20/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is proposing to the Council prolonging, for the period 2001-2005, the EU/United States and EU/Canada agreements concerning the cooperation programmes in higher education and vocational training. Commissioner Viviane Reding stressed that the previous programmes were beginning to bear fruit and that it was therefore imperative that they be extended, but regrets that the budget should be inadequate. The new EU/United States programme will have a budget of 8.6 million euro (whereas it ought to be 14 million), and the one with Canada 3.65 million (whereas there ought to be 10). Ms. Reding hopes that these figures may be further improved.
Should the Council agree, the signing ceremony could take place in Washington on 18 December and in Ottawa on 19 December (on the fringe of the half-yearly summits), and the final conclusion would follow in February, once the EP's opinion has been secured.