Going to study, train or teach in another country in the European Union is full of all manner of pitfalls and little problems. The Commission has decided to put an end to this. In a "Green Paper" adopted today on the initiative of Edith CRESSON, the commissioner responsible for research, education and training, in agreement with Padraig FLYNN, the commissioner for social affairs, and Mario MONTI, the commissioner for the internal market, the Commission identifies the snags that often discourage mobility among students, teachers, researchers, training volunteers and workers and proposes nine lines of action. Creating a real European area of qualifications, providing everyone studying in another country in the European Union with social protection and establishing a legal European framework for trainees are just some of the examples.
The benefits of training, researching or teaching in another country of the European Union are undeniable. Transnational mobility promotes cooperation with the working world, opens up the possibilities of training and study, allows professional skills and knowledge to be exchanged, and helps to develop a sense of initiative and innovation. In a nutshell, it makes it easier to approach the future, increases the overall level of qualifications and thus contributes to competitiveness and employment.But despite repeated calls from the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers (since 1992 in the case of the Council) and despite the fact that the free movement of persons is one of the cornerstones of the European Union, transnational mobility of students, teachers, researchers and training workers is still pie in the sky.
For any would-be candidate the examples of little snags are legion, often bordering on the absurd. Anyone unemployed wishing to train or study in another Member State, for example, loses the right to unemployment benefit and social security if the training exceeds three months. In some countries he cannot even leave the country without immediately losing his rights. A young graduate embarking on a training course in other Member States is clearly in a position of "unentitled" in that he is no longer regarded as a student but also not yet as a worker. This legal vacuum does not give him the right to social security and can give rise to problems of residence permit if the training course is longer than three months. Someone engaged in voluntary service in another Member State, like the European voluntary service launched by the Commission on the initiative of Edith Cresson, will suffer similar mishaps if his or her stay extends beyond three months. In some countries that person is even subject to the principle of taxation even though he is unpaid.The barriers linked to taxation and social security contributions are no less insurmountable. They are particularly dissuasive for researchers receiving a grant since their grants are cut in half and even less by taxes imposed in some countries. The Commission may have rectified the situation by picking up these costs, but this ad hoc formula has the disadvantage of draining on Community funds earmarked in principle solely for research.Other examples are: the "territoriality" of grants, meaning that students entitled to a national grant lose it when they pursue their studies in another country; the lack of academic recognition by the university of origin of studies undertaken abroad outside Community programmes such as ERASMUS; the problems students have in meeting the costs of their stays in another country, which are not covered by the generally very modest grants (ECU 75 per month on average for an Erasmus grant). And this despite the fact that demand is constantly increasing: 170 000 students received grants as part of Erasmus for the 1995-96 academic year whereas this figure was only 3 000 in 1987-88.
The Green Paper, which will be comprehensively reviewed by the main parties concerned in the coming months, puts forward nine lines of action: