Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council on mobility within the Community for students, persons undergoing training, young volunteers, teachers and trainers"

(2000/C 168/08)

On 29 February 2000, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Articles 149 and 150 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposal.

The Section for Social, Family, Educational and Cultural Affairs, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 11 April. The rapporteur was Mrs Hornung-Draus.

At its 372nd plenary session (meeting of 27 April 2000) the Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion with 111 votes in favour and five abstentions.

1. Introduction

1.1. European citizenship means that under Article 18 of the EC Treaty, every national of a Member State has the right to move and reside freely in all the Member States. Nonetheless, this fundamental right of the individual is restricted by a series of disadvantages and difficulties which hamper the mobility of people seeking access to training and education beyond the borders of their home countries.

1.2. Freedom of movement applies to employees and self-employed workers and therefore also to teachers and trainers. However, this freedom must also apply to those people wishing to start or continue studies or training, or undertake voluntary work - not necessarily for professional purposes - outside their own country and within the EU. If they decide to go to another EU country, whether this is in the context of a Community programme or not, the Community as a whole should make an effort to remove all administrative obstacles which might lie in their way.

The ESC therefore wholeheartedly welcomes the objectives of this recommendation. It sends out the right signals to the people of Europe at a time when enlargement of the European Union is about to take place and when the EU - as decided at the special summit meeting in Lisbon(1) - is preparing itself for the transition to the information and knowledge society so as to be able to cope with the demands of the globalisation of the economy.

1.3. The promotion of transnational mobility plays a key role in steps to create a European knowledge society. Virtually unimpeded mobility is a prerequisite for achieving European integration - a Citizens' Europe - and for strengthening international competitiveness. Moreover, the teaching of "European skills" increasingly constitutes a key criterion for the quality and attractiveness of vocational and general education. "European" qualifications - such as language skills, knowledge about the various political, legal, social and economic systems in Europe and an understanding of the way of life of European neighbours - must be encouraged more by those responsible for education in the EU. National education systems must gear themselves to European developments and requirements; they need to be "Europe-minded", that is open and transparent in the interests of all citizens.

1.4. Another key element for achieving mobility is a comprehensive information policy pursued in an active, even proactive fashion, by the European Commission and the Member States: people who are prepared to be mobile often experience difficulties in finding out what opportunities exist for making a stay abroad part of their vocational and continuing training. Without widely available, focused and comprehensible information for schools, technical colleges, job centres, universities and other educational institutions as well as firms, mobility will remain the privilege of those individuals whose teachers or trainers are especially committed. In this connection, the ESC proposes that some thought be given in the medium term to the extent to which it would be viable to re-introduce targeted, individual grants for people willing to be mobile, such as already exists in research. Here the experiences of previous generations of European educational programmes are valuable, such as the Petra and the Lingua programmes, where such individual grants were available and widely taken up.

1.5. Knowledge of foreign languages is also of considerable importance for the employability of workers and the competitiveness of firms, as well as for the European economy as a whole. More mobility in Europe would also extend the opportunities for the people of Europe to learn more foreign languages. At the same time however, it is precisely a lack of knowledge of foreign languages which constitutes a major obstacle to mobility. For this reason, the ESC welcomes the Commission initiative in declaring the year 2001 the European Year of Languages. One of the stated aims is to give as many people as possible an understanding of the advantages of knowing foreign languages. In addition to the personal development and understanding of other cultures that this would bring, the importance of languages for an individual's employability will be highlighted; this can be boosted by a period of training or further training abroad.

2. The recommendation

2.1. The recommendation is subdivided into general recommendations for all categories of people and specific recommendations for students, persons undergoing training, young volunteers, teachers and trainers.

2.2. Experience in the Community's Petra, Comett, Leonardo Da Vinci and Socrates training programmes and in the ESF Community initiatives on human resources, led the Commission as early as 1996 to submit its Green Paper on Education - Training - Research: the obstacles to transnational mobility. In this Green Paper the Commission emphasizes that the different circumstances of students, persons undergoing training, young volunteers, teachers and trainers in the various Member States, particularly as regards industrial law, social security law and tax law, does hamper their mobility. This document provides the basis for the recommendation now being put forward by the Commission, which, in contrast to the Green Paper, has left out the whole issue of the research sector and focuses on general and vocational education and training.

