Decision No 1720/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2006 establishing an action programme in the field of lifelong learning

• (a)multilateral projects, as referred to in Article 5(1)(e), aimed, inter alia, at:(i)developing new language learning materials, including online courses, and instruments for language testing; (ii)developing tools and courses for training language teachers, trainers and other staff;

• (b)multilateral networks as referred to in Article 5(1)(e), in the field of language learning and linguistic diversity;

• (c)other initiatives in line with the objectives of the Lifelong Learning Programme, as referred to in Article 5(1)(h), including activities to make language learning more attractive to learners through the mass media and/or marketing, publicity and information campaigns, as well as conferences, studies and the development of statistical indicators in the field of language learning and linguistic diversity.

• (a)multilateral projects, as referred to in Article 5(1)(e), aimed at the development and distribution, as appropriate, of innovative methods, contents, services and environments;

• (b)multilateral networks as referred to in Article 5(1)(e), aimed at sharing and exchanging knowledge, experience and good practice;

• (c)other action aimed at improving lifelong learning policy and practice, as described in Article 5(1)(f), which may include mechanisms for evaluation, observation, benchmarking, quality improvement and the analysis of trends with respect to technology and pedagogy.

• (a)unilateral and national projects, as referred to in Article 5(1)(d);

• (b)multilateral projects, as referred to in Article 5(1)(e), aimed inter alia at:(i)supporting the exploitation and implementation of innovative products and processes; (ii)stimulating cooperation between projects operating in the same field; (iii)developing good practice with regard to dissemination methods;

• (c)the establishment of reference material as referred to in Article 5(1)(f), which may include the collection of relevant statistical data and studies in the field of dissemination, the exploitation of results and the exchange of good practice.

CHAPTER VI The Jean Monnet programme

Article 34

Access to the Jean Monnet programme

Within the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme, the Jean Monnet programme shall be aimed at:

• (a)students and researchers in the field of European integration in all forms of higher education within and outside the Community;

• (b)higher education institutions within and outside the Community as recognised within their own countries;

• (c)teachers and other staff within those institutions;

• (d)associations and representatives of those involved in education and training within and outside the Community;

• (e)public and private bodies responsible for the organisation and delivery of education and training at local, regional and national levels;

• (f)research centres and bodies concerned with issues relating to European integration within and outside the Community.

Article 35

Objectives of the Jean Monnet programme

• (a)to stimulate teaching, research and reflection activities in the field of European integration studies;

• (b)to support the existence of an appropriate range of institutions and associations focusing on issues relating to European integration and on education and training in a European perspective.

• (a)to stimulate excellence in teaching, research and reflection in European integration studies in higher education institutions within and outside the Community;

• (b)to enhance knowledge and awareness among specialist academics and among European citizens generally of issues relating to European integration;

• (c)to support key European institutions dealing with issues relating to European integration;

• (d)to support the existence of high-quality European institutions and associations active in the fields of education and training.

Article 36

Actions of the Jean Monnet programme

• (a)unilateral and national projects, as referred to in Article 5(1)(d), which may include:(i)Jean Monnet Chairs, centres of excellence and teaching modules; (ii)associations of professors, other teachers in higher education, and researchers specialising in European integration; (iii)support for young researchers specialising in European integration studies; (iv)information and research activities relating to the Community with the aim of promoting discussion, reflection and knowledge about the process of European integration;

• (b)multilateral projects and networks, as referred to in Article 5(1)(e), which may include support for the establishment of multilateral research groups in the field of European integration.

• (a)the College of Europe (Bruges and Natolin campuses);

• (b)the European University Institute, Florence;

• (c)the European Institute of Public Administration, Maastricht;

• (d)the Academy of European Law, Trier;

• (e)the European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, Middelfart;

• (f)the International Centre for European Training (CIFE), Nice.

Article 37

Amounts allocated to the Jean Monnet programme

Not less than 16 % of the amounts allocated to the Jean Monnet programme shall be devoted to support for the key activity referred to in Article 3(3)(a), not less than 65 % to the key activity referred to in Article 3(3)(b), and not less than 19 % to the key activity referred to in Article 3(3)(c).

