COUNCIL DECISION of 28 July 1989 establishing an action programme to promote foreign language competence in the European Community (Lingua) (89/489/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 128 and 235 thereof,
Having regard to Council Decision 63/266/EEC of 2 April 1963 laying down general principles for implementing a common vocational training policy (1), and in particular the seventh principle thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (3),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (4),
Whereas the seventh principle of Decision 63/266/EEC provides that the suitable training of teachers and instructors, whose numbers should be increased and whose technical and teaching skills should be developed, shall be one of the basic factors of any effective vocational training policy; and whereas its 10th principle provides that special measures may be taken in respect of special problems concerning specific sectors of activity or specific categories of persons;
Whereas the Treaty provides in Article 52 for the aboliton of restrictions on the freedom of establishment, and in Article 59 for the abolition of restrictions on the freedom to provide services;
Whereas the Treaty provides in Article 48 for the securement of freedom of movement of workers and requires the Council to adopt the measures necessary for its securement; whereas an increase in the capacity to communicate in foreign languages will further facilitate the achievement of these objectives;
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 of 15 October 1968 on freedom of movement of workers within the Community (5), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 312/76 (6), has provided for workers and the employed persons who exercise the right of free movement to another Member State to be accompanied by their dependent family;
Whereas the European Council has, in the Solemn Declaration on European Union adopted at its meeting in Stuttgart on 19 June 1983, and at its meeting at Fontainebleau on 23 and 24 June 1984 and Milan on 28 and 29 June 1985, where it adopted the Adonnino report on measures required to achieve a ´Peoples' Europe', stressed the importance which must be attached to foreign language teaching and learning within the Community;
Whereas the Council and Ministers of Education meeting within the Council, in adopting on 9 February 1976 a resolution (7) comprising an action programme in the field of education, selected the teaching of foreign languages as an appropriate area for Community activity and whereas they adopted conclusions on this subject at their meeting on 4 June 1984;
Whereas the establishment of the internal market should be facilitated by the quantitative and qualitative improvement of foreign language teaching and learning within the Community to enable the Community's citizens to communicate with each other and to overcome linguistic difficulties which impede the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital;
Whereas greater foreign language competence will enable the Community's citizens to reap the benefits of completion of the internal market and will enhance understanding and solidarity between the peoples which go to make up the Community, while preserving the linguistic diversity and cultural wealth of Europe;
Whereas, in promoting the diversification of the teaching and learning of foreign languages within the framework of the implementation of the Lingua programme, consideration will also be given to the role of the different languages of the Community in the world at large in terms of their economic, commercial and cultural significance;
Whereas it is appropriate to help to promote the implementation of the national policies of the Member States concerning foreign language training without affecting the characteristics of their education and training systems;
Whereas there is a specific need to encourage the teaching as foreign languages of all official languages of the Communities, together with Irish, one of the languages in
which the Treaties establishing the European Communities are drafted, and Letzeburgesch, a language spoken throughout the territory of Luxembourg;
Whereas the different Community programmes, notably Erasmus (8), Comett (9), ´Youth for Europe' (10), and the third joint programme to encourage the exchange of young workers within the Community (11), will not fully achieve their stated objectives without accompanying measures to promote training in foreign languages and need to be complemented by measures in the field of vocational training;
Whereas this action programme includes aspects relating to education and training policy which may be regarded as falling outside the establishment of general principles for implementing a common vocational training policy as provided for in Article 128 of the Treaty; whereas these aspects of the programme can, together with the vocational training objectives to which they are closely linked, contribute to the harmonious development of economic activities throughout the Community; whereas to this extent the Treaty has not provided the necessary powers, and action for this purpose appears necessary to attain, in the course of the operation of the common market, one of the objectives of the Community,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1 The European Community action programme to promote foreign language competence is hereby adopted.
The programme, hereinafter referred to as the ´Lingua programme', shall be implemented with effect from 1 January 1990 for a period of five years.
Article 2 The Lingua programme shall comprise:
(a) a framework of common guidelines to promote foreign language competence in the Community, as set out in Article 5;
(b) a series of measures to be implemented at Community level, as provided for in Article 8 and set out in the Annex, and designed to provide added value to measures taken by Member States.
Article 3 In the context of the Lingua programme, the term ´university' shall be used to cover all types of post-secondary education and training establishments which offer, where appropriate within the framework of advanced training, qualifications or diplomas of that level, whatever such establishments may be called in the Member States.
In the context of the Lingua programme, teaching and training establishments shall be understood as covering all categories of teaching and training establishments (not included in the abovementioned definition of ´university') supported by the Member States or by the public authorities of the Member States.
Foreign language teaching in the context of the Lingua programme shall refer only to the teaching as foreign languages of Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Letzeburgesch, Portuguese and Spanish.
Article 4 The principal objective of the Lingua programme shall be to promote a quantitative and qualitative improvement in foreign language competence with a view to developing communication skills within the Community. To that end, it shall, by means of Community-wide measures, provide opportunities for supporting and complementing Member States' policies and schemes aimed at achieving that objective.
