HAVING REGARD to: 1. The Lisbon European Council conclusions of 23 and 24 March 2000, which emphasised that investing in people was crucial to Europe’s place in the knowledge economy, and which called upon Member States to take steps to remove obstacles to teachers’ mobility and to attract high-quality teachers (1). 2. Objective 1.1 of the ‘Education & Training 2010’ work programme, which highlights the importance of attracting to the teaching profession, and retaining, well-qualified and motivated people, of identifying the skills that teachers require to meet the changing needs of society, of providing conditions to support teachers through initial and in-service training, and of attracting recruits to teaching and training who have professional experience in other fields (2). 3. The Council Resolution of 27 June 2002 on lifelong learning, which invited the Member States to improve the education and training of teachers involved in lifelong learning so that they acquire the necessary skills for the knowledge society (3). 4. The joint interim report of the Council and the Commission of 26 February 2004 on progress towards the Lisbon objectives in the fields of education and training (4), which gave priority to the development of common European principles for the competences and qualifications needed by teachers in order to fulfil their changing role in the knowledge society (5). 5. The joint interim report of the Council and the Commission of 23 February 2006 on the implementation of the ‘Education & Training 2010’ work programme, which emphasised that investment in the training of teachers and trainers and the strengthening of leadership for education and training institutions are crucial to improving the efficiency of education and training systems (6). 6. The conclusions of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 14 November 2006 on efficiency and equity in education and training, which stated that the motivation, skills and competences of teachers, trainers, other teaching staff and guidance and welfare services, as well as the quality of school leadership, are key factors in achieving high quality learning outcomes, and that the efforts of teaching staff should be supported by continuous professional development. 7. The conclusions of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 14 November 2006 on the future priorities for enhanced European cooperation on vocational education and training, which emphasised the need for highly qualified teachers who undertake continuous professional development (7). 8. Decision No 1720/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2006 establishing an action programme in the field of lifelong learning, which includes the specific objective of enhancing the quality and European dimension of teacher education, and which supports mobility for teachers and other educational staff (8). 9. The Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning (9), which sets out the knowledge, skills and attitudes which individuals need for personal fulfilment and development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employment, and which, given their transversal nature, imply a greater degree of collaboration and teamwork between teachers, as well as an approach to teaching that goes beyond traditional subject boundaries. 10. The Council conclusions of 25 May 2007 on a coherent framework of indicators and benchmarks for monitoring progress towards the Lisbon objectives in education and training, which called for work to be pursued on developing an indicator on the professional development of teachers and trainers (10). 11. The conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 21 November 2008 on youth mobility, which invited the Member States to work towards the objective of increasing the mobility of teachers, trainers and other educational staff (11). 12. The Council conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (12), which recommend the gradual expansion of mobility for teachers and trainers with a view to making periods of learning abroad the rule rather than the exception, which define as one of the priorities during the first work cycle the need to focus on the quality of initial education and early career support for new teachers, as well as on raising the quality of continuing professional development opportunities for teachers, trainers and those involved in leadership or guidance activities, and which invite the Commission to study the possibility of including teacher mobility in any future proposal for a benchmark on mobility,