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 
No C 51/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 2. 89 
to promote closer relations between the States belonging 
to it; 
Whereas the Treaty provides for the establishment of 
freedom of movement of workers, and requires the 
Council to adopt the measures necessary for its estab­
lishment; whereas the teaching and learning of foreign 
languages is an essential prerequisite for the removal of 
remaining obstacles to the free movement of workers; 
Whereas the Council has provided, under Regulation 
(EEC) No 1612/68 ('), for workers and the self-
employed, who exercise the right of free movement to 
another Member State, to be accompanied by their 
dependent family; 
Whereas, by Directive 77/486/EEC (2), the Council has 
laid down measures to be taken to promote the teaching 
of the mother tongue and culture of the country of 
origin to the children of migrant workers; 
Whereas the European Council has, in the solemn 
declaration on European union adopted at its meeting in 
Stuttgart (J) and, at its meetings at Fontainebleau (4) and 
Milan (5), 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 the Ministers of Education 
meeting within the Council, in adopting on 9 February 
1976 an action programme in the field of education (6), 
selected the teaching of foreign languages as an appro­
priate area for Community activity; whereas, at their 
meeting on 4 June 1984, they agreed to promote all 
appropriate measures to enable the maximum number of 
pupils to aquire, before the end of compulsory 
education, a practical knowledge of two languages in 
addition to their mother tongue; 
Whereas the establishment of the internal market 
required by the Single European Act calls for an 
extension of the capacity of workers, the self-employed 
and their families accompanying them to communicate 
with their counterparts in other Member States, and thus 
obliges the Community institutions and the Member 
States to increase efforts to enable the growth of a 
(') OJ No L 257, 19. 10. 1968. 
(2) OJ No L 199, 6. 8. 1977, p. 32. 
(5) 19 June 1983. 
(4) 23 and 24 June 1984. 
(s) 28 and 29 June 1985. 
(') OJ No C 38, 19. 2. 1976, p. 1. proper understanding between citizens by providing 
increased opportunities for foreign language teaching 
and learning; 
Whereas the development of the commercial policy with 
regard to third countries provided for by Articles 110 to 
116 of the EEC Treaty requires an extension of the 
linguistic competence in Community and extra-
Community languages; 
Whereas the different Community programmes, notably 
Erasmus (7), Comett (8), and 'Youth for Europe' (9), will 
benefit from accompanying measures to promote the 
teaching and learning of all Community languages 
within schools; 
Whereas the Council has provided, by Decision ..., for 
the establishment of the Lingua programme, including 
measures to promote foreign languages in vocational 
training programmes and whereas this programme needs 
to be complemented by measures 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, 
Whereas the Treaty has not provided the necessary 
specific powers, 
HAS ADOPTED THE PRESENT DECISION: 
Article 1 
The principles and measures for the promotion of the 
teaching and learning of foreign languages in the 
European Community, set out in this Decision, are 
hereby established. They shall support actions taken 
under the European Community action scheme for the 
promotion of training in foreign languages (the Lingua 
programme) and shall be implemented in close coordi­
nation with it. The first phase of implementation of these 
principles and measures shall commence on 1 January 
1990 and last for five years. 
Article 2 
Foreign language teaching in the context of this Decision 
shall refer only to the teaching of the official languages 
of the European Community. 
Article 3 
The principal objectives of the principles and measures 
established by this Decision shall be as follows: 
(a) to increase the capacity of citizens of the Community 
to communicate with each other by a quantitative 
and qualitative improvement in the teaching and 
learning of foreign languages within the European 
Community; 
O OJ No L 166, 25. 6. 1987, p. 20. 
(') OJ No L 222, 8. 8. 1986, p. 17. 
O OJ No L 158, 25. 6. 1988, p. 42. 
28. 2. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 51/15 
(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, they shall be designed to provide a 
complementary and catalytic contribution to the policies 
taken within Member States to: 
(i) increase opportunities for the teaching and learning 
of foreign languages in the Community, and in 
particular to encourage the teaching and learning of 
the less widely used languages of the Community, 
(ii) increase the motivation of the citizens of the 
Community, especially young people, to learn 
foreign languages, by encouraging in particular the 
acquisition of skills of communication, and by 
increasing the value placed on competence in foreign 
languages as a necessary component of vocational 
and academic qualifications. 
Article 4 
The principles and measures established by this Decision 
shall comprise: 
(a) a common framework of principles for the 
promotion of the teaching and learning of foreign 
languages 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 an added 
value to measures taken by and within Member 
States in this field, without inhibiting their 
autonomous development. (iii) that incentives should be provided to enable pupils 
and young people to participate in organized educa­
tional exchanges, integrated within the curricula of 
the educational systems, 
(iv) that where appropriate, the conditions of access of 
young people to universities shall include evidence 
of competence in at least one Community language, 
other that their mother tongue(s), in the final 
school-leaving examinations. 
Article 6 
Member States shall designate, or if necessary create, an 
institution or institutions to be known as the European 
Community Academy for Foreign Language Teaching, 
which shall be responsible for promoting the objectives 
of this Decision and the aims of the Lingua programme, 
by providing information and advice on the development 
of foreign language teaching and on opportunities for 
educational exchange, and by cooperating with the 
academies designated in other Member States through a 
Community-wide clearing-house for educational 
exchanges and the transfer of experience and materials in 
the field of foreign language teaching. 
Article 7 
To give a significant Community impetus to the efforts 
to be pursued by Member States to raise the quality and 
standards of foreign language teaching, 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 5 
So as to achieve the objectives of this Decision, by a 
concerted approach in this field, competent authorities in 
Member States shall promote the following common 
principles: 
(i) that all young people shall be encouraged to study 
at least one foreign language during the period of 
full-time compulsory education, with a view to 
acquiring the necessary skills of communication, 
and that measures will be promoted to provide 
young people who so wish with the opportunity to 
acquire a working knowledge of two Community 
languages in addition to their mother tongue(s) 
during this period, 
(ii) that curricula at all levels of general education in 
Member States shall give increased priority to the 
acquisition of the communicative skills in foreign 
languages, Article 8 
1. The Commission shall implement the Lingua 
programme pursuant to this Decision and the Annex 
thereto, and take account also of the principles and 
actions established by Council Decision . . . 
2. In performing this task, the Commission shall be 
assisted by the committee of an advisory nature, estab­
lished under Article 8 of Council Decision . . . 
3. The Commission may consult the committee on all 
questions concerning the implementation of this 
Decision. The Commission shall consult the committee 
on the general approach concerning the measures 
provided for by this Decision, and in particular on the 
balanced development of these measures in the context 
No C 51/16 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 2. 89 
of the Lingua programme as a whole, taking into 
account the need to promote the teaching of all 
Community languages. The Committee shall also be 
consulted on the evaluation of the measures and serve as 
the platform for reviewing the development of national 
policies and practices in this field. 
Article 9 
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 implementation. 
ANNEX 
ACTION I 
Measures to promote the development of educational exchanges for young people within the Community 
A 
1. Financial aid will be provided to a deisgnated body (or bodies) in each Member State to support the 
development of educational exchanges of a minimum of 14 days organized as an integral part of school 
and vocational training programmes for young people and which are excluded from the terms of the 
'Youth for Europe' programme ('). The aim shall be to provide a stimulus to the efforts taken within 
Member States to enable the participation in 1991 of young people, normally aged between 13 and 18 
years, from 5 % of schools in the Community, rising to 20 % in 1994. Aid for exchanges shall not 
normally exceed 50 % of the total expenses incurred (journey and programme) but in certain justified 
cases the aid may cover up to a maximum of 75 %. After consulting the committee mentioned in Article 
8 of the Decision and taking account of the experience of the 'Youth for Europe' programme, the 
Commission shall establish the criteria for granting this higher rate of aid. The calculation of aid to be 
allocated to each Member State in the form of a black grant will take account of: 
— the number of young people within the age limits defined above in its population, 
— the average resources available to young people in each Member State as measured by gross 
domestic product per head in relation to the Community average, 
— the geographical distance between Member States, 
— the establishment of a better balance in the flow of exchanges within the Community. 
2. In the allocation of grants, priority will be given to exchanges which: 
— provide specifically for the improvement of the skills of communication in foreign languages, 
— offer opportunities to gain insights into working life in the host Member State, 
— are designed for young people who have difficulties in learning languages, lack motivation or 
otherwise fail to see the relevance of combining foreign languages with specific vocational skills, 
— support the learning of less widely used and less widely taught languages in the Community. 
3. Aid will also be provided through the bodies mentioned in paragraph 1 above for the operation of a 
scheme of visits preparatory to these exchanges, to be carried out by those involved in the institutions 
concerned. The average contribution will be ECU 500 per visit. 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. 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. 
Article 11 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 
(') Council Decision 88/348/EEC (OJ No L 158, 25. 6. 1988, p. 42). 
28. 2. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 51/17 
B 
1. Financial aid will be provided on an experimental basis during the initial phase of the Lingua 
programme, to support the diversification of foreign language teaching and learning through assistance 
in the development and exchange of teaching materials of the less widely taught languages. 
2. Joint applications will be invited from institutions in more than one Member State submitting a 
three-year development plan for the elaboration of the teaching materials referred to above. During a 
first phase, not more than four projects will be supported for each language. 
3. Applications may be submitted by the body (or bodies) designated by Member States under Article 6 of 
the Decision for the placement and training of foreign language assistants from the Member States 
whose languages are less widely taught. Such aid is estimated at an average of ECU 2 500 per assistant. 
It will not exceed half the cost of placement and training for numbers of assistants additional to those 
received in the base year 1990/91, and will have particular regard to the need to diversify the number of 
foreign languages concerned. The activity will commence in 1991. 
C 
1. Assistance will be provided on an experimental basis, to support efforts by schools to intensify the 
teaching of foreign languages to young people through the establishment of joint projects in 
cooperation wich schools in other Member States. 
2. Applications will be invited from individual schools submitting a three year development plan with these 
objectives. During a first phase, financial assistance towards the additional costs involved will be granted 
to a maximum of 50 schools per Member State for joint projects. The schools selected will be invited to 
join a Community-wide network of exchange and mutual support. 
3. Specific technical assistance will also be given to the setting-up of networks of institutions seeking to 
introduce curricula similar to that of the European baccalaureat, with a view to disseminating good 
practice and encouraging further initiatives of this kind throughout the Community. 
ACTION II 
Measures to promote innovation for the improvement of the teaching and learning of foreign languages, and 
complementary measures 
1. The Community will provide complementary support and a European dimension to the functions of the 
academies designated by Member States under the terms of Article 6 of the Decision. The Community 
support will be provided to underpin the creation of a Community-wide clearing-house, networking the 
academies and facilitating cooperation between them, so as to contribute to the achievement of the 
objectives of this Decision and of the Lingua programme. 
2. Block grants will be made available for this purpose to each academy on the basis of an annual work 
programme to be presented to the Commission. The Community finance will be limited to support for 
the development of transnational exchanges between academies and exchange and/or study visits for the 
personnel of the academies, the translation and exchange of teaching materials, and the transfer of 
innovative methods of foreign language teaching, for example through television and the media, for use 
in other Member States. The grant will also contribute towards the promotion of the objectives and the 
dissemination of the results of the guidelines and measures adopted under this Decision as well as 
through the Lingua programme, to local and regional levels. It will also support activities undertaken in 
accordance with this Annex and the Annex to Council Decision . . . establishing the Lingua programme. 
Annual reports will be presented to the Commission by each academy of its work programme, to be 
examined within the framework of the European clearing-house of academies. 
No C 51/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 2. 89 
3. Moreover, during the first phase of implementation of this Decision and of the Lingua programme, 
support will be provided for the production of a series of Community-wide reports which focus on 
issues of common concern, including the following: 
(a) the value of introducing opportunities for the teaching of foreign languages from an early age, in 
particular during the period of primary education, on the basis of a comparative evaluation in those 
Member States where this provision already exists; 
(b) the scope for introducing further changes to national curricula and examination systems to give 
greater emphasis to the acquisition of the skills of communication as a means of enhancing greater 
motivation for the learning of foreign languages as part of the initial vocational education and 
training of young people; 
(c) the need to introduce into public service entrance examinations a general requirement of 
competence in at least one and preferably two foreign languages; 
(d) the provision for the teaching of extra-Community languages, particularly in the light of the 
Community's developing trading and cultural relations with the rest of the world. 
The academies will be invited to collaborate in the