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Hungary and Romania start participating in LEONARDO DA VINCI

Following the conclusion of Association Council Decisions on 1 September 1997, the participation of Hungary and Romania in the European Union programmes in the field of education, training and youth has now officially been initiated with the selection of the first Hungarian an...

Following the conclusion of Association Council Decisions on 1 September 1997, the participation of Hungary and Romania in the European Union programmes in the field of education, training and youth has now officially been initiated with the selection of the first Hungarian and Romanian projects to be supported within the framework of the LEONARDO DA VINCI programme for vocational training. Participation of the Central European countries in EU programmes is a key feature of the reinforced pre-accession strategy in the Commission's communication on Agenda 2000. It will allow students, teachers and workers from these countries to enter into transnational projects and exchanges with their counterparts in the Member States of the EU, and to get acquainted with the EU's policies, instruments and proceedings in the fields of vocational training, education and youth. Response to the call for proposals launched by the Commission within this context was very positive and a significant number of transnational projects and placements have been selected. A total of ECU 2.8 million will be attributed for projects for which Hungarian or Romanian organizations will either be promoters or in partnership with entities in Member States or the European Economic Area (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein). These subsidies will be drawn from Hungary's and Romania's financial contributions to the programme, paid partly from their respective national budgets and partly from their PHARE allocations. The LEONARDO DA VINCI programme will, in addition, grant some ECU 1.3 million to partners from the Member States and the European Economic Area in projects for which Hungarian or Romanian entities will act as promoters. The selected transnational projects and placements concern subjects such as: enhancing practical skills in social and health care, training for engineers, the development of training for language teachers and environmental tourism, establishing new skills and programmes for vocational training, introducing multimedia teaching materials for vocational training, training of tutors for the furniture industry, the role of economic chambers in the field of vocational training, etc. In line with the Commission proposals for a reinforced pre-accession strategy, preparations are currently underway to allow all candidate countries from Central Europe to participate in EU programmes in a wide range of other areas such as energy, environment, research, health and social policy, culture and the audiovisual sector, and SMEs. It is expected that these will come on stream in the course of 1998.

Countries

Hungary, Romania

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