Division III SELECTION PROCEDURES

Procedures for the proposal and selection of the activities referred to in this Annex are as follows:

1. 1..

   Decentralised actions

   The following actions, under which the selection decisions are taken by the Member States, are to be considered ‘decentralised’:

   1. (a)

      • Action 1.1 (School partnerships)

      • Action 1.2, point 2(a), (b), (c) (Mobility actions within training partnerships for school educational staff)

      • Action 3, point 2(h) (Visits and exchanges in adult education)

      • Action 6.1, point 2(b) (Arion study visits)

      • preparatory visits under all actions.

      Requests for financial assistance submitted under these actions are to be submitted to the Socrates national agencies designated by the Member States in accordance with Article 5 of the Decision. The Member States, with the assistance of the Socrates national agencies, will carry out the selection and allocate financial assistance to the applicants selected in accordance with general guidelines to be established under Article 8(2) of the Decision.

   2. (b)

      Action 2.2, point 3 (Mobility of students and university teachers)

      The awarding of the financial assistance to students and university teachers for mobility assignments within the institutional contracts mentioned in Action 2.1 and for the organisation of the mobility of students and university teachers will be carried out by Member States with the assistance of the Socrates national agencies designated pursuant to Article 5 of the Decision, taking into account the past performance of the universities concerned, in accordance with general guidelines to be established under Article 8(2) of the Decision.

2. 2..

   Centralised actions

   The following actions, under which the selection decisions are taken by the Commission, are to be considered ‘centralised’:

   1. (a)

      • Action 1.2, point 2(d), (e), (f), (g) (Multilateral cooperation activities)

      • Action 3, point 2(a) to (g) and (i) (Multilateral cooperation activities)

      • Action 4 (Lingua)

      • Action 5 (Minerva)

      • Action 6.2 (Innovatory initiatives).

      For the selection of projects under these actions, the following procedure will apply:

      1. (i)

         project coordinators will submit a project proposal to the Commission and send a copy to the Socrates national agency designated by the respective Member State;

      2. (ii)

         the Commission, with the assistance of independent experts will assess the project proposals. National agencies may provide the Commission with their assessment of these proposals;

      3. (iii)

         in cases where the Commission's assessment is at variance with the assessment received from the national agency in the coordinating country concerning the quality or appropriateness of the project, the Commission shall, upon request of the Member State, consult with the Member State concerned. The duration of this consultation process shall not exceed two weeks;

      4. (iv)

         the Commission will submit to the committee a proposal on the final selection (projects to be supported and amounts to be awarded) in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 8(2) of the Decision;

      5. (v)

         after receiving the opinion of the committee, the Commission will establish the list of selected projects and allocate the amounts to be awarded.

      In certain cases, owing in particular to the scale and nature of the activities in question, a two-phase procedure may be adopted. In such cases, the procedure set out above is preceded by the submission and selection of pre-proposals. The decision in this regard and the arrangements for the pre-selection will be determined in accordance with Article 8(2) of the Decision.

   2. (b)

      • Action 1.3 (Networks related to school partnerships and the training of staff involved in school education)

      • Action 2.1 (European inter-university cooperation)

      • Action 2.3 (Erasmus thematic networks)

      • Action 3.3 (Networks in adult education)

      • Action 6.1, points 2(a), (c), (d), (e) (Observation)

      • Action 8 (Accompanying Measures)

   Project proposals under these actions will be submitted to the Commission. The Commission, in the case of Actions 1.3, 2.3 and 3.3 with the assistance of independent experts, will assess the project proposals. Decisions on the project proposals will be taken by the Commission after receiving the opinion of the committee in accordance with Article 8(2) of the Decision.

   The two-phase procedure referred to in the final paragraph of Section III.2(a) will apply to Actions 1.3, 2.3 and 3.3 under the same conditions as set out in that paragraph.

3. 3..

   Joint actions

   Procedures for selection under Action 7 of the programme (Joint Actions) will be determined in accordance with Article 8(2) of the Decision. Where appropriate, the procedures set out above may be adapted in order to meet the special requirements of the Joint Actions in question. The Commission will make every effort to ensure optimal coordination between these procedures and those adopted within the other Community programmes or actions with which the Joint Actions in question are implemented.

4. 4..

   The Commission, assisted by the Member States, will endeavour to ensure that the selection decisions are made known to applicants at the latest five months after the closing date for submission of applications under the action in question. For projects selected in accordance with the two-phase procedure provided for under point 2(a) and (b), this will only refer to the second stage of the selection (full project proposal).

5. 5..

   The Commission and, in the case of decentralised actions, the Member States will seek to ensure optimal coordination between the procedures and deadlines for submitting and selecting applications for support within this programme and the Community programmes in the fields of vocational training and youth respectively.