No C 90/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 4.4. 87 
95,0 at the pump. If a Member State introduces such a 
prohibition it shall give at least six months notice to the 
public' 
Article 2 
1. Member States shall inform the Commission in 
advance of any measures they intend to take pursuant to 
this Directive. 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 128 
thereof, 
Having regard to Council Decision 63/266/EEC of 
2 April 1963 laying down general principles for 
implementing a common vocational training policy (*), 
and in particular the Second and Tenth Principles, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the fundamental objectives of the common 
vocational training policy set down in the second 
principle of Decision 63/266/EEC refer in particular to 
the need to guarantee adequate vocational training for 
all and to avoid any harmful interruption between 
completion of general education and commencement of 
vocational training; 
Whereas the Tenth Principle of Decision 63/266/EEC 
states that special measures may be taken in respect of 
special problems concerning specific sectors of activity or 
specific categories of persons; 
Whereas the Council in its Resolution of 18 December 
1979 on linked work and training for young persons (2) 
affirmed that there is a continuing need to encourage the 
development of effective links between training and job 
(') OJ No 63, 20. 4. 1963, p. 1338/63. 
(2) OJNoC 1, 3. 1. 1980, p. 1. 2. Member States shall communicate to the 
Commission the texts of the provisions of national law 
which they adopt in the field governed by this Directive. 
Article 3 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
experience and to establish coordinated programmes and 
structures making for cooperation between the various 
bodies responsible; 
Whereas it is a priority objective that young people 
should be properly prepared for working life and their 
responsibilities as adults, and that measures be developed 
to improve the transition of young people from school to 
adult and working life; 
Whereas there is a need for all young people wishing to 
do so to receive one year or, if possible, two years 
vocational training in addition to their compulsory 
education, as agreed by the European Council at its 
meeting in June 1985 when it adopted the report of the 
ad hoc Committee on a People's Europe and mandated 
the Commission and the Council, acting within their 
respective powers, to ensure the implementation of the 
proposals contained therein; 
Whereas there is a need to promote further action and to 
build on the achievements as well as the measures pre­
viously taken at Community level in respect of vocational 
education and training and to complement the financial 
interventions in support of youth training currently 
carried out within the framework of the European Social 
Fund; 
Where there is a need to give a visible European 
dimension to the different policy measures designed to 
raise the standards of vocational education and training 
for young people throughout the Community and to 
place greater emphasis on better information for young 
people, on active participation and on the development 
of their entrepreneurial capacities; Proposal for a Council Decision adopting an Action Programme for the training and 
preparation of young people for adult and working life 
COM(87) 90final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 20 March 1987) 
(87/C 90/04) 
4.4.87 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 90/5 
Whereas there is a need to give a European dimension to 
the various training initiatives and to stimulate exchange 
of experience between Member States as a contribution 
to the achievement of the internal market and the 
elimination of barriers to the free movement of persons 
in the Community, 
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: 
Article 1 
A programme to stimulate improvements, within the 
Community, in the training and preparation of young 
people for adult and working life is hereby adopted for a 
five year period commencing on 1 July 1987. 
This programme, in pursuance of common policies on 
vocational training, is designed to assist Member States 
in ensuring that all young people in the Community 
wishing to do so receive one year's, or if possible two 
years', vocational training in addition to their 
compulsory education. 
