavian institutions to participate as soon as possible.

On 28 November 2000 an expert meeting was organised in Brussels (DG EAC) with representatives of higher education institutions of the FRY, with a view to establishing a rapid action plan. In early December 2000, a joint DG EAC and ETF fact-finding mission to the FRY took place. On the basis of the outcomes of this meeting and mission, the list of eligible higher institutions and of priorities was defined and subsequently published on the Tempus web site in mid-December 2000. The deadline for applications was the same as that for all Tempus applicants - 1 March 2001. In view of this, Information Days were organised in late January 2001 in Pristina, Belgrade, Podgorica and Nis.

1.4 Development of regional policy

The promotion of regional co-operation is a general priority for both the Stabilisation and Association Process and the Stability Pact. Universities in South Eastern Europe can play a leading role in promoting mutual understanding across cultural and ethnic boundaries and enabling a more efficient use of scarce national human resources by increased academic co-operation at a regional level. The Tempus III decision not only provides for the possibility of regional activities but puts special emphasis on seeking complementarity and synergies with other programmes and initiatives, whether of the European Union or of other organisations and agencies. During the 2000 information campaign, therefore, a certain emphasis was placed on the promotion of Tempus multi-partner-country projects, and a number of Tempus regional seminars were organised by the Commission further to encourage this trend. The general aim of these seminars was to contribute to policy discussion on regional higher education development needs in the context of the Graz Process and, in the framework of the preparation of the new Guide for Applicants, to the review of Tempus priorities and selection criteria.

1.4.1 Tempus regional seminar on "The Link Between Strategic University Management and Higher Education Policy", Sarajevo, June 15-16, 2000

Over 50 participants took part in the seminar, representing the European Union, various interntional organisations and a large number of higher education institutions of the region. The seminar's main outcome was a list of operational recommendations, intended to provide the policy framework for future Tempus activity in the Western Balkans. These recommendations, encompassing issues such as governance and management, structure of university studies, quality assurance and international co-operation, were prepared for the consideration of European Ministers of Higher Education present in Bucharest on 18-20 June 2000 at the Fourth Conference of the European Ministers of Education, with particular reference to the countries of the Western Balkans. (The full text of the recommendations can be found on the Tempus web site at www.etf.eu.int/Tempus/Main Tempus download pages/Tempus CARDS/Conclusions from the Regional Tempus Seminar in Sarajevo 15-16 June, 2000).

1.4.2 Tempus regional seminar on "Institution-Building" (IB), Skopje, November 23-26, 2000

A total of 60 participants took part in the seminar, again representing the European Union, various international organisations and a large number of higher education institutions of the region. This seminar aimed at promoting the institution building activities of universities in South-East Europe. The seminar participants reviewed the experience of the candidate countries in this area, and discussed the relevance and the future priorities for institution building in the current Tempus countries in South-East Europe. A number of priorities in the three fields considered in the workshops (journalism, banking and finance, environment) were identified and in some cases expressed in the form of concrete projects. The conclusions of the seminar were drafted and distributed in preparation for the third Tempus regional seminar, which was organised in early 2001 in Tirana, and which focused on Regional co-operation and networking. An overall publication, bringing together the conclusions and analyses of the three Conferences, is scheduled for early 2002.

2. THE 2000 SELECTION RESULTS

2.1 Phare/CARDS project selection results

The results of the 2000 Phare/CARDS selection are given in the table below. (No comparison with previous years has been proposed because of the different number of countries involved.)

TEMPUS PHARE/CARDS 2000

Number of new JEP/NP proposals received // 100

Number of new JEPs/NPs funded // 32

Success rate // 32%

Average JEP/NP grant allocated // Euro 310,000

Out of the 100 applications received, 32 were funded, with the following breakdown by Partner Country and type of project:

>TABLE POSITION>

2.2 Tacis project selection results

The results of the 2000 Tacis project selection are given in the table below. (No comparison with previous years has been proposed because of the different number of countries involved.)

TACIS // 2000

Number of new JEP/NP proposals received // 263

Number of new JEPs/NPs funded // 60

Success rate // 22%

Average JEP/NP grant allocated // Euro 382,000

Out of the 263 applications received, 60 were funded, with the following breakdown by Partner Country and type of project.

>TABLE POSITION>

2.3 Phare/CARDS and Tacis IMG selection results

Partner Countries eligible to participate in the IMG scheme were as follows: for the CARDS region; Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; for the TACIS region; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan for Tacis. It should be noted that this was the first time that Tacis Partner Countries were allowed to participate in the Tempus IMG scheme. The assessment of the IMG proposals submitted was carried out by ETF Staff following the guidelines agreed with the European Commission. By the deadline of 3rd April 2000 a total of 167 new IMG applications have been received, and out of these 48 were funded with the following breakdown by Home Country.

>TABLE POSITION>

The Tempus budget available for supporting IMGs in each Partner Country in 2000 is shown in the table below:

Partner Country // Total Euro

Albania // 3,650

Bosnia and Herzegovina // 10,853

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia // 40,077

Sub-total CARDS // 54,580

Belarus // 4,234

Georgia // 2,109

Kazakhstan // 16,218

Kyrgyzstan // 12,054

Russian Federation // 24,946

Ukraine // 4,602

Uzbekistan // 14,319

Sub-total Tacis // 78,482

TOTAL for IMGs // 133,062

The average grant allocated per each IMG supported was 2,772 Euro.