TITLE III Transitional and final provisions

Article 38

TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 39

Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

ANNEX

ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

A. Administrative provisions

Procedures for the proposal and selection of the actions contained in the Lifelong Learning Programme are as follows:

1. National agency procedure

• 1.1.Procedure 1The following actions, under which the selection decisions are taken by the appropriate national agencies, shall be managed through the ‘National agency procedure 1’:(a)the mobility of individuals in lifelong learning, as referred to in Article 5(1)(a); (b)bilateral and multilateral partnerships, as referred to in Article 5(1)(b); (c)unilateral and national projects, as referred to in Article 5(1)(d), where these are funded under Article 33(4)(a). Requests for financial assistance submitted under these actions shall be directed to the appropriate national agencies designated by the Member States in accordance with Article 6(2)(b). The national agencies shall carry out the selection and allocate financial assistance to the applicants selected in accordance with the general guidelines to be established under Article 9(1)(c). The national agencies shall distribute grants to beneficiaries located in their respective Member States. Each partner in a bilateral or multilateral partnership shall receive funding direct from its respective national agency.

• 1.2.Procedure 2The following action, under which the selection decisions are taken by the Commission, but evaluation and contracting procedures are undertaken by the appropriate national agencies, shall be managed through the ‘National agency procedure 2’:—multilateral projects, as referred to in Article 5(1)(c). Requests for financial assistance submitted under this action shall be directed to the national agency designated by the Member State of the coordinator of the project in accordance with Article 6(2)(b).The national agency of the Member State of the coordinator of the project shall carry out the evaluation of applications and submit to the Commission a shortlist of applications which it proposes to accept. The Commission shall decide upon the shortlist proposed, following which the national agency shall allocate the appropriate financial assistance to the applicants selected in accordance with the general guidelines to be established under Article 9(1)(c). Before submitting the shortlist to the Commission, the national agency of the country in which the project is coordinated shall liaise with those in the countries of all the other project partners. The national agencies shall distribute grants to selected project coordinators located in their respective Member States, which shall be responsible for distributing the funds to the partners involved in the projects.

2. Commission procedure

The following actions, under which project proposals are submitted to the Commission and the selection decisions are taken by the Commission, shall be managed through the ‘Commission procedure’:

• (a)unilateral and national projects, as referred to in Article 5(1)(d), except those funded under Article 33(4)(a);

• (b)multilateral projects and networks, as referred to in Article 5(1)(e);

• (c)observation and analysis of policies and systems in the field of lifelong learning, the establishment of reference material, including surveys, statistics, analyses and indicators, and action to support transparency and recognition of qualifications and prior learning, as referred to in Article 5(1)(f);

• (d)operating grants, as referred to in Article 5(1)(g);

• (e)other initiatives aimed at promoting the objectives of the Lifelong Learning Programme, as referred to in Article 5(1)(h) (‘accompanying measures’).

Requests for financial assistance submitted under these actions shall be directed to the Commission, which shall carry out the selection and allocate financial assistance to the applicants selected in accordance with the general guidelines to be established under Article 9(1)(c).

B. Financial provisions

The Commission shall ensure that the financial and administrative requirements placed on beneficiaries of grants awarded under the Lifelong Learning Programme are proportionate to the level of the grant. In particular, the Commission shall ensure that the financial rules and the application and reporting requirements for individual mobility and for partnerships remain user-friendly and sufficiently simple not to restrict access for less advantaged individuals and the institutions or organisations that work with them.

In particular, the Commission shall provide the national agencies with criteria which they shall follow in regard to selection and award procedures, as well as contract and payment/audit arrangements, for the funds they manage. These criteria shall take into account the size of the grants made and, where grants are of less than EUR 25 000, they shall provide for simplified systems at all stages involving applicants or beneficiaries. They shall enable the national agencies to determine and limit the details required from applicants for grants and to issue contracts following the award of grants on a simplified basis which includes only the following elements:

• —the contracting parties,

• —the duration of the contract, which shall be the period of eligibility of the expenditure,

• —the maximum amount of funding awarded,

• —a summary description of the action involved,

• —reporting and audit access requirements.

Also such criteria shall enable the national agencies to provide that co-financing provided by beneficiaries may take the form of contributions in kind. These shall be verifiable as to fact, but need not be the subject of financial evaluation.

