Legal provisions of COM(2000)810 - European Training Foundation Annual - report 1999 - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2000)810 - European Training Foundation Annual - report 1999. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2000)810  |
| date | December 6, 2000 |
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52000DC0810
Report from the Commission European Training Foundation Annual - report 1999 /* COM/2000/0810 final */
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION EUROPEAN TRAINING FOUNDATION Annual Report 1999
Contents
1. General
1.1. Aims and objectives
1.2. Institutional structure
2. Foundation activities in 1999
2.1. Candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe
2.2. South-Eastern Europe
2.3. The New Independent States (NIS) and Mongolia
2.4. The Mediterranean countries and territories
3. Tempus - Technical assistance to the European Commission
3.1. Selection 1999-2000
3.2. Monitoring
3.3. Tempus publications, information and events
4. Cooperation with EU Agencies
4.1. CEDEFOP
4.2. Other EU Agencies
4.3. Common support service
5. Financial report
5.1. Funding sources
5.2. 1999 budget execution
5.3. Activity based budgeting 1999
Annexes
Annex 1 - Staffing and organisation chart
Annex 2 - The Governing Board
Annex 3 - 1999 Foundation Events list
Annex 4 - 1999 Foundation Publications
1. General
1.1. Aims and objectives
The European Training Foundation is an agency of the European Union established by a Council regulation in 1990 to promote the development of vocational training (including management training) in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in their transition to a market economy. The Foundation's mandate was subsequently extended to include the New Independent States and the countries and territories of the Mediterranean. As a centre of expertise the Foundation:
Regulation (EEC) No1360/90 OJ No L131, 23.5 1990, p. 1 as amended by Regulation 2063/94 (OJ L 216, 20.8.1994, page 9) as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1572/98 (OJ L 206/1, 23.7.98)
*provides analysis and advice on current initiatives and future need in the countries which it was set up to assist (known as the partner countries);
*facilitates contacts and promotes exchange of experience between key actors in the training field through networks, conferences and workshops;
*disseminates information on EU best practice; and
*promotes co-operation among donors.
The Foundation supports those activities through its own budget. In addition, it manages a number of Phare and Tacis programmes on behalf of the European Commission as well as providing technical assistance to the Commission for the implementation of the Tempus programme (see section 3 below). An overview of all Phare and Tacis conventions, as well as Tempus Phare and Tempus Tacis Conventions, managed by the Foundation is provided in Tables 5 and 7.
1.2. Institutional structure
The Foundation has a Governing Board made up of representatives from the Member States and the European Commission, which also chairs the Board. The Board approves the annual work programme and budget of the Foundation. The list of members is contained in annex 2 together with a summary of the main decisions taken at its meetings in 1999.
The Governing Board is supported by an Advisory Forum, consisting of training experts from the Member States, the 39 partner countries, the European Commission, international organisations and the social partners. It advises the Governing Board on the annual work programme as well as meeting in sub-groups periodically to discuss questions related to the reform of the vocational education and training systems.
The Foundation is based in Turin. The Director, who reports to the Governing Board and chairs the Advisory Forum, is supported by some 120 staff who implement the work programme (including the conventions it manages on behalf of the Commission) and provide the secretariat for the Governing Board and the Advisory Forum. The total budget of the Foundation for 1999 (approved by the Governing Board) was EUR 16.2 million (see section 5 for further details on the budget).
The establishment plan for the Foundation provides for 130 staff
In 1999 the Director decided to make changes in the organisational structure of the Foundation. The Analysis and Development Department and the Vocational Education and Training Department were replaced by five smaller departments organised along geographical lines. At the same time two new Units were created to support the new structure: the Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Unit and the Development Unit (the organisation chart and data on staffing by grade and nationality are contained in Annex 1). A second phase of the re-organisation was launched later in the year to focus on the Central Service departments. The results of the review were presented in Spring 2000.
2. Foundation activities in 1999
The regional approach
As indicated, five new geographical departments were created in 1999 with a view to better targeting the Foundation's activities to the needs and priorities of the countries which it was set up to assist. Thus activities in 1999 focussed on four main groups of countries: the candidate countries seeking accession to the EU , the countries and territories of South-Eastern Europe , the New Independent States and Mongolia and the countries and territories covered by the MEDA programme. In this way the Foundation was able to define specific strategies for these regions and ensure a more focussed approach.
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Turkey
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Moldova, Mongolia, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey.
In line with the new geographical focus, the Advisory Forum at its annual meeting in Turin on 6-8 September, decided also to re-organise its work to support the new orientation. The thematic sub-groups that had met in previous years were replaced by new regional sub-groups. Copies of sub-group reports can be found on the ETF homepage (www.etf.eu.int).
Overview
The Foundation fixed six development objectives as a framework for all of its activities in the regions in 1999. These were intended as wider goals for the countries to which the Foundation might make a contribution through its work programme:
*to ensure that the training system strengthens its links with the labour market and promotes employability and adaptability;
*to support the development of continuing training systems within the framework of lifelong learning for all;
*to establish a system of flexible and recognised vocational standards;
*to ensure that teachers and trainers deliver experience-based and participatory training which makes full use of modern methods and tools;
*to promote management training and the sustainability of management training centres; and
*to promote a partnership culture and practice between key actors in vocational education and training.
The emphasis on particular objectives varied from one region to another and from country to country as can be seen from Tables 1-4 which provide detailed information on all of the projects funded from the Foundation's budget (Title 3) in 1999. The Foundation organised a number of events in 1999 in support of these overall objectives or to underpin specific projects. A complete list of the events organised in 1999 can be found in Annex 3.
The National Observatories
Through its network of national observatories the Foundation continued to monitor developments in the field of vocational education and training in the partner countries (except for the Mediterranean partners). Through the national observatories the Foundation was able to identify reform priorities at institutional and policy level. A number of analytical and statistical reports on training and the labour market were produced in 1999 as a result of the information gathered through the observatories. These included a transnational analysis on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as a Phare Key Indicators report (see publications list in annex 4 for further details).
Highlights of the Foundation's activities in each of the regions are described briefly in the following pages.
2.1. Candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe
During 1999 the Foundation was heavily involved in assisting the European Commission in implementing the pre-accession strategy within the candidate countries. In particular, the Foundation undertook the following:
*reviews of progress in vocational education and training reforms within each candidate country. These individual studies and a composite report were requested by the European Commission and completed in November. Copies of these reports are available from the Foundation's Information & Publications Department;
*implementation of a Special Preparatory Programme, funded under the Phare programme which introduced each candidate country to the workings of the European Social Fund (ESF /SPP). This was followed by the establishment in each country of a National Training Institute to train public administrators in the implementation and management of human resource development initiatives within the European Social Fund programme. The ESF/SPP programme also provided an opportunity for the Foundation to assist in the preparation of the human resources development component of each country's preliminary National Development Plan (NDP), an essential element in the accession process. These plans will outline a coherent and integrated overall strategy for the adoption of the economic and social cohesion of each country;
*support to each candidate country in the drafting of Employment Background Studies as preparation for the Commission-led Employment Policy Review initiative;
*activities related to the «acquis communautaire» in vocational education and training. The principal issues addressed were training and retraining in regions, social partnership and dialogue, the transparency/mutual recognition of vocational and professional qualifications, and teacher and trainer training;
*joint activities: the Foundation actively seeks to establish partnerships with other donors. In 1999 joint activities were undertaken with support from Finland, Denmark, France, Italy, the Flemish Belgian region and Germany;
*management training initiatives were carried out in a number of candidate countries: in Hungary training was delivered to 17 Chambers of Commerce and Employer Organisations; and the Foundation's co-operation with CEEMAN (the Central and Eastern European Management Development Association) generated reports based on a survey Assessing management training needs in Central and Eastern Europe. In Bulgaria the Foundation developed a pilot project targeted at Employers Associations, Chambers of Commerce, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and training providers. This will run in parallel with a complementary project being funded by Bayerisches Zentrum für Ost-West Management training GmbH (OWZ) and will assist in building capacity to analyse training needs in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and in developing human resource development plans;
*management of VET Phare projects. The Foundation supplemented project management activities by providing expertise to a number of countries on human resource development issues in the context of new Phare projects. In 1999 Phare programmes in the fields of vocational training, management training and higher education were managed in Bulgaria, Latvia and Estonia, and external assessments and financial audits were carried out on completed projects in seven candidate countries;
In addition to drawing up annual reports on vocational education, the National Observatories in the candidate countries were actively involved in a number of the activities related to accession preparations as indicated above. In the framework of the Special Preparatory Programme for the European Social Fund, the Observatories organised training seminars and awareness raising conferences for policy makers. They also contributed to the preparation of background studies on employment policy as well as organising a consultation process at national level on the review of progress in VET reform. The Foundation organised Observatory network meetings of the Phare countries in July (Turin) and November (Tampere).
2.2. South-Eastern Europe
The main priority for the Foundation in South Eastern Europe in 1999 was to contribute to the reconstruction process in the region following the cessation of hostilities. A number of activities were undertaken to achieve this objective:
*needs assessments in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Croatia to reassess the state of vocational education and training following the war in Kosovo;
*the secondment of a member of staff from the Foundation to the Commission Task Force in Kosovo to assist in the preparation of a human resource development plan for Kosovo;
*preparation of proposals to the European Commission on the possible contribution of vocational education and training reform to the process of democratisation and economic reconstruction both at national level and in the region. On the basis of these proposals, the Commission invited the Foundation to develop a package of possible measures in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia;
*contributions to the work of the Stability Pact have involved membership of the Graz process, a task force led by the Austrian government, which worked successfully towards the inclusion of education and training as a priority for action under Table 1 of the Stability Pact. In this context, the Foundation was responsible for the development of a strategy for vocational education and training reform and, in the area of economic reconstruction (Table 2 of the Stability Pact), the Foundation has taken a co-ordination role among donors in order to prepare an overall package of specific human resource development measures for South Eastern Europe;
*joint development work with the Albanian, Italian and Greek governments in the preparation of a project in the field of small and medium sized enterprise development. In co-operation with the Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC) and the Royaumont process, the Foundation also prepared a project to develop social partnership in the region. This project was also presented to the Stability Pact for funding;
*management training the Foundation sponsored a workshop which provided a first opportunity for the business community to define the preliminary actions necessary to support the development of the industry and enterprise sectors in Kosovo;
*the Foundation continued the management of Phare vocational and education training programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The special circumstances in South-Eastern Europe arising from recent conflicts and continuing ethnic tension presented both challenges and opportunities to the National Observatories in the region. The Observatories contributed to the assessment of the challenges for vocational training in the region as well as their regular work on data-collection and analysis. The location and team of the National Observatory of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was changed to the Pedagogical Institute in Skopje. After in-depth negotiations with the national groupings in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Foundation established in 1999 a national Observatory in that country. The Observatory main office is located in Mostar, with a satellite office in Banja Luka. Negotiations started with the Croatian authorities on the establishment of an Observatory in Croatia with a view to launching activities in the first half of 2000.
2.3. The New Independent States (NIS) and Mongolia
The Foundation undertook the following activities during 1999:
*provided the Commission with contributions in the field of vocational training for the Indicative Programmes 2000-2003 under the new Council Regulation for the NIS and Mongolia, adopted on 29 December 1999, which includes a reference to education and training;
*implemented the second phase of the parallel-funded project on 'VET Reform in North West Russia' with the support of Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Netherlands and the International labour organisation (ILO);
*prepared a new parallel funded project on vocational education and training reform at a regional level for Ukraine. Seminars in Kiev resulted in expressions of interest in participation by five countries. Planning for a pilot project on the establishment of a Human Resources Centre in Georgia with the UNDP and the Government was finalised and included in the year 2000 work programme proposal. Other interested donors are considering their participation;
*established joint work with Central Asian Foundation for Management Development (CAMAN) which comprises a network of over 50 management training centres in Central Asian countries. The CAMAN project aims to promote improvement in the quality of business education in the Central Asian region through the extension of CAMAN activities;
*provided advice on the management, monitoring and evaluation of the EUR 12 million Tacis Managers' Training Programme following a request from the Commission. This project offers internships to 1000 NIS managers in EU companies;
*managed the implementation of the DELPHI programme (funded by Tacis - EUR 6 million) which supports the Russian federal and regional Ministries of Education. In 1999 the emphasis of activities shifted from Moscow to the five regions involved (St. Petersburg, Komi, Samara, Sverdlovsk and Novosibirsk);
*continued implementation of the Tacis project 'Reform of the Moldovan System of Vocational Education and Training' (EUR 1.5 million) which started in July 1998. The project has led to the provision of policy advice for vocational education strategies, labour market forecasting and curriculum development methodologies. New curricula in four professions have been implemented and teachers trained in two pilot schools;
*managed the Tacis/Foundation Bistro project 'Addressing the training needs of the managers in Russian Federation'. This was implemented alongside the Tacis Delphi programme and the Managers' Training Programme. The project included a quality analysis of the training provided by 76 Russian institutions to 4-5,000 managers per year and an inventory of Tacis-funded teaching material;
*supported a bistro project on Financing VET in Kazakhstan and organised a high level policy seminar on the topic;
*developed and began work on the implementation of two new Tacis-funded programmes: the establishment of a National Training Fund in Kyrgystan and curricular reform in Uzbekistan;
*launched the Central-Asia Continuing VET project, Training for Enterprise Development in Kyrgyzstan with extensive enterprise participation. The project will gradually be extended to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan;
