In a meeting held on the 7th of December, between Minister Dolores Cristina and Androulla Vassilliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, the status of the suspension of the EU Education Programmes, Youth in Action and Lifelong Learning was discussed. Mr Jan Truczcynski, Director General of DG Education and Culture was also present for the meeting.

Commissioner Vassilliou acknowledged that following the visit by the Commission to Malta from 26 to 29 October, it was established that significant progress has been registered in the structures in place at the Ministry of Education, Employment and the Family and at the European Union Programmes Agency, as the National Authority and the National Agency of the EU Education Programmes respectively. This progress is in line with the action plan that was agreed with the Commission following the suspension of the EU Programmes.

This was confirmed in a letter from the Commission received on 8 December, where the Commission stated that taking into account the realised progress made and the commitment of the Maltese Authorities, it is confident that the programmes’ reopening could be envisaged by March 2011. This would allow Maltese individuals and organisations to apply in March 2011 for participation in the Youth in Action and Lifelong Learning (notably Erasmus) calls.

A technical meeting between the Commission and the Maltese authorities has been set for 14 December to establish the remaining actions that are required for the Commission to lift the suspension. The Government is committed to carry out in the shortest time possible these actions with a view for the Commission to carry out a visit to Malta at the end of January to confirm that the remaining actions have been implemented and therefore suspension can be lifted.

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