28. 2. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 51/7 
Article 2 
Amendment of existing legislation 
Article 27 (3) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 222/77 
of 13 December 1976 on Community transit (') is hereby 
replaced by the following: 
'3. Subject to Article 33 (2), the guarantee shall 
consist of the joint and several guarantee of either: 
— a credit institution licensed pursuant to Article 3 
of Council Directive 77/780/EEC (»), or 
0) OJ No L 322, 17. 12. 1977, p. 30. 
(') OJ No L 38, 9. 2. 1977, p. 1. 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES; 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular to 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 O, 
and in particular the seventh principle thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the seventh principle of Decision 63/266/EEC 
provides that the suitable training of teachers and 
instructors, whose numbers should be increased and — an insurance undertaking authorized for the class 
of suretyship insurance pursuant to Articles 6 and 
7 of Council Directive 73/239/EEC (2), or 
— any other natural or legal third person established 
in the Community and approved as guarantor by 
the Member State in which the guarantee is 
provided. 
(2) OJ No L 228, 16. 8. 1973, p. 23.' 
Article 3 
Entry into force 
This Regulation shall enter into force on . . . (the first 
day of the month following the adoption). 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States. 
whose technical and teaching skills should be developed, 
shall be one of the basic factors of any effective voca­
tional training policy; whereas its tenth 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 
abolition of restrictions on the freedom of establishment, 
and, in Article 59, for the abolition on restrictions on the 
freedom to provide services; whereas the Treaty also 
provides for the establishment of freedom of movement 
of workers, and requires the Council to adopt the 
measures necessary for its establishment; whereas an 
increase in the capacity to communicate in foreign 
languages will further facilitate the achievement of these 
objectives; 
Whereas, by Directive 77/486/EEC (2), the Council has 
laid down measures to be taken for the initial training 
and further training of teachers to facilitate the reception 
of children of migrant workers; Proposal for a Council Decision establishing the Lingua programme to promote training in 
foreign languages in the European Community 
COM(88) 841 final 
(Submitted by the Commission on 9 January 1989) 
(89/C 51/07) 
O OJ No 63, 20. 4. 1963, p. 1338/63. (2) OJ No L 199, 6. 8. 1977, p. 32. 
No C 51/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 2. 89 
Whereas the European Council has, at its meetings in 
Stuttgart (x), Fontainebleau (2) and Milan (3), stressed the 
importance which must be attached to foreign language 
teaching within the Community; 
Whereas the establishment of the internal market would 
be facilitated by the qualitative improvement of foreign 
language training 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 the Commission has decided to implement a 
strategy for the elimination of restrictions on grounds of 
nationality to the free movement of workers from other 
Member States to posts in certain particular parts of the 
public sector; whereas teaching in State educational 
establishments is considered as a priority area for action; 
whereas, therefore, the Lingua programme could 
contribute to the achievement of this objective; 
Whereas the different Community programmes, notably 
Erasmus (4), Comett (5), 'Youth for Europe' (6) and the 
third joint programme for the exchange of young 
workers (7)> will not fully achieve their stated objectives 
without accompanying measures to promote training in 
foreign languages and need to be complemented by such 
measures in the field of vocational training; 
Whereas the Council has provided, by Decision . . . , for 
complementary principles and measures to promote the 
teaching and learning of foreign languages in schools; 
Whereas the estimated amount required to finance the 
Community contribution to the Lingua programme in 
the five-year period 1990 to 1994 is ECU 250 million, 
HAS ADOPTED THE PRESENT DECISION: 
Article 1 
The European Community action scheme for the the 
promotion of training in foreign languages is hereby 
established. It will be known as 'the Lingua programme'. 
The Lingua programme shall be implemented with effect 
from 1 January 1990, with an initial phase of five years, 
lasting until 31 December 1994. 