3. Comments

3.1. General comments

3.1.1. The recommendation proposes that Member States show themselves ready to eliminate those obstacles to mobility which persist despite the acquis communautaire stipulating freedom of movement for students, persons undergoing training, young volunteers, teachers and trainers.

3.1.2. In addition, measures should be adopted ensuring that third country nationals who are legally and permanently resident in the Community benefit from the provisions of the acquis communautaire relating to freedom of movement and equality of treatment and from the provisions of the recommendation. Member States should agree to treat permanently resident third country nationals in the same way as Community nationals when they are undertaking studies, a period of training, voluntary work or providing teaching or training within the framework of a Community programme.

The Economic and Social Committee very much welcomes the fact that the recommendation is strongly geared to tackling third country problems. Especially in the run-up to enlargement and against the background of the current intergovernmental conference, this sends out a positive signal to candidate countries. In order to build up a smoothly operating, expanded Union, the citizens of the candidate countries must also have the opportunity to experience the European Union. This can be achieved right now as part of the pre-accession strategy for the candidate countries on the basis of the Europe agreements which have been concluded with them. In particular, more use should be made of the Cedefop study visit programme as part of the Leonardo programme, in order to build up and promote contact and cooperation with candidates for EU membership.

3.1.3. In addition, Member States should do their utmost to integrate and promote transnational mobility in their national policies for the benefit of those people covered by the recommendation. In doing so, it is particularly important for experience gained to date in transnational cooperation in the EU programmes to be turned to good use: there is no sense in continually reinventing the wheel and continually coming up against the same problems.

3.1.4. The ESC feels, however, that the Commission proposal does not adequately reflect the scope of this recommendation. At issue is not only the recognition of experience abroad during education and training, but also quite basic matters concerning, for example, right of residence, social security schemes, labour law, social security law, and tax law. The many problems of detail, the varying circumstances and the fact that the EU does not have overall responsibility, in tax policy for example, means that there can be no short-term piecemeal solutions for removing existing obstacles to mobility. Only recently did the ESC look at precisely this issue of modernising social protection; it set out its stance in an opinion on this subject.

3.1.5. The present draft recommendation addresses a broad range of people, which is essentially to be welcomed. However, it should be borne in mind that within the individual categories of people referred to, there are considerable differences which really need to be approached in different ways. It is therefore a pity that no tailor-made proposals have been made for each target group, going into these issues in greater depth. This mishmash of different specific problems means that the proposed recommendation is very abstract. In this respect, the ESC fears that the recommendation can scarcely have any effect in the short-term, since the obstacles to mobility it aims to deal with have too many different causes. The fact that the research sector has not been covered at all is deplored by the ESC. It calls on the Commission to present a similar proposal in the near future for research in Europe, particularly since mobility in this sector is already much further advanced and benefit should be gained from experience in this area.

3.1.6. The ESC would be pleased if the recommendation, in the medium term, led to a situation where the subject of student mobility was gradually taken up in all the relevant European policy areas (mobility mainstreaming); this would be a major step towards a European education area.

3.2. Specific comments

3.2.1. General recommendations

3.2.1.1. The ESC particularly supports the recommendation that Member States take all appropriate measures to encourage the mobility of people who wish to undertake a course of studies, a period of training, a voluntary activity or provide teaching or training in another Member State, regardless of whether this is in the context of the Community programme or not.

3.2.1.2. The obstacles which these people come up against are not always financial in nature. In addition to administrative obstacles, there are often language and cultural barriers which prevent people from travelling beyond the borders of their own country. The ESC therefore advocates stepping up the promotion of foreign language teaching. This must be extended both at school - and here it would be sensible to include primary schools and kindergartens - and in vocational training. The European Year of Languages planned for the year 2001 provides an excellent opportunity for promoting pilot projects in this area. The promotion of intercultural skills is also a key factor in promoting mobility: the more people learn about other cultures, the greater their interest in getting to know them. Specific support should be given to mobility in innovative sectors; this could lead to healthy competition between systems and in the long term, could open up a whole range of European educational and training opportunities for the individual.