Article 2 
In order to raise the standards and quality of training 
provisions throughout the Community, the objectives of 
the programme shall be as follows: 
1. to support, in cooperation with the Member States 
and the social partners, the development and intro­
duction of measures to strengthen links and 
cooperation at all levels between the vocational 
education and training systems and with all sectors of 
the economy both public and private with a view to: 
— adapting curricula to enhance the capacity of 
young people to achieve their full potential and to 
take account of economic, technological and 
social change, 
— providing and developing a variety of learning 
opportunities which reflect working life and the 
practical realities and needs of the economy and, 
— helping young people as far as possible to develop 
an understanding of trends in the world of 
industry, commerce, services and agriculture, and 
of the further training and employment 
implications and opportunities for them; 
2. to support closer cooperation and the bridging of 
gaps between the various agencies responsible for the 
vocational education and training and guidance of 
. young people, including as appropriate public, private 
and voluntary bodies and youth organizations at 
national, regional or local levels. Such cooperation, 
based on the idea of shared responsibility for the 
social and vocational integration of young people, should be designed to facilitate the coordination and 
cost-effective implementation of all services and 
policies aimed at young people by: 
— diversifying the provision for vocational education 
and training so as to offer choice for young 
people with different kinds of ability leading to 
recognized vocational training qualifications; 
— allowing for more flexible approaches towards 
achieving a better balance between the need for 
breadth in the programmes on offer and the 
requirements for necessary vocational special­
ization; 
3. with respect to the above objectives, to encourage 
partnership initiatives which aim to provide an 
integrated approach to the vocational education and 
training and guidance of young people as part of the 
Community's active employment policy and involve 
the social partners in the dialogue about the setting of 
training standards; 
4. to encourage a greater use of opportunities which 
have been created outside the traditional systems for a 
more diversified process of guidance and counselling, 
and also to promote the coordinated provision of 
guidance and counselling both during the final period 
of compulsory education and on a continuing basis 
thereafter in the light of the needs of young people, 
especially young women; 
5. to promote equal opportunities and give special 
attention to young people who are disadvantaged — 
whether because of their culture or race, their mental 
or physical handicap, their social or economic back­
ground or because of their levels of attainment as 
school-leavers, in particular through: 
— training programmes to assist long-term 
unemployed young people, 
— measures taken in the final period of compulsory 
schooling to ensure the acquiring of basic skills, 
— measures taken to enable young women to par­
ticipate on an equal basis in vocational training 
programmes; 
6. to encourage the development of creativity, initiative 
and entrepreneurial spirit to assist young people in 
taking an active part in planning and shaping their 
own futures, and to help them acquire the skills and 
confidence necessary to enter vocational education 
and training programmes and/or the labour market, 
with particular reference to the initiative and adap­
tability required of workers in small and medium-
sized enterprises; 
No C 90/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 4.4.87 
7. to strengthen the Community dimension in the 
planning and implementation of vocational education 
and training strategies so as to promote greater 
flexibility of response by the training systems to the 
complex challenges emerging from rapid economic, 
technological and social change, so that training may 
become a more vital and integral factor in both 
economic and social development. 
Article 3 
1. In order to achieve the objectives stated in Article 
2, and to support and complement the work of the 
Member States, the Commission shall carry out specific 
incentive and complementary measures, as set out in the 
Annex. 
2. In performing this task the Commission shall be 
assisted by a Committee. The Committee shall be 
composed of 26 members: 
(a) two representatives per Member State, representing 
the education and training authorities, as appro­
priate. These members shall be appointed by the 
Commission on the basis of proposals from the 
Member States; 
(b) two representatives of the social partners, appointed 
by the Commission on the basis of proposals from 
the Community-level organizations representing the 
social partners; 
Members of the Committee may be assisted by experts or 
advisers. 
A representative of the Youth Forum shall participate in 
the work of the Committee as an observer. The Committee shall be chaired by a representative of 
the Commission. 
The proceedings of the Committee shall be confidential. 
The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure. 
Secretarial services shall be provided by the Commission. 
3. The Commission may consult the Committee on all 
questions concerning the implementation of the 
programme and its coherence with national policies. 
In seeking the Committee's views, the Commission may 
specify the deadlines by which these views shall be 
submitted. 
The Committee's discussions shall not be followed by a 
vote. However, every member of the Committee shall 
have the right to require that his/her opinion be 
recorded in the minutes. 
Article 4 
1. Regular reports on the implementation of the 
action programme shall be submitted to the Advisory 
Committee for Vocational Training set up under Council 
Decision 63/688/EEC (') and to the Education 
Committee, set up pursuant to the Resolution of 9 
February 1976 of the Council and of the Ministers of 
Education, meeting within the Council (2). 
2. An interim report on the implementation of this 
action programme shall be presented to the Council and 
to the European Parliament by the Member States and 
by the Commission before the end of 1989, and a final 
report before the end of 1992. 
O OJ No 190, 30. 12. 1963, p. 3090/63. 
O OJNoC38, 19.2. 1976, p. 1. 
