/ Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης

BACKGROUND NOTES EDUCATION/YOUTH COUNCIL, 12 February 2001

Date: 09/02/2001
Policy area: Education and youth affairs
News item: Council background notes

This extraordinary meeting of the Education/Youth Council has been convened in preparation of the European Council in Stockholm on 23/24 March 2001. It starts at 14h30.
The Council will focus on a number of matters deriving from the conclusions of the European Council of Lisbon (March 2000). The Education Council was given at that occasion an enhanced role in contributing to the strategic goal as set out in Lisbon, i.e. making the EU "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion". The most important items on the agenda will be the adoption of a report to the European Council on future objectives of the education and training systems and the discussion on strategies for lifelong learning.
 

Report on future objectives of education and training systems

The Council should approve a report on concrete future objectives of education and training systems as requested by the European Council in Lisbon in March 2000. The report will be submitted to the European Council in Stockholm (23/24 March 2001).

The Lisbon conclusions invited the Education Council "to undertake a general reflection on the concrete future objectives of education systems, focusing on common concerns and priorities while respecting national diversity, with a view to contributing to the Luxembourg and Cardiff processes and presenting a broader report to the European Council in the Spring of 2001".

Work on the report started on the basis of a document prepared by the Commission of which a preliminary draft had been presented to the Education/Youth Council of 9 November 2000. The Commission document is based on the Member States' responses to a questionnaire asking them how they had implemented the Lisbon conclusions. Following discussions at working group level, the Presidency established a new draft.

The draft report to be considered by the Education Council is divided into three chapters: the challenges, the objectives and the future role of education in the Lisbon follow-up. It defines three concrete strategic objectives for the coming ten years:

increase the quality and effectiveness of education and training systems in the European Union,
facilitate the access of all to the education and training systems,
open up education and training systems to the wider world.

The draft report lays down rough guidelines for a work programme for the next decade, which will be further developed by the Education Council during 2001. It also foresees to present at regular intervals reports to the European Council on the progress made.
 

Strategies for lifelong learning

The Council will have an exchange of views on how to develop strategies for lifelong learning, in the framework of

the Commission's Memorandum on lifelong learning on the one hand, and
the Employment Guidelines for 2001 on the other hand.

The Presidency has prepared a background document and put questions for the intention of Ministers.

Commission Memorandum on lifelong learning

Following the Lisbon and Santa Maria da Feira European Councils in 2000, which stressed the importance of lifelong learning for the society and employment, the Commission has produced a Memorandum which was already presented to the Education Council on 9November 2000. The intention is to promote the development of a coherent overall strategy for lifelong learning in Europe and to launch a wide-ranging debate at European and Member States' level. The consultation process will result in a Commission Communication to be presented towards the end of 2001, which will set specific objectives and outline concrete points for action. The Memorandum contains six key messages (offer everyone the possibility to gain new skills, promote investment in human resources, foster innovation in teaching and learning, value learning, facilitate access to information, bring learning closer to home by using new technologies).

The following questions are put to the attention of the Ministers:
Is there agreement on the approach to lifelong learning and to the key policy areas suggested by the Commission? Out of the six key messages presented, which ones would be of highest priority for action in the various Member States?
How could permeability between different areas of learning be ensured, i.e. between different stages of formal education and training and between formal and non-formal and informal learning? How could assessment and recognition of knowledge, qualifications and skills be improved?
In which areas would national developments particularly benefit from strengthened co-operation at European level? What outcome is expected of the debate initiated by the Commission?

Employment Guidelines 2001

The theme of lifelong learning is one of the horizontal objectives included in the Employment Guidelines for 2001. Member States are asked to define coherent strategies "in order to help people acquire and update the skills needed to cope with economic and social changes throughout the entire life cycle".

The Employment Guidelines form part of the European strategy for employment launched by the Luxembourg European Council in 1997. As Member States are in the process of preparing their National Action Plans for Employment for 2001, the Presidency felt it appropriate to discuss at this stage how Member States could best contribute to the implementation of the new Employment Guidelines.

The following questions are put to the Council:
How could individual actions and targets suggested in the Employment Guidelines for 2001 be converted into a coherent lifelong learning strategy for employment? Which priority actions do Education Ministers plan to undertake?
How could Education Ministers strengthen their contribution to the Luxembourg process? Are there benefits to be drawn from the setting of guidelines and targets in the education and training field implicit in this process?
 

Evaluation report on the first Leonardo programme (1995-1999)

The Council will be informed by the Commission on the conclusions of the final evaluation report covering the first phase of the Community action programme in the field of vocational training "Leonardo da Vinci" (1995-1999). The evaluation report, dated 12 January 2001, is provided for in the decision establishing the Leonardo programme.
 

European Year of Languages 2001

The Commission will report to the Council on the preparations of the "European Year of Languages 2001". Formal launch will take place in Lund (Sweden) on 18-20 February 2001.

The European Year of Languages is a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Union. The aim is to show the richness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to raise awareness of the benefits of learning languages. The "Year of Languages" will sponsor meetings and events, finance information and promotional campaigns and commission surveys and studies.
 

Opening of TEMPUS III to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY)

The Council will be informed by the Commission on the possibilities for opening up the trans-European co-operation scheme for higher education (TEMPUS) to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The third phase of the TEMPUS programme (TEMPUS III) covers the period 2000 to 2006. It is the framework for co-operation with the non-associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well as with the new independent States of the former Soviet Union and Mongolia in the area of higher education.
 

Joint informal conference of Education and Research Ministers
(Uppsala, 1-3 March 2001)

The Presidency will provide the Council with information on this first joint ministerial meeting of Education and Research Ministers since 1994. Both sectors are deeply implicated in the strategic goal as defined by the Lisbon European Council in March 2000, i.e. to make the EU "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion".

Confronted with skill gaps and the difficulty of attracting students to scientific and technical careers, the debate will focus in particular on ways to stimulate the interest of young people in these areas.