3.2.1.3. The ease with which knowledge and qualifications obtained abroad can be used in one's home country is a key factor. In order to ensure that genuine additional qualifications can be obtained in the course of a stay abroad which will pay off in the course of a person's career, it is important to promote transparency between the different educational systems in the EU. To this end, the High Level Panel on free movement of persons (chaired by Mrs Veil) proposed the setting up of a forum or observatory to learn from national expertise with a view to monitoring changes in qualifications and diplomas facilitating the dissemination of information and preparing standards promoting transparency and mutual recognition. For higher education, considerable progress has already been made; for vocational training, a major step forward has been achieved with the introduction of the "Europass-Training" scheme. The ESC calls for implementation of the findings and proposals currently being developed by the Commission, Cedefop and national education experts in the European Forum on the transparency of professional qualifications. For future progress, transparency and cohesion are needed, together with respect for national and professional diversities. Indeed the scale of progress towards transparency of the different education and training systems will dictate the speed of progress, where it is possible, towards recognition of diplomas and other qualifications. Achievement of this final stage would remove a significant obstacle to the free movement of EU citizens.

3.2.1.4. The call on Member States to take appropriate measures so that persons targeted by this recommendation can benefit from all the advantages given to nationals of the host country undertaking the same activity is fundamentally justified. However, this needs to be worded more clearly. On no account should it be interpreted to imply a general commitment on the part of the Member States to provide special social benefits. This concerns in particular such assistance as housing benefit which in most Member States is awarded only to a small number of applicants after an in-depth examination of their financial situation. The recommendation probably refers to reductions given to students and trainees in view of their particular status; proof thereof is usually provided by a student or pupil ID card. The ESC proposes that a uniform, pan-European EU school or student ID card be introduced to this end, which any student or trainee working abroad in Europe can apply for. This would be an effective, transparent instrument not involving any bureaucratic expense.

3.2.1.5. Steps to encourage the involvement of third country nationals with permanent residence in the EU in exchanges under European Community programmes is a key element in securing equal opportunities to citizens in the EU. Citizens of third countries who are legally resident in an EU country are usually subject to additional difficulties which add to existing obstacles to mobility. Consequently the ESC supports measures to promote the integration of these citizens, particularly against the background of the fight against racism and xenophobia in the EU.

3.2.1.6. It is a moot point as to how realistic it is at the moment to adopt more far reaching measures in the Member States to enable third country nationals to obtain full equality of treatment with regard to the acquis communautaire on freedom of movement. In many cases this will clash with existing national rules on citizens from third counties.

3.2.2. Measures which specifically concern students

3.2.2.1. The ESC welcomes the fact that the recommendation makes reference to the existing European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and advocates its widespread use. This is indeed a system which operates extremely well and which is suited to securing the transparency of curricula. Recognition of academic experience is guaranteed by means of a contract drawn up in advance between the student and the home and host establishments.

3.2.2.2. In any case the ESC believes that it should be made clear that the enforceability called for here can only be confined to compliance with a contract concluded between a student and his/her educational establishment. It should not be possible to interpret it in such a way that the participation of an educational establishment in the ECTS is axiomatic and can be enforced in law, for that would endanger the continued existence of this smoothly functioning, voluntary system.

3.2.2.3. The ESC feels that two aspects should be taken into account as regards the transfer and payment of grants: on the one hand banks must guarantee that grants are transferred and paid out on time. Particularly in the Erasmus Programme, national coordination bodies constantly reported cases of students having to take out overdrafts because of accounting problems. Such obstacles to mobility are quite simply to be avoided, and the ESC calls on the institutions responsible to solve such difficulties in a non-bureaucratic manner and in the interests of the students. In this connection the ESC would draw attention to another requirement: students ought to have the option of using the grants which have been allocated in their home country for studies abroad (as long as this grant has not been awarded for studying at a specific college/university or for any other specific purpose). If there are better education options for studying a specific subject in another Member State rather than at home, then students on a grant should have the same opportunities in their search for the best possible course as students who finance their studies themselves.

3.2.3. Measures which specifically concern persons undergoing training

3.2.3.1. The ESC is strongly in favour of widespread use of the Europass training document to promote European pathways in work-linked training, including apprenticeship. This Europass applies not only to completed training but also covers further education measures and individual training pathways undertaken abroad. The ESC welcomes the fact that, with Europass, vocational training now also has an instrument with which persons undergoing training can prove their transnational qualifications. Member States are called upon to ensure that this document is also used widely. Students undergoing practical training related to their studies in another European country should also be able to use the Europass.