1. Actions managed through the National agency procedure

• 1.1.The Community funds intended to provide financial support under the actions to be managed through the National agency procedure in accordance with section A point 1.1 of this Annex, are to be allocated among the Member States in accordance with formulae determined by the Commission in accordance with Article 10(2), which may include the following elements:(a)a minimum amount allocated to each Member State, to be determined in accordance with budgetary availability for the action concerned; (b)the remainder will be allocated to the various Member States on the basis of:(i)each Member State's total number of:—pupils and teachers in school education for the school partnerships and mobility actions of the Comenius programme set out in Article 18(1)(a) and (b), —students and/or graduates in higher education for the mobility of students and intensive programmes actions of the Erasmus programme set out in Article 22(1)(a)(i) and (iv), —teachers in higher education institutions for the mobility of teachers and the mobility of other staff actions of the Erasmus programme set out in Article 22(1)(a)(ii) and (iii), —overall population and number of 15 to 35 year olds in relation to it, for the mobility, partnership and multilateral project actions of the Leonardo da Vinci programme set out in Article 26(1)(a), (b) and (c), —adults for the mobility and partnership actions of the Grundtvig programme set out in Article 30(1)(a) and (b); (ii)the difference in the cost of living between the Member States; (iii)the distance between the capital cities of each of the Member States; (iv)the level of demand and/or take-up for the action concerned within each Member State.

• 1.2.These formulae should, as far as possible, be neutral with respect to the different education and training systems of the Member States.

• 1.3.The Community funds thus distributed shall be administered by the national agencies provided for in Article 6(2)(b).

• 1.4.The Commission, acting in cooperation with the Member States, shall take the necessary measures to encourage balanced participation at Community, national and, where appropriate, regional level and, where appropriate, across the various fields of study. The proportion allocated to these measures shall not exceed 5 % of the annual allocations for financing each of the actions in question.

2. Designation of beneficiaries

The institutions listed in Article 36(2) of this Decision are hereby designated beneficiaries of grants under the Lifelong Learning Programme, in accordance with Article 168 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002.

The constituent national units of the NARIC network, the Eurydice network, the Euroguidance network, the National Support Services for the eTwinning Action and the Europass National Centres act as instruments to implement the programme at national level, in conformity with the provisions of Article 54(2)(c) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 and of Article 38 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002.

3. Types of beneficiary

In accordance with Article 114(1) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, grants may be awarded to legal persons or to natural persons. In the case of natural persons, these may take the form of scholarships.

4. Flat-rate grants, scales of unit costs and prizes

Flat-rate grants and/or scales of unit costs, as provided for in Article 181(1) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 may be used in the case of the actions referred to in Article 5.

Flat-rate grants may be used up to a maximum of EUR 25 000 per grant. They may be combined up to a maximum of EUR 100 000 and/or used in conjunction with scales of unit costs.

The Commission may provide for the award of prizes in relation to activities undertaken in the framework of the Lifelong Learning Programme.

5. Procurement

Where the implementation of actions supported under the Lifelong Learning Programme requires the beneficiary to have recourse to procurement procedures, the procedures for low-value contracts set out in Article 129 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 shall apply.

6. Partnership agreements

Where actions under the Lifelong Learning Programme are supported by means of framework partnership grants, pursuant to Article 163 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002, such partnerships may be selected and funded for a four-year period, subject to a lightweight renewal procedure.

7. Public institutions or organisations providing learning opportunities

All schools and higher education institutions specified by Member States, and all institutions or organisations providing learning opportunities which have received over 50 % of their annual revenues from public sources over the last two years, or which are controlled by public bodies or their representatives, shall be treated by the Commission as having the necessary financial, professional and administrative capacity, together with the necessary financial stability, to carry out projects under the Lifelong Learning Programme; they shall not be required to present further documentation to demonstrate this. Such institutions or organisations may be exempted from auditing requirements pursuant to Article 173(4) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002.

8. Bodies pursuing an objective of general European interest

Where operating grants are awarded under the Lifelong Learning Programme to bodies pursuing an objective of general European interest as defined in Article 162 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002, these shall, in accordance with Article 113(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, not be subject on renewal to the principle of gradual decrease.

9. Applicants' professional competencies and qualifications

The Commission may decide in accordance with Article 176(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 that specified categories of beneficiaries have the professional competences and qualifications required to complete the proposed action or work programme.

10. Participation of partners from third countries

Partners from third countries may participate in multilateral projects, networks or partnerships under the terms of Article 14(2) at the discretion of the Commission or the national agency concerned. The decision whether to support such partners shall be based on the degree of added value at European level likely to result from their participation in the project, network or partnership in question.