Article 5 The Lingua programme shall help to promote the implementation of those of the policies which the Member States adopt, which they apply in the context of their internal structures and the characteristics and possibilities of their education and training systems and which are aimed at:
- encouraging all citizens to acquire a working knowledge of foreign languages,
- increasing opportunities for teaching and learning foreign languages in the Community and, in particular, encouraging competence in the least widely used and least taught foreign languages,
- promoting the provision of opportunities for university students to combine foreign language studies with the pursuit of their main disciplines, as a recognized component of their degree, diploma or other qualification,
- raising the standard of foreign language teaching by improving the initial and in-service training of foreign-language teachers and trainers, by increasing the opportunities for them to reap the benefits of appropriate preparation abroad,
- encouraging employers and professional organizations to promote training in foreign languages for the workforce in order to take full advantage of the internal market, with particular reference to the needs of the small and medium-sized enterprises and of the peripheral and least-developed regions of the Community,
- promoting innovation in methods of foreign language training and in the exploitation of the communications technologies used.
Article 6 The Community measures provided for in Article 8 shall help to promote the implementation of those of the policies which the Member States adopt, which they apply in the context of their internal structures and the characteristics and possibilities of their education and training systems and which are aimed at:
- enabling practising foreign-language teachers to improve their professional competence, notably through periods of in-service training or professional experience in a Member State in which the language they teach is spoken,
- enabling students studying foreign languages and, where the education and training system of a Member State allows, intending teachers of foreign languages in particular, to spend a recognized period of their initial training, of at least three months' duration, in a Member State in which the language they are studying is spoken,
- encouraging both sides of industry, professional organizations and in-service training establishments to set up facilities to develop the linguistic skills of the workforce; likewise, developing foreign language knowledge within the framework of initial and in-service vocational training,
- encouraging young people undergoing professional, vocational and technical education to participate in exchange programmes which are based on pedagogical projects,
- promoting innovation in methods of foreign language teaching.
The Member States shall provide a report on the situation in the above fields by 31 December 1992 at the latest.
Article 7 The Member States shall designate one or more competent structures responsible for coordinating at national level the implementation of the measures as described in the Annex.
Article 8 To give a significant Community impetus to the efforts of Member States to raise the level of foreign language competence among workers and future workers, the Commission shall implement various supporting measures as set out in the Annex, account being taken of the differing needs and situations in Member States, with particular regard to the least widely used and least taught languages in the Community.
Article 9 1. The Commission shall implement the Lingua programme in accordance with the provisions of the Annex.
2. In the performance of that task, the Commission shall be assisted by a committee composed of two representatives appointed by each Member State and chaired by the Commission representative. The members of the committee may be assisted by experts or advisers.
The committee shall coordinate its work with the Erasmus Committee in regard to Action II of the Annex to this Decision.
3. The Commission representative shall submit to the committee drafts of measures concerning:
(a) the general guidelines governing the Lingua programme;
(b) the general guidelines on the financial assistance to be provided by the Community (amounts, duration and recipients of assistance);
(c) questions relating to the overall balance of the Lingua programme, including the breakdown between the various actions and the encouragement of the use of all foreign languages.
4. The committee shall deliver its opinion on these drafts of measures within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of Decisions which the Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States within the committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall not vote.
The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply immediately. However, if these measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the committee, they shall be communicated by the Commission to the Council forthwith.
In that event, the Commission may defer application of the measures which it has decided upon for a period of two months.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision within the time limit referred to in the previous subparagraph.
5. In addition, the Commission may consult the committee on any other matter concerning the implementation of the Lingua programme.
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall deliver its opinion on this draft, within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote.
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes.
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the committee of the manner in which its opinion has been taken into account.
Article 10 The funds estimated as necessary for the execution of the Lingua programme during the five-year period 1990 to 1994 amount to ECU 200 million.
The annual appropriations necessary to cover the Community contribution to the measures provided for in the programme shall be established in the annual budgetary procedure in accordance with the financial outlook decided on jointly by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission and the way it develops.
Article 11 The Commission shall ensure that there is consistency and complementarity between the Community actions to be developed under the Lingua programme and other Community programmes involving vocational training and the mobility and exchange of persons, in particular the Erasmus, Comett, Delta and ´Youth for Europe' programmes and the third joint programme to encourage the exchange of young workers within the Community. The Commission shall maintain contact as appropriate with international organizations active in this field, particularly the Council of Europe.
Article 12 An annual report on the functioning of the Lingua programme shall be submitted by the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the Economic and Social Committee, as well as the Education Committee.
Article 13 The Council will evaluate the experience in implementing the Lingua programme at the end of the second year of operation on the basis of a report to be presented by the Commission, accompanied if appropriate by a proposal to adapt it.
Done at Brussels, 28 July 1989.