I refer to the article entitled “Participation in EU programmes on the decrease” (TMID 28 February). I regret to inform you that the title of the article is totally wrong and does not reflect the participation of Maltese people in EU educational programmes.

The article title is based on the decrease in participation of one out of five categories of the Leonardo Da Vinci Programme. In actual fact when all programmes are taken into consideration, participation is on the increase.

Since there is an increase in requests for funding in all the categories, it is only natural that if in a particular year there is an increase in focus on one category this has to be done at the expense of the other.

The EU allocates a fixed budget every year. Consequently, conclusions should be drawn on the summation of the five categories. In this regard one finds that participation has always been on the increase, with additional funds being allocated every year.

In fact, an overwhelming amount of funds have been allocated for this year making 2006 the most successful for the Leonardo da Vinci National Agency within the European Union Programmes Unit (EUPU).

A total of 45 applications were submitted requesting a total of over E1m and which include over 750 beneficiaries.

Apart from being a successful year in terms of numbers, it was also a milestone for the National Agency, due to the fact that the targets set were not only reached but surpassed.

This year, the agency focused on promotion with private companies and entities. This resulted in the majority of applications being submitted by private and semi-public entities/organisations.

Moreover, projects submitted cover a wide range of vocational training to persons employed in various sectors most notably bee-keeping and honey production, the aviation industry, mental health, vocational training to self-employed and people working in small enterprises, insurance agencies, people handling dog rescuers, and football schools.

As for youths engaged in exchanges through the Youth programme, these increased from 239 in 2003 to 314 last year. Only one person participated in the European Voluntary Service last year. However, there was a considerable increase in hosting projects which amounted to six between 2002 and 2004 and increased to 10 in 2005. On the other hand, there was an increase in participation in group initiatives from 45 in 2004 to 110 last year.

While the article itself clearly shows that there was an increase and not a decrease in the number of participants, the title of the article misleads readers from the outset.

Adrian Tonna

National Coordinator