SOCRATES II programme

It has already been said that new knowledge of this kind will unfortunately not have any impact upon the Socrates II programme.

This is the fundamental issue underlying the Socrates II programme, and I subscribe to it totally.

The one problem, I suppose, with the results of the survey was that they were reported after we had decided on the Socrates II programme and the Erasmus parts of it.

It is, moreover, a pity that this report took so long after the Socrates II programme was formally adopted to publish its conclusions, which, as a result, could not be taken into consideration.

The Socrates II Programme, that runs until 2006, has now been underway for more than 18 months, and although an interim evaluation report has not yet been published, there are already indications that a great deal has improved.

The Socrates II programme is presently the object of conciliation, and the recommendations for a second reading on the Youth for Europe action programme and the Culture 2000 programme will be discussed in the plenary sitting on Wednesday, which is tomorrow.

I am pleased to see that we have finally emerged from the impasse reached in the discussions between Parliament and the Council on the Socrates II programme. This House has managed to remain very firm on its position during this long conciliation procedure.

In a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate education from training and initial training from continuing training, the integrated approach of all the programmes in the field of education, vocational training and youth is most certainly the main innovation and merit of the Socrates II programme.