59 million euro set aside to mobilise EU trainees
The European Commission has approved legislation allowing some 59 million euro to be channelled toward mobility for people in training. It hopes the money will allow more than 30,000 Europeans to benefit from training abroad in this year alone. Trainees in the 15 EU Member States plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are set to benefit from the new fund, managed under the Leonardo da Vinci programme. The pre-accession countries are also poised to participate soon, raising the initiative's total budget for 2000 to over 69 million euro. 'Over the whole programme period, 2000-2006, around 250,000 people are expected to take the opportunity to acquire new skills or gain work experience in another country through the Leonardo da Vinci programme,' says the Commission. In the past, the programme, which funds transnational placements and exchanges, has enabled researchers to work outside their own countries, helping to mobilise expertise in Europe.