11. Minimum allocations

Subject to Article 14 of this Decision, the minimum amounts to be allocated to sectoral sub-programmes shall be, in relation to the financial envelope set out in that Article:

Comenius 13 %

Erasmus 40 %

Leonardo da Vinci 25 %

Grundtvig 4 %

12. National agencies

Community financial assistance shall be provided to support the activities of the national agencies established or designated by the Member States in accordance with Article 6(2)(b).

In accordance with Article 38(1) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002, the function of national agency may, in third countries participating in the Lifelong Learning Programme by virtue of Article 7(1) of this Decision, be discharged of public-sector bodies or private-law bodies with a public-service mission governed by the law of the country concerned.

In accordance with the principle of proportionality, certification and reporting requirements will be kept to an appropriate minimum necessary level.

13. Technical assistance

The financial envelope of the Lifelong Learning Programme may also cover expenditure related to preparatory actions, monitoring, control, audit and evaluation directly necessary for the implementation of the Programme and for the achievement of its objectives. These may in particular include studies, meetings, information activities, publications, expenditure on informatics networks for the exchange of information and any other expenditure on technical and administrative assistance to which the Commission may need to have recourse for the implementation of the Programme.

14. Anti-fraud provisions

Commission decisions taken under Article 9, the contracts and agreements resulting from them, as well as agreements with participating third countries, shall provide in particular for supervision and financial control by the Commission (or any representative authorised by it), including by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), and for audits by the Court of Auditors, if necessary on-the-spot. Such controls may be carried out with the national agencies as well, where necessary, as with recipients of grants.

The beneficiary of an operating grant shall keep available for the Commission all the supporting documents, including the audited financial statement, regarding expenditure incurred during the grant year, for a period of five years following the last payment. The beneficiary of a grant shall ensure that, where applicable, supporting documents in the possession of partners or members be made available to the Commission.

The Commission may have an audit of the use made of the grant carried out either directly by its own staff or by any other qualified outside body of its choice. Such audits may be carried out throughout the lifetime of the agreement and for a period of five years from the date of payment of the balance. Where appropriate, the audit findings may lead to recovery decisions by the Commission.

Commission staff and outside personnel authorised by the Commission shall have appropriate right of access, in particular to the beneficiary's offices and to all the information, including information in electronic format, needed in order to conduct such audits.

The Court of Auditors and OLAF shall enjoy the same rights, especially of access, as the Commission.

In addition, the Commission may carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections under the Lifelong Learning Programme in accordance with Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 of 11 November 1996 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the Commission in order to protect the European Communities' financial interests against fraud and other irregularities ([^E0019]).

For the Community actions financed under this decision, the notion of irregularity referred to in Article 1, paragraph 2 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Communities financial interests ([^E0020]) shall mean any infringement of a provision of Community law or any breach of a contractual obligation resulting from an act or omission by an economic operator, which has, or would have, the effect of prejudicing the general budget of the European Communities or allocations managed by them, by an unjustified item of expenditure.

[^E0001]: OJ C 221, 8.9.2005, p. 134.

[^E0002]: OJ C 164, 5.7.2005, p. 59.

[^E0003]: Opinion of the European Parliament delivered on 25 October 2005 (not yet published in the OJ, Council Common Position delivered on 24 July 2006 (OJ C 251 E, 17.10.2006, p. 37), Position of the European Parliament delivered on 25 October 2006 (not yet published in the OJ).

[^E0004]: OJ L 146, 11.6.1999, p. 33. Decision as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 885/2004 (OJ L 168, 1.5.2004, p. 1).

[^E0005]: OJ L 28, 3.2.2000, p. 1. Decision as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 885/2004.

[^E0006]: OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 9.

[^E0007]: OJ L 138, 30.4.2004, p. 31.

[^E0008]: OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 6.

[^E0009]: OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 1.

[^E0010]: OJ C 163, 9.7.2002, p. 1.

[^E0011]: OJ C 13, 18.1.2003, p. 2.

[^E0012]: OJ C 293 E, 28.11.2002, p. 103.

[^E0013]: OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

[^E0014]: OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1248/2006 (OJ L 227, 19.8.2006, p. 3).

[^E0015]: OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p. 1.

[^E0016]: OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. Decision as amended by Decision 2006/512/EC (OJ L 200, 22.7.2006, p. 11).

[^E0017]: OJ L 39, 13.2.1975, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2051/2004 (OJ L 355, 1.12.2004, p. 1).

[^E0018]: OJ L 131, 23.5.1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1648/2003 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 22).

[^E0019]: OJ L 292, 15.11.1996, p. 2.

[^E0020]: OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1.