Madam President, Commissioner, an ambitious objective was set in Lisbon in spring 2000 that Europe should develop into the world’s most competitive knowledge-based economy in 10 years’ time. There were a number of concrete aims associated with the conclusions reached at the summit relating to education, especially training in information technology. In addition to IT training, the Lisbon process emphasises the importance of lifelong learning. We on the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport are pleased that education is now higher up on the Union agenda. We need jointly set objectives and indicators and joint action. The new jobs that are being created mainly demand special skills. Mastery of IT is nowadays required in most professions. It is also one of today’s areas of civic education, which, if neglected, makes life difficult for people and exposes them to exclusion. Education is not only a key to inclusion on the part of our citizens, but also a basic prerequisite for our societies to succeed. It is good that the EU Education Ministers have been able to agree together on concrete aims for education and training and that the Bologna and Bruges processes, aimed at the recognition of qualifications, are under way. In the opinion of the Committee on Culture, in addition to education and lifelong learning, open coordination is also needed in other areas that come under the job description of the Committee, that is, in policy on youth, the media, culture and sport. Increased cooperation will boost the functionality of the Internal Market as well as our citizens’ prosperity and degree of inclusion. That way we will create the right conditions for social unity, steady development and belief in the future. The introduction of open coordination in the field of education has, despite its worthwhile objectives, nevertheless meant problems. It has increased the power of civil servants and pushed aside both the European Parliament and national parliaments in the way it acquires information and exerts influence. This cannot continue. In the resolution it is drafting, the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport is calling for a clearer and greater role for the European Parliament. That is necessary for the process to have democratic authority. The committee is also stressing that the open coordination method must not be allowed to become like other legislative procedures but at the same time a closed procedure which will undermine the legislative aims laid down in the Treaty establishing the European Community. In its resolution the committee invites the Council and the Commission to hold talks with the European Parliament in order to establish an interinstitutional agreement on the open coordination method. The agreement should contain rules on the choice of policy areas to be included in the open coordination method and a process for applying them in a way that is consistent. The European Parliament must be able to participate in decision-making fully and on equal terms. In the view of the committee thinks the interinstitutional agreement should contain rules concerning the European Parliament’s participation in drawing up aims and indicators. At the same time we must agree on access to documents, participation in meetings, monitoring progress and the dissemination of information. What is most important, however, is that open coordination should become a Community process. It should be decided on by the European Convention, now on the home straight, and at a future Intergovernmental Conference. Running parallel with the aims of the Committee on Culture is the report by Mrs Smet on open coordination in the field of employment and social affairs, which is being discussed today. It is good that two of Parliament’s committees are playing an active role in the creation of a parliamentary dimension for open coordination, something we obviously need in Europe.

Political group: PSE