Article 2 
In the context of the Lingua programme, the term 
'university' shall be used to cover all types of post-
secondary education and training establishments, 
including establishments involved in the training of 
teachers, which offer, where appropriate, within the 
framework of advanced training, qualifications and 
diplomas of that level, whatever such establishments may 
be called in the Member States. 
(') 19 June 1983. 
O 23 and 24 June 1984. 
C) 28 and 29 June 1985. 
(4) OJ No L 166, 25. 6. 1987, p. 20. 
O OJ No L 222, 8. 8. 1986, p. 17. 
(*) OJ No L 158, 25. 6. 1988, p. 42. 
O OJ No L 331, 19. 12. 1984, p. 36. Foreign language training in the context of this Decision 
shall refer only to training in the official languages of the 
European Community. 
Article 3 
The principal objectives of the Lingua programme shall 
be as follows: 
(a) to promote a quantitative and qualitative 
improvement in foreign language training within the 
European Community; 
(b) to ensure effective measures towards the provision, 
for the benefit of enterprises in the European 
Community, of the necessary levels of foreign 
language expertise in the present and future 
workforce in order to enable those enterprises to 
take full advantage of the internal market. 
In particular, the Lingua programme shall be designed to 
provide a complementary and catalytic contribution to 
the policies undertaken within Member States to: 
(i) increase opportunities for the teaching and learning 
of foreign languages in the Community in voca­
tional training programmes, and in particular to 
encourage the teaching and learning of the less 
widely used languages of the Community, 
(ii) raise the quality and standards of provision in this 
field, by improving the initial and in-service training 
of foreign language teachers and trainers, including 
appropriate preparation abroad, 
(iii) promote innovation in methods of foreign language 
training, and in the exploitation of communications 
technologies for this purpose. 
Article 4 
The Lingua programme shall comprise: 
(a) a common framework of principles for the 
promotion of foreign language training in the 
European Community, as set out in Article 5; 
(b) a series of measures to be implemented at 
Community level, as set out in the Annex to this 
Decision, and as such designed to provide added 
value to measures taken by and within Member 
States; 
(c) the further principles and measures to be undertaken 
in accordance with Council Decision . . . 
28. 2. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 51/9 
Article 5 
The measures forming part of the Lingua programme to 
be implemented by the Commission under Article 6 of 
this Decision should support and complement those acti­
vities of Member States which comply with the general 
principles for implementing a common vocational 
training policy and which are intended, in particular, to: 
(i) encourage young people to acquire a working 
knowledge of two Community languages in 
addition to their mother tongue(s) as a component 
of their initial vocational education and training and 
in their preparation for working life, 
(ii) promote the provision of opportunities for university 
students who so wish to combine foreign language 
studies with the pursuit of their main discipline(s), 
as an integral and recognized component of their 
degree, diploma or other qualification, 
(iii) encourage arrangements which permit intending 
foreign language teachers to spend a recognized 
period of study and preparation during their initial 
training of at least six months duration in a country 
whose language(s) they intend to teach, 
(iv) encourage arrangements which permit practising 
foreign language teachers to spend, on a regular 
basis, recognized periods of further education and 
training or professional experience in the Member 
State(s), the language or languages of which they 
teach, 
(v) encourage employers to make appropriate provision 
for language learning in training programmes at the 
work place. 
The Member States shall provide a report on their 
activities in this field in the implementation of these prin­
ciples and measures not later than 31 December 1992, 
and again not later than 31 December 1994. 
Article 6 
To give a significant Community impetus to the efforts 
of Member States to raise the quality and standards of 
foreign language training, and in particular the initial 
and in-service training of foreign language teachers and 
trainers, the Commission shall implement a series of 
supporting measures as set out in the Annex. In 
implementing these measures, account shall be taken by 
the Commission of the need to meet the differing needs 
and situations of all Member States, with particular 
regard to less widely taught and less widely used 
languages in the Community. 
