92000E3112

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3112/00

by Evelyne Gebhardt (PSE) to the Commission

(27 September 2000)

Subject: Disbursement of grants authorised under the Socrates Comenius programme

Schools in Baden-Württemberg taking part in the Socrates Comenius programme have been waiting in vain for disbursement of authorised grants by the Commission.

How does the Commission account for the delay in payment of grants under the Socrates Comenius programme?

Are these isolated cases, or is there a general problem with implementation of the Socrates Comenius programme?

When does the Commission intend to pay the outstanding sums?

Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission

(30 October 2000)

The delays in the payment of advances for decentralised actions under the Socrates programme are exceptional and are due essentially to the fact that 2000 is the first year in the implementation of the new programme (the decision establishing the second phase of Socrates has only been adopted during the first semester of 2000).

As a result, several measures had to be taken by the Commission and the Member States. There were delays in the setting up of the national agencies by some Member States, as well as in the completion of the national work programmes and their operational budgets.

With the new programme, the Commission wanted to reinforce the management of decentralised funds, with a view to improving their management. In this context, a new standardised form of operating agreement with the national agencies had to be devised. All measures are being taken in order to ensure the payments for decentralised actions are made as soon as possible.

As for the situation of schools in Germany, the work programme put forward by the Pädagogischer Austauschdienst (PAD) (the national agency nominated in Germany to handle Comenius grants to schools under the Socrates programme) has been agreed by the Commission. A contract to enable payments for the decentralised actions has been sent for signature to the PAD.

However, the Commission has now been informed by the German authorities that the distribution of work as between the PAD and the other agency involved in grants to schools (the Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft) cannot go ahead as was originally foreseen. This implies that the contract with the PAD as originally drawn up is no longer appropriate, and it will have to be returned to the Commission for the cancellation and re-commitment to the Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft of some of the credits involved.

This process will add a few weeks to the date before the contract can be signed with the PAD and the first payment reaches them. Even so, credits should be available to them before mid-November 2000. It will then be up to the PAD to process the funds as quickly as possible.