Mr President, in Finland we ordinary people say: ‘All in the good time of the powers-that-be.’ We could say the same in connection with this, as the political balance sheet for the Year of Lifelong Learning (1996) is yet to be reckoned. In spite of the time wasted, the rapporteur regrets that the qualitative assessment of the implementation of the theme year programme is imperfect. The number of opportunities can surely be counted in a shorter space of time than this. In a seminar on the European paper industry held here in Strasbourg on Wednesday a representative of employees in the industry turned our intention to an important issue. When we purchase hardware, it is always an investment, but when we acquire software labelled ‘company staff training’, it is not considered to be an investment. The rapporteur has justifiably emphasised this. Training has to be considered to be an investment and not a running cost. We must stress the importance of the fact that lifelong learning also involves an all-round educational element and not just a professional one. Far too often training is too biased in its scope, and that is especially true today of information society development. Electronic programs are complicated and get more so all the time. Those who master the language of software often do not understand the language of its content. Can I ask something that is being asked in Finland now? A man speaks six languages, but what has he got to say? A person might speak the language of computers in the information society, but perhaps he has nothing else to say. It is only noughts and ones anyway. In this, we are clashing with the eEurope strategy, which the Commission prepared for the Lisbon summit. Much attention was paid to hardware in it, but little to that software which we call training software. The public must be trained, not only to use computers, but also to use them for their own benefit. People must know how to use computers for beneficial and essential purposes so they can improve their own way of working and take better control of their lives. Nowadays, everyone must have the necessary reading and writing skills to use the various forms of electronic media to their advantage. This new sort of literacy has to be taught to many adults starting at the beginning. When, under the eEurope programme, the aim is in place to bring a computer cable into every home, that will increase democracy. These days, democracy is created by everyone having equal access to a diverse array of information. For the information to be fully exploited we have to remember that learning is also a social event. Training cannot be left to depend on the eEurope programme alone: we also need social communities for it. As no one knows everything, an individual must be able to decide for him/herself what is worth knowing. If the state makes that decision it is just a step away from propaganda and indoctrination. When we examine EU programmes, which are often mean the same kind of thing for everyone or contain demands for conformity on the part of everyone, we see we are turning the EU into a totalitarian federation. We need lifelong learning and all-round educational knowledge, so that we can counter the attempt by the European Union to create a European totalitarian state and be its politburo.

Political group: GUE-NGL