Community action programme Socrates: financial framework 1995-1999

In its amended proposal, the Commission did not accept the main amendment made by Parliament at first reading, which concerned increasing the budget allocation to ECU 100 m rather than the ECU 50 m originally proposed by the Commission. However, it accepted other amendments whose purpose was: -to stress that the success of the programme would be compromised if the percentage of projects supported were to be reduced and if the annual average amount of support granted fell below a critical threshold, which would disadvantage those from less favoured backgrounds, -to provide for adequate funding to enable the associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Cyprus to participate in the programme from 1998. It also incorporated an amendment stating that additional Socrates funding could be incorporated within the overall allocation for heading 3 of the financial perspective and within the limit of the appropriations available during the two financial years concerned.