*provided further advice on the issue of VET legislation - a national workshop was held in Armenia to support the discussion process on the content and nature of their new law. This follows similar events in recent years in Bulgaria and Russia. In Georgia a similar policy advice event was organised with high-level government participation on the role of vocational training in economic reform. This was in preparation for a wider donor workshop to be held in early 2000;
*the Tacis funded Language Training Project (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) finished in June 1999. The project aimed at training language teachers, civil servants and business people, and modernising curricular methods and materials. The projects produced good results and created operational language centres;
*Alongside data collection and analysis functions, the National Observatories took an active lead in Foundation multi-country projects on Standards, Entrepreneurship in Education and Training, Staff Development and in the preparation of in-depth studies. In Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, vocational training stocktaking reports were finalised and national workshops organised. In most countries in the region, the Observatories organised training sessions for statistical experts on the collection and analysis of statistical data in co-operation with the Foundation and UNESCO, thus contributing to the completion of the first statistical data collection by the Foundation in the region. The network had its annual meeting in March in Turin organised and chaired by the Foundation.
Due to the lack of institutional support, the Foundation decided to close down Observatories in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. However, for the first time an Observatory was established in Armenia in 1999 and made good progress in its first year.
2.4. The Mediterranean countries and territories
Following the adoption of Council Regulation 1572/98 which extended the Foundation's sphere of activity to cover the countries and territories of the Mediterranean region, the Commission considered that the additional tasks arising from these activities should be carried out within the framework of the Foundation's existing resources.
According to the first ETF Work Programme for the Mediterranean region, 1999 was an induction year for the Foundation to become acquainted with regional realities and needs and thus develop a long-term role in the region. The main objectives for this induction phase were:
a) to establish contacts and communication channels with relevant national and multilateral actors in the region, including major donors;
b) to define further the role of the Foundation and the type of services to be provided to the Commission in the context of the MEDA programme and the Euro-Mediterranean policy;
c) to develop ETF knowledge and understanding of the Mediterranean partners' specific needs, expectations and capacities;
d) to implement pilot activities in a number of Meda partners.
The Foundation pursued these objectives during 1999 maintaining a flexible approach needed to tailor activities to the changing situation and answering needs expressed by partner countries or by the Commission. This was possible by a transfer of additional Title 3 funds to the MEDA region activities
Activities focused on the following areas:
*establishment of contacts with relevant actors in the region: a meeting in February between Foundation staff and EC Delegations from the MEDA region enabled both sides to reach a common understanding on how they would work together in future;
*24 MEDA members were introduced to the Advisory Forum of the Foundation. A first preparatory meeting of the Meda Advisory Forum network was organised in July with a view to the annual plenary meeting that took place in September;
*stocktaking missions were carried out in Algeria, Cyprus, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey by Foundation staff and direct contacts established with the national authorities. In Algeria, links were also established with institutions in charge of management training;
*definition of the Foundation's role in the Meda context: various meetings took place with the relevant Commission services with a view to further defining the role of the Foundation and the type of services to be provided also in line with the Memorandum of understanding agreed in 1998;
*development of knowledge of the Mediterranean partners' needs: country reports on national vocational education and training systems were prepared for Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey. In addition, for the candidate countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, three short reports were also prepared which reviewed the development of vocational training systems in the light of European policy. The report on Algeria included an analysis of the state of play of management training in the country providing the opportunity to establish links with local Management Training Stakeholders;
*pilot activities: A workshop in support of the implementation of the Manforme programme was organised in co-operation with the Tunisian Ministry of Vocational Education and Employment in Tunis in November. The workshop included representatives of key Ministries in Tunisia, professional bodies, social partners, international organisations and donors, as well as representatives from Morocco and Algeria;
*In Syria, a workshop in support of the development process started in the field of technical and vocational education and training was designed in co-operation with the Syrian authorities. The workshop aimed at supporting the introduction of apprenticeship schemes adapted to the local needs and conditions;
*In Malta a workshop was organised in December in co-operation with Maltese authorities in support to the development of new national vocational qualifications. The workshop focussed on various issues related to co-operation between education and industry, curriculum design, certifications systems;
*The Commission decided to involve the Foundation in the identification of an industrial support project in Jordan. A similar intervention took place in Lebanon in September. In Syria, the Foundation was involved as an observer in the definition of a MEDA-funded project aiming at reforming the vocational education and training system in the country. Additional input was given by the Foundation to the Syrian authorities at a national workshop on the dual system organised in co-operation with UNESCO.
