91998E3112

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3112/98

by Thomas Mann (PPE) to the Commission

(16 October 1998)

Subject: Implementation procedures for the Leonardo programme

In practice it can happen that, once a Leonardo project is up and running, the previously agreed number of participants eligible to receive funding is reduced. The organizers are then no longer able to finance the action which is already underway with the anticipated resources.

1. Potential organizers of European traineeships are deterred by the prospect of the financial risk involved.

2. The complicated application procedure prevents the pool of potential applicants from being extended.

3. In view of the protracted selection procedures, various forms of one-year vocational training are de facto excluded from European work experience projects.

4. The need to involve a national body (such as the Carl Duisberg foundation) makes the whole procedure more time-consuming and costly.

What does the Commission intend to do to remedy these defects?

Answer given by Mrs Cresson on behalf of the Commission

(20 November 1998)

1. Once a Leonardo da Vinci project has started, the approved number of participants will not be reduced. Where the actual number of participants is smaller than envisaged when funding was awarded, the national coordination unit (NCU) responsible for managing placement and exchange programmes under strand I reduces the approved funding by the appropriate amount. There are no financial risks for programme promoters provided they administer their allocated funds correctly.

2. The procedure adopted is intended to provide the national authorities and the Commission with guarantees that the organisation and quality of in-company training will be properly monitored. Promoters are selected by the competent authorities (these are designated by the participating States, and the Commission informed). Selection must follow precise procedures. Practice has shown that the number of promoters and trainees has increased since the start of the Leonardo da Vinci programme and that this number is sufficient for the global grant allocated to each participating country to be expended.

3. The selection process timetable adopted for the placement and exchange programme under strand I allows young people following a one-year basic training course to participate in a short-duration Leonardo da Vinci programme. It is in fact possible to submit applications before the start of basic training courses, and promoters do make use of this possibility in practice.

4. The Leonardo da Vinci programme has introduced decentralised management of strand I mobility programmes in (at the moment) 24 countries. This arrangement has been operating satisfactorily for several years. It is not a question of organisations playing an intermediary role; it is the NCUs themselves which are responsible for managing mobility programmes.

The Commission's proposal for the establishing of the second phase of the Leonardo da Vinci programme from the year 2000 includes simplification and further decentralisation of programme management and measures in order to improve access to the programme.