ANNEX 
to the draft Decision adopting an Action Programme for the training and preparation of young people for 
adult and working life 
1. This action programme is designed to incorporate a range of incentive and complementary measures to 
be pursued by the Commission in collaboration with the Member States and the social partners, to 
encourage innovation and the qualitative improvement of vocational education and training systems in 
the European Community. 
2. For the duration of the programme 1987-1992, support may be given for the following activities: 
(a) Support for partnership initiatives in vocational education and training which: 
— involve a clear commitment to mobilise the collective resources of the public, private and 
voluntary sectors so as to develop a cooperative or an integrated approach to the vocational 
education, training and counselling needs of young people, 
— demonstrate a commitment to liaise with counterpart initiatives in other Member States, for 
example through twinning agreements, and to take an active role in a Community-wide network 
providing technical assistance, monitoring and evaluation. 
Official Journal of the European Communities No C 90/7 
The financial contribution of the Community will be limited to the operational expenses incurred 
through activities with a European dimension, linked to the European network, up to a maximum of 
30 000 ECU per partnership, for a maximum of two years. Support will also be granted for specific 
projects exchanging experience, up to 50 % of the cost; 
(b) Technical assistance consisting of: 
— special measures, including the sending of teams of experts, to advise on or tackle training 
problems in specific areas or regions, 
— a financial contribution to assist in the developments of the training partnerships referred to 
in (a). 
The financial contribution of the Community will consist of a maximum of 50 000 ECU per project; 
(c) Support for comparative research programmes involving technical assistance for cooperation 
between designated agencies participating in the cooperative programme. 
A contribution will also be given for the synthesis of the cooperative research and for dissemination 
conferences at national and Community level. 
The financial contribution of the Community will consist of a maximum of 40 000 ECU per 
programme of comparative research. The contribution for synthesis and dissemination conferences 
will be limited to 50 000 ECU, or 50 % of the cost of the conference, whichever is the lower; 
(d) Co-sponsoring of surveys of coverage of youth training measures, which 
— survey trends in the movement of young people through and between the education and training 
systems, 
— pay attention to specific problems relating to youth provision, particularly early drop outs and 
young people living in rural, peripheral and the most deprived areas, 
— break down results by sex. 
The financial contribution of the Community is limited to a maximum of 50 000 ECU per survey; 
(e) Support and technical assistance for establishing the conditions for a regular review of the evolution 
of vocational qualifications, and the pooling of experience in this field; 
(f) Support for youth information projects, which 
— involve the production of effective information resources to facilitate the transition of young 
people to adult and working life and actively involve young people in the gathering and pres­
entation of information, 
— assist existing agencies in making their services more accessible to young people, especially those 
whom they normally do not reach, 
— include a commitment to exchange experience and share information at national and community 
level. 
The financial contribution of the Community will consist of a maximum of 10 000 ECU per project, 
representing not more than 50 % of the cost of the project; 
(g) Support for youth initiatives, which 
— enable young people to develop skills, initiative and responsibility through training, use of the 
media and new technology and through voluntary work and community projects, 
— assist disadvantaged young people and the development of policies concerning them, 
— include a commitment to exchange experience and share information at national and 
Community level. 
No C 90/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 4.4.87 
The financial contribution will consist of a maximum of 10 000 ECU per initiative, representing in 
general not more than 50 % of the cost of the initiative, but up to 80 % in the case of initiatives 
managed entirely by young people; 
(h) The strengthening of the existing scheme for the exchange of training specialists, currently 
organized with the technical assistance of Cedefop, giving particular attention to the selection of 
training specialists involved in the implementation of the objectives of the Decision; 
(i) Support for regular dialogue to monitor the implementation of the Council Decision and associated 
action programme, by means of financial contributions for a series of high-level European 
Conferences. 
The financial contribution of the Community will consist of 100 000 ECU per conference, 
representing not more than 50 % of the cost. 
3. Complementary measures may be carried out by the Commission, including: 
-— dissemination of information and exchange of experience, 
— networking arrangements for partnerships, youth information projects and initiatives, 
— monitoring and analysis at Community level, 
— assistance for the organization of seminars, conferences and specific cooperation projects.