Hungary

1) REFERENCES

Commission Opinion [COM(97)2001 final - Not published in the Official Journal]

Commission Report [COM(98)700 final - Not published in the Official Journal]

Commission Report [COM(1999)505 final - Not published in the Official Journal]

Commission Report [COM(2000) 705 final - Not published in the Official Journal]

Commission Report [COM(2001) 700 final - SEC(2001) 1748 - Not published in the Official Journal]

Commission Report [COM(2002)700 final - SEC(2002) 1404 - Not published in the Official Journal]

Commission Report [COM(2003) 675 final - SEC(2003) 1205 - Not published in the Official Journal]

Treaty of Accession to the European Union [Official Journal L 236 of 23.09.2003]

2) SUMMARY

In its Opinion of July 1997, the European Commission considered that Hungary should not have major problems in the field of education, training and youth with a view to its accession.

The November 1998 Report noted that a certain amount of progress had been made, particularly as regards Hungary's participation in the Community programmes in this field.

The October 1999 Report stated that no major developments had been seen in legislation and institutions since October 1998. However, Hungarian policy in this area was already largely in keeping with that of the European Union.

The November 2000 Report ascertained that, as a general rule, Hungary had adopted the acquis and was continuing to make progress, notably as regards improving training and education.

The November 2001 Report considered that Hungary had made steady progress in reforming its education and training system. New budget lines had been opened in favour of students and schools. Hungary was participating in the second generation of the Leonardo, Socrates and Youth programmes.

The October 2002 Report stressed that Hungary had made further progress, as a result of the extensive programme launched by the Ministry of Education to implement all provisions of the Directive on the education of the children of migrant workers. Hungary needed to concentrate further on strengthening administrative capacity in this field.

The November 2003 Report considers that Hungary fulfils the requirements and commitments related to accession. However, it must further strengthen its capacity to implement the Community programmes and to apply the acquis in relation to the education of the children of migrant workers.

The Treaty of Accession was signed on 16 April 2003 and accession took place on 1 May 2004.

COMMUNITY ACQUIS

The EC Treaty requires the Community to:

• contribute to the development of quality education which shall include a European dimension and shall support and supplement the action of the Member States while respecting their cultural and linguistic diversity (Article 149, ex-Article 126) with regard to the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems;
• implement a vocational training policy which shall support and supplement the action of the Member States (Article 150, ex-Article 127) and shall aim to facilitate adaptation to industrial change and increase employability.

These provisions are mainly implemented via three main action programmes: Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci and Youth for Europe, which were recently updated with the introduction of a new generation of programmes: Socrates, Leonardo and Youth.

EVALUATION

In this area, Hungarian policy is already largely in keeping with that the of European Union. Efforts have been made to implement the Directive on the education of the children of migrant workers, especially to make it possible for them to gain easier access to teaching in their language of origin and courses on their culture. Special training is provided to teachers from schools with a high proportion of immigrant pupils. Hungary must continue its efforts in order to comply further with the Community acquis on the education of the children of migrant workers.

In 2002, the Government also took steps to support the education of children from socially deprived areas and paid particular attention to the integration of the Roma minority into society. The Ministry of Education launched an extensive programme to implement all the provisions of the Directive on the education of the children of migrant workers.

Since September 1999, Hungary has been successfully participating in the Community programmes Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci and Youth for Europe. The national agencies are operational. However, Hungary needs to further increase its capacity to implement the Community programmes.

Where the reform of the education system is concerned, a law on the right of entry and residence for foreign students entered into force in 2002. The management of the education system has been consolidated and cooperation between the education sector and the labour market has been improved. A law on adult education was adopted in 2001. It lays down the framework for the introduction of lifelong education in accordance with the Community model. In addition, the education budget was raised by approximately 30% in 1999. Teachers' pay should reach 125% of average national pay per person by 2006 at the latest.

In the field of vocational training, Hungary made progress in 1999 as regards the evaluation of education and training. A network of centres for examining and evaluating public education has been put in place. It is involved in implementing a single quality assurance and equal opportunities assurance system. The national vocational training institute has launched a continuous programme to standardize and modernise the list of national vocational qualifications.

Hungary has been making steady progress since the Commission's Opinion of 1997. Negotiations on this chapter have been closed for the time being (see the 2002 Report). Hungary has not asked for any transitional arrangements in this area.

Last updated: 05.03.2004