Article 7 
1. The Commission shall implement the Lingua 
programme pursuant to this Decision and the Annex 
thereto, and take account also of the principles and 
measures established by Council Decision . . . 2. In performing this task, the Commission shall be 
assisted by a committee of an advisory nature. The 
committee shall be composed of two representatives from 
each Member State, appointed by the Commission on 
the basis of proposals from the Member State concerned, 
one of whom shall be drawn from the educational 
community. Members of the committee may be assisted 
by experts or advisers. The committee shall be chaired by 
a representative of the Commission. The secretariat of 
the committee shall be provided by the Commission. 
3. The Commission may consult the committee on all 
questions concerning the implementation of the 
programme. The Commission shall consult the 
committee on the general approach concerning the 
measures provided for by the Lingua programme, and in 
particular on the balanced development of the 
programme as a whole, taking into account the need to 
promote the use of all Community languages. The 
committee shall also be consulted on the evaluation of 
the programme and serve as the platform for reviewing 
the development of national policies and practices in this 
field. 
4. 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 the draft, 
within a 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. 
5. 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. 
6. The committee's deliberations shall be confidential. 
The committee shall adopt its own rules of procedures. 
Article 8 
The annual credits necessary to cover the Community 
contribution to the actions provided for in the 
programme will be established in the annual budgetary 
procedure, taking into account the results of the 
programme as well as any new needs which may emerge 
during its operation. 
Article 9 
The Commission shall see to it that there is consistency 
and complementarity between the Community actions to 
be developed under the Lingua programme and other 
Comunity programmes involving vocational training and 
the mobility and exchange of persons, in particular the 
Erasmus, Comett and 'Youth for Europe' programmes 
and the third joint programme for the exchange of 
young workers. The Commission shall maintain contact 
as appropriate with international organisations active in 
this field. 
No C 51/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 2. 89 
its operation, as well as, if appropriate, a proposal to 
adapt it. This report shall incorporate reports from each 
Member State on the measures taken to implement the 
objectives of Article 3, and in particular on those relating 
to the common principles set out in Article 5. The 
Council shall decide on such a proposal not later than 
30 June 1994. 
Article 12 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 
ANNEX 
ACTION I 
Measures to promote the continuing training of foreign language teachers 
1. Financial aid will be provided through the body or bodies in each Member State designated in 
accordance with Article 6 of Council Decision . . ., to support the expansion of in-service training for 
foreign language teachers and for those involved in teacher-training, or the organization of foreign 
language teaching, as well as supporting their role in creating appropriate frameworks for the exchange 
of young people within the Community. The aim shall be to enable the participation in in-service 
training projects, including those in other Member States, of not less than 10 % of the foreign language 
teachers and teacher-trainers within the European Community during the first phase of the Lingua 
programme. Aid shall be provided specifically to offset the costs incurred by individual foreign language 
teachers engaged in activities to improve the quality of their teaching and the learning opportunities 
they can offer to their students. 
2. In calculating the annual block grant to be allocated to each Member State for this purpose, quantitative 
objectives will be assigned in relation to the number of language teachers involved, the size of the youth 
population aged 21 years and under, and the geographical distance between Member States. The 
maximum grant per beneficiary will be of ECU 1 500. 
3. In the allocation of grants, priority will be given to in-service training activities for foreign language 
teachers and trainers which enable them: 
— to improve their skills of communication in the language and their knowledge of the culture of the 
host Member State, 
— to establish and develop educational exchanges as referred to in paragraph B below, by setting up on 
behalf of their own vocational education and training institutions cooperative arrangements with 
institutions in other Member States designed to improve the quality of foreign language teaching 
(for example, in the preparation of materials, arrangements for individual placements for students, 
provision for teacher exchange, computer links, joint projects with partner institutions abroad, etc.). 
ACTION II 
Development of the network for university cooperation to incorporate specific measures to promote the 
learning of foreign languages in universities, and to develop the initial training and preparation of foreign 
language teachers 
1. The Community will develop the European network for university cooperation, established under the 
terms of the Erasmus programme, so as to stimulate Community-wide mobility of students specializing 
in foreign language studies or taking foreign languages in conjunction with another discipline, and in 
particular to promote the initial training of foreign language teachers in accordance with the guideline 
set out in Article 5 (iv) of the Decision. This action, which will be coherent with the Erasmus 
programme and be administered on a coordinated basis with it, will consist of the following measures: Article 10 
An annual report on the functioning of the Lingua 
programme shall be submitted by the Commission to the 
Council, the European Parliament and the Economic 
and Social Committee. 
Article 11 
The Commission shall submit a progress report on the 
implementation of the Lingua programme to the Council 
and the European Parliament during the fourth year of 
28. 2. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 51/11 
(a) inter-university cooperation programmes; 
(b) student grants; 
(c) grants for mobility and exchange of teachers and trainers. 
Inter-university cooperation programmes 
2. Each inter-university cooperation programme to be supported under the Lingua programme will be 
designed to give the students concerned the opportunity to undertake a recognized period of study in at 
least one other Member State, as an integral part of their diploma and/or academic qualification. In 
support of each agreement, the participating institutions will each be able to receive support up to an 
annual ceiling amount of ECU 25 000, normally for an estimated period of three years; the amount 
granted will be calculated on the basis of an assessment of the detailed estimate submitted by the 
institutions concerned. 
Student grants 
3. The Community will provide funds for the direct financial support of students in foreign language 
studies at universities, including especially those preparing to serve as foreign language teachers, to 
enable them to carry out a period of study in another Member State within the framework of the 
European network as defined in paragraph 1 of this action. 
4. In determining a fair balance of grants to be made available, the Community will have regard to the 
number of students to be exchanged within the European network as it develops and will assume an 
average grant of ECU 3 000 per year. A basic minimum number of 150 grants will normally be provided 
each year to each Member State and, having regard to the development of the European network, 
additional grants will be provided to each Member State on the basis of the application of the following: 
total number of students studying foreign languages at universities as defined in Article 2 of the 
Decision as well as the total number of 18 to 25 years old in each Member State. Member States will 
ensure that the distribution of grants encourages the diversification of foreign languages studied. 
5. The Community grants to students will be administered through the competent authorities in Member 
States, already designated by Member States in the framework of the Erasmus programme. The 
competent authorities in Member States will issue grants up to a maximum of ECU 6 000 to each 
student, on the basis of a stay abroad of one academic year, subject to the following conditions: 
(a) the grants will contribute to the additional costs of mobility {including travel costs); 
(b) priority will be given to students on courses which are part of the European network, and who 
. intend to qualify as foreign language teachers, but grants may also be provided within the 
framework of the network for students of foreign languages who may intend to pursue other 
careers; 
(c) grants will be awarded only in cases where the period of study to be spent in another Member State 
will be granted full recognition by the student's home university; 
(d) no tuition fees will be charged by the host university and, where appropriate, grant holders will 
continue to pay tuition fees at their home university; 
(e) grants will normally be awarded for periods of study in another Member State of not less than six 
months' duration. They will not be awarded for the first year of university study; 
(f) maintenance grants and loans available to students in their home Member State will continue to be 
paid in full to students during their period of study abroad at the host university. 
Grants for mobility and exchange of teachers and trainers in higher education 
6. The Community will provide support for teaching staff and trainers concerned within the teaching of 
foreign languages to visit other Member States: 
No C 51/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 2. 89 
— to enable them to plan and prepare inter-university cooperation programmes with partners in other 
Member States, 
— to prepare in particular the conditions necessary for the exchange of students and for the recognition 
of the periods of study accomplished abroad, 
— to exchange experience on the latest developments with regard to the methodology of foreign 
language teaching, 
— to gain European experience in the organisation of the initial training of foreign language teachers. 
7. Support will also be provided by the Community to encourage greater mobility of teaching staff 
concerned with foreign languages in the Community so as to assist in the development of integrated 
courses and to enable teachers and/or trainers to teach for a period in the universities of the different 
Member States, within the framework of the European network. 
ACTION III 
Measures to promote the development of foreign language teaching and learning in economic life 
A 
The Community will provide support for the development and dissemination of 'foreign language 1992 
audits', designed to enable enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, to specify the 
extent of their foreign language needs and training requirements. This support will initially take the form 
of a survey of such techniques current in the Member States, followed by developmental activities involving 
a reasonable sample of companies. 
B 
1. The Community will also provide support on a pilot basis for the development of specific foreign 
language training materials for different sectors of economic life, such as the commercial and legal 
sectors, in the various languages of the Community. Priority will be given in the first instance to a 
survey of economic sectors likely to develop greater foreign language needs in view of the establishment 
of the internal market by 1992. Experience of other Community programmes, such as Eurotra, will be 
taken into account. 
2. Support will be made available for the development of such teaching materials. Priority will be given to 
sectors of economic life in which: 
— demand for foreign language training is expected to increase heavily, 
— small and medium sized enterprises are strongly represented, 
— the new or advanced technologies are involved. 
3. Joint applications for support will be invited from institutions in at least two Member States and must 
show clear evidence of user involvement and the potential of their proposal for wider use. In an initial 
phase, work on not more than three economic sectors will commence in each year. This activity will 
commence in 1991. 
C 
1. In collaboration with representatives of the relevant profession or economic sector, support will be given 
to institutions responsible for curriculum development and certification in Member States, for the devel­
opment of foreign language qualifications specific to that profession or sector, and of the courses and 
materials leading to those qualifications. 
2. Joint applications from the bodies mentioned in point 1 above will be invited for support, building on 
the work carried out under paragraph B of this action. Activities under this paragraph will commence in 
1992, and not more than four new sectors will be supported in each Community language in each year. 
28. 2. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 51/13 
D 
In collaboration with representatives from the economic sector, the Commission will provide support for 
the setting up of an exchange and mobility scheme for representatives of small and medium sized enter­
prises and for those involved in language training in economic life in order to support the learning of 
foreign languages in companies. 
E 
1. Grants will be made available by the Commission to projects involving at least two Member States 
which demonstrate the potential of open learning methods for foreign language teaching (including the 
use of satellites, broadcasting, new methods of multimedia communication, etc.), with particular 
reference to: 
(a) the development of materials to accelerate the linguistic induction of visiting students not special­
ising in foreign languages into the host country; 
(b) the development of new approaches to the use of the new information technologies and the media 
for the teaching and learning of foreign languages so as to facilitate the possibilities for individu­
alised instruction on an intensive basis. 
2. The projects to be supported by the Community, whether they are submitted through the academies or 
directly by the promoter, will be expected to demonstrate the added value of the cooperation proposed 
and the innovative potential the achieve higher standards of communication in this field. Preference will 
also be given to projects that can demonstrate their multiplier potential, not only in their own Member 
State, but also across national frontiers. Community support will not normally exceed 50 % of the costs 
of projects approved. In this context account will be taken by the Commission of potential linkages with 
other programmes, such as Delta, Media and Comett. 
F 
The activities to be supported under this Action will be carried out in collaboration with the academies. 
ACTION IV 
Complementary measures 
The necessary technical assistance will be provided at Community level to underpin the activities 
undertaken under the Lingua programme as a whole, taking into account the need to promote a balanced 
development which encourages the teaching of all Community languages. Furthermore, specific provision 
will be made by the Commission for the animation and continuing evaluation of the Lingua programme 
and for the dissemination through all the Community languages of experience arising from it. 
Draft Council Decision for the promotion of the teaching and learning of foreign languages in 
the European Community as part of the Lingua programme 
COM(88) 841 final 
(Submitted by the Commission on 9 January 1989) 
(89/C 51/08) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular to Article 235 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the principles established by Article 2 of the 
Treaty of Rome include the task for the Community