Brussels, 12/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - As the EU is preparing to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Erasmus programme, the European Commission launched, on 11 December “a new Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window” open to the EU's neighbours (Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Moldova, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine), to Russia, Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) and also to Iran, Iraq and Yemen. The first call for proposals will take place by the end of this year and will allow a total of 1,300 scholarships, of which 110 will be dedicated to Iran, Iraq and Yemen. These scholarships will facilitate the mobility of undergraduate, master, doctorate and post-doctoral students between countries and the EU, as well as exchanges of academic staff for the purposes of teaching, training and research. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy, said: “scholarships like these contribute to the development of partner countries and are an excellent way of fostering deeper understanding between our people. Against the backdrop of Iran's strained relations with the international community, it remains as important as ever for the EU to continue encouraging and supporting academic exchanges with that country”. (ol)