ABSTRACT
The European Union (EU) funding of education and training is analysed in the context of the Community finances and with particular reference to the expenditure on vocational training through the Structural Funds, and the expenditure on education and training through the various education programmes. The finances are crystallised each year in the Community annual budget which includes two interrelated components: the revenue and the expenditure. The Structural Funds of the Community are aimed at strengthening its economic and social cohesion, combating long-term unemployment and improving the skills of the labour market. There are three interrelated areas in which Community action takes place: education proper, vocational training, and youth exchanges. The main reason for the relatively low proportion the UK gets in the allocation of student grants, as compared with the high proportion of institutions involvement in the Erasmus inter-university cooperation programmes, is that the United Kingdom operates mostly as a host country for students.