3.2.3.2. In this connection the ESC welcomes the current Commission initiative to draw up - jointly with vocational training bodies and within the framework of a "European forum on the transparency of professional qualifications" - proposals for improving mutual understanding of the diverse qualification systems in Europe. The ESC particularly calls on Member States to take these proposals into account as far as possible at national level.

3.2.3.3. The ESC supports the proposal that unemployed people attending training in another Member State should continue to receive the unemployment benefit which they were receiving in their home country, with account being taken of the rules applying in each individual Member State. The employment services in the Member States should more actively support unemployed people who are able and willing to take part in training or further education courses abroad for a fixed period of time. If the employment authorities are to positively assess cross border training schemes, such schemes must be subject to the same conditions, including the maintenance of unemployment benefits, as national training schemes; this is necessary in order to preserve their quality and to avoid abuse. An option of this kind for training abroad should be seen as a factor for promoting integration into the labour market and it could indeed open up new prospects for this group of people, which they might not have had in their home country. This might also enable them to learn a foreign language, which would be an important additional qualification.

3.2.3.4. The ESC particularly welcomes the call for people who go abroad in Europe for training purposes to be given the same residence status as students. This will enhance the status of vocational training and ensure that it receives due respect throughout Europe. If it is the intention to work towards equality of treatment with students, then steps should be taken to ensure that, just as students have to be registered at a university, people undergoing training have to be linked to an institution. Even if only to prevent abuse of such a rule, the ESC deems it absolutely necessary to clarify this point.

3.2.4. Measures which specifically concern young volunteers

3.2.4.1. The ESC supports the Commission's programme for young volunteers. It can make a major contribution to intercultural understanding. Young people who are still in their formative years are thus offered the opportunity to acquire "European skills" as part of a non-profitmaking activity in another European country - skills which may be of benefit to them in their future career. Apart from learning a foreign language, these include key skills, such as how to cope with a foreign culture, the strengthening of trainee's social skills and the widening of their personal horizons. Experiences with the Commission programme to date indicate that almost all participants found their overseas experiences extremely enriching for their further training and careers.

3.2.4.2. In order to open this programme up to a wider range of participants, volunteers must however, in addition to an appropriate allowance which at least covers living costs, also be provided with adequate social welfare and sickness insurance cover, not only during their stay abroad, but also when they return to their country of origin.

3.2.5. Measures which specifically concern teachers and trainers

3.2.5.1. The ESC welcomes the fact that teachers and trainers have been explicitly included in the recommendation. Periods spent abroad in further education or teaching not only have a positive impact on a person's qualifications, but are beneficial for teaching itself. The recommendations to Member States as to how to structure academic calendars and the call to introduce European sabbatical periods are essentially worthy of consideration.

3.2.5.2. The ESC, however, strongly underlines that the European Commission can here provide food for thought, but in the end it must always be left up to the individual educational institutions as to how they handle these suggestions and how they work out their academic calendars in line with their needs. The proposal on European sabbatical periods should be implemented in a flexible way, taking into account the needs of individuals and of educational establishments.

3.2.5.3. Moreover, the call to reward mobile teachers by means of career promotion is over simplified and one-sided. It is indeed the case that in many cases periods spent teaching abroad can even have a negative effect on a person's career; steps should of course be taken to counteract this. However, mobility is not an end in itself, nor a factor to be considered in isolation; it can be one positive criterion in career development. Here the ESC would advocate taking more appropriate account of a person's willingness to be more mobile in their job.

3.2.6. Reporting obligation

3.2.6.1. In this process a strong commitment of European, national, regional and local institutions will be required. An involvement of the social partners will improve the possibilities of making real progress. The group of experts should include representatives of the social partners at the European level. Steps to eliminate obstacles to mobility constitute a long-term process and their success will not necessarily be measurable by a rapid succession of reports from Member States and the Commission. The ESC therefore proposes that consideration be given to mandatory reports only every three years. The Commission's report should be based on the contributions from the Member States and evaluate the achievements in the area of freedom of movement. This evaluation should, as appropriate, serve as a point of departure for new proposals from the Commission in order to encourage Member States to continue their efforts towards the elimination of all obstacles to mobility.

Brussels, 27 April 2000.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice Rangoni Machiavelli

(1) OJ C 117 of 26.4.2000.