TEMPUS
	EUROPEAN TRAINING FOUNDATION

     Tempus is the European Union's major instrument for the development and restructuring of higher education in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States and Mongolia.

     This program forms part of the overall Phare and Tacis programs of the European Union.

     Tempus was adopted by the Council of Ministers of the European Union on 7 May 1990 and extended on 29 April 1993 for a second 4-year phase commencing with the academic year 1994/95 (Tempus II). Since January 1995, technical assistance for the Program has been provided by the European Training Foundation in Turin on behalf of DGXXII of the European Commission.

     Within Tempus II, Tempus Phare and Tempus Tacis should be seen as two parallel but separate schemes in administrative and budgetary terms.

These section contain a number of important changes that were not known at the time of printing of the Tempus Phare Guide for Applicants 1997/98. These changes reflect dynamic developments in the Tempus Phare program.

• The Tempus Phare Program is expanding. Two new countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Scopia are joining the program and the Commission has prepared a number of immediate measures for 1996 to quickly integrate them into the Tempus Program. They will participate in all regular Tempus Phare activities as described in the Guide for Applicants 1997/98.

• The second set of changes concerns the increasing number of contractors in the partner countries. This year Estonian and Latvian institutions have become eligible for contractorship. Recent discussion have led to the conclusion that this possibility should be also available to Lithuanian institutions. This is a consequence of the Commission's policy to assist these countries in preparing for accession. At the same time, the increased incidence of bank failure in Central and Eastern Europe has led to the need for stricter rules for the management of Tempus grants.

     To promote the quality and support the development and renewal of higher education in the Phare and Tacis partner countries.

     To encourage their growing interaction and as balanced a cooperation as possible with partners in the European Union, through joint activities and relevant mobility.

Priority areas:

Tempus Phare and Tacis will only support activities focusing on priority areas which are jointly identified each year by the national authorities of the partner countries and the European Commission.