*contribution to a joint survey led by France and co-funded by Germany, Italy, Spain and Greece on bilateral and multilateral donor co-operation in the field of vocational training in the MEDA region. Further contacts were established with major bilateral and international donors active in the Mediterranean region with a view to establishing future co-operation.
Table 1 - Candidate countries - 1999 ETF projects funded from Title 3
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able 2 - South-Eastern Europe - 1999 ETF projects funded from Title 3
Table 3 - NIS and Mongolia - 1999 ETF projects funded from Title 3
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Table 4 - MEDA - 1999 ETF projects funded from Title 3
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3. Tempus - Technical assistance to the European Commission
The Foundation provided technical assistance to the European Commission for the implementation of the Tempus programme on the basis of two annual conventions (Tempus Phare and Tempus Tacis), agreed between the Commission and the Foundation. The technical assistance covered a range of project-related activities necessary for the successful implementation of the Tempus Programme in the areas of selection, monitoring, publications, information and events.
3.1. Selection 1999-2000
A) Tempus Phare
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*Joint European Projects: a total of 462 applications was received, registered, copied and dispatched to National Tempus Offices and the Commission. Selection meetings, under the chairmanship of the Commission, were held in the partner countries enabling experts from the EU and Central and Eastern Europe to work together on site. The regional meeting, which was planned to take place in Tirana, was relocated to Turin due to the situation in the region at the time. The Commission's final decision was to fund 149 Joint European Projects, of which 2 were multi-country.
*Individual Mobility Grants: 385 IMG applications were processed during 1999, covering mobility both to and from partner countries. The total number of selected applications was 187 representing a success rate of 48.6%, an increase of 5% compared to 1998.
1999 was the last year in which the candidate countries were eligible to apply for Tempus funding. The projects selected in 1999 will run until the end of 2002.
B) Tempus Tacis
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*the 1999 call for applications for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, resulted in a total of 145 JEP applications and 118 Compact Project applications. The technical assessment of the applications was organised and selection meetings, under the chairmanship of the Commission, held in Kiev and Torino. In total 73 projects were funded, consisting of 23 Joint European Projects, 10 Mobility Joint European Projects and 40 Compacts projects.
3.2. Monitoring
In addition to managing the selection procedure, one of the Foundation's key activities as part of its technical assistance to the Commission is the monitoring of ongoing and completed Tempus Joint European Projects, which have a duration of 2 or 3 years, from both a financial and content related perspective. Thus monitoring activities both in Tempus Phare and Tempus Tacis covered the usual main areas i.e. contract management, desk and field monitoring of current projects. Particularly important in 1999 was the support provided to the launching phase of the first Tempus Institution Building Joint European Projects started in December 1998.
3.3. Tempus publications, information and events
The third component of technical assistance provided relates to Tempus publications, the provision of information and the organisation of specific events as follows:
*publication of the Tempus Annual Report for 1997 and preparation of the draft 1998 Tempus Annual Report;
*project fiches on 16 successful Tempus Phare projects were produced for the Commission as a dissemination tool together with updates of Tempus Phare at Work and Tempus Tacis at Work;
*the new Tempus Guide for Applicants covering the introduction of Tempus III in 2000 - 2001 and 2001-2002 was published and made available by October on Internet; and visits to all EU and partner countries organised in the period October - December, in the framework of the Tempus III Information Campaign;
*a Tempus conference 'Perspectives for EU supported co-operation in higher education 2000-2006' was organised by the Foundation for the Commission in Kiev in April. This event coincided with the adoption of the third phase of Tempus, 'Tempus III'. The conference proceedings are available in English French, German and Russian on the Foundation homepage www.etf.eu.int.
Table 5 - Tempus grants and Technical assistance
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Please note that Total grant amounts for Tempus grants are only estimations as the amount can vary according to the European Commission decision.
4. Cooperation with EU Agencies
4.1. CEDEFOP
The Foundation stepped up its co-operation with CEDEFOP in 1999. It benefited from CEDEFOP'S contribution to a number of Work Programme projects, such as Teacher Training, Integration of Work and Learning, Transparency of Qualifications and Social Partnership. The Foundation has also provided support for a number of initiatives led by CEDEFOP in particular to the extension of CEDEFOP'S own activities to the partner countries of Central Eastern Europe. Examples of this approach in 1999 were the Scenario Project which was extended to include five of the Candidate Countries, and the inclusion of a Chapter on VET research in Central and Eastern Europe in the CEDEFOP Joint Research Report. Agreement was also reached with CEDEFOP on joint publication and joint development of information technology support, including through the Internet.
4.2. Other EU Agencies
The Foundation was also involved with two other EU agencies on two projects financed under the Phare Distance Training Programme. These were the Health and Safety at Work project involving the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in Bilbao, and the Water Management project in co-operation with the European Environment Agency in Copenhagen
4.3. Common support service
1999 saw the first year of operation for the Inter-Agency SI2 Common Support Service, a function set-up by seven EU agencies to create and implement a shared support and development structure for new computerised Budget and General Accounting Systems. A Support Centre was set up and managed at Turin under the supervision of the Foundation's Computer Systems Department involving the installation of the Commission's SI2 Budget accounting system at each agency site. Subsequently, a web-based support and knowledge base (http://www.etf.eu.int/css) was put in place to manage requests for support and maintenance. The Support Centre also further developed the SI2 software in the directions of general accounting (SI2X), financial reporting (SI2R) and electronic document management. The Turin pilot site succeeded in designing a paperless system for financial transactions which is inspected and validated by a remote financial control function electronically. The Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions joined the consortium in November 1999, proof of the success of this collaborative approach. The Foundation provided the secretariat, chairmanship and financial management for this initiative.
European Training Foundation (Turin), European Environment Agency (Copenhagen), European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (Bilbao) European Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (Luxembourg), European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (Lisbon), Community Plant Variety Office (Angers), European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin)
5. Financial report
5.1. Funding sources
The Foundation manages funding from the European Union's different assistance programmes.
An annual subvention from the European Community budget to cover its administrative costs as well as the cost of operations in the annual work programme (in 1999 the subvention amounted to EUR 16.2 million compared to EUR 15.4 million in 1998).
Funds via conventions signed with the European Commission for the management of Phare and Tacis programmes on behalf of the Commission. In 1999 the Foundation handled around EUR 53 million in Phare and Tacis convention funds for vocational education and training projects (see table 7 for further details). With regard to the technical assistance it provides to the Commission for Tempus, the Foundation managed around EUR 195 million in Tempus Phare funds and EUR 81 million in Tempus Tacis funds (see table 5 for breakdown).
Note that these sums refer to the total amounts of multi-annual projects
5.2. 1999 budget execution
In the course of the year a number of transfers within the budget became necessary for the following main reasons:
*The estimates made for salaries and for a number of allowances were too tightly calculated. In particular, the number of staff leaving the Foundation was higher than anticipated leading to increased expenditure on removal allowances which are particularly difficult to calculate.
*The annual salary increase, to be paid retroactively from July - December 1999, was higher than estimated.
*The savings, made during the course of the year within Chapter 30 of the budget, enabled the Foundation to increase its operations in a number of areas considered to be a priority in Chapter 31 or to enhance existing projects.
The Governing Board approved two amending budgets in 1999. The transfers concerned:
*Shifts in administrative expenditure in Titles 1 and 2; and
*Enhancement of operational activities in Title3.
The table below shows the state of execution of the budget (in EUR) at 31 December 1999:
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5.3. Activity based budgeting 1999
1999 also saw the introduction of activity-based budgeting allowing the Foundation for the first time to demonstrate the link between resources and activities. Table 6 below shows the overall cost of the Foundation 's activities in staff terms as well as the proportion of the budget involved.
Table 6
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able 7 - Phare and Tacis vocational education and training conventions (Situation as of 15/12/99)
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*ETF Project Management