SOCRATES is an action programme of the European Union in the field of education. The Socrates programme is based on articles 150 & 151 of the Treaty of the European Union. Both these articles provide that the European Union contribute to the development of quality education by means of a range of initiatives to be put in place by the Member States.
In a number of documents, the Council of Europe and the European Commission convene that the Socrates Programme, together with the Leonardo, Youth and other EU Programmes are to be considered kick-off experiences for the creation of a European-wide education and training area.
The goals and objectives of the Socrates programme are:
- to strengthen the European Union at all levels;
- to facilitate transnational acess educational resources within Europe;
- to promote equal opportunities throughout education and training;
- to promote the learning of EU languages, above all the least spoken ones;
- to promote cooperation and mobility, and in turn :
a) to stimulate exchanges between education institutions;
b) to encourage distance learning and open education;
c) to introduce an improvement in the system of diploma, as well as study period recognition;
d) to improve the exchange of information and overcome the remaining obstacles;
e) to encourage innovation in teaching as well as review areas of common interest as concerns learning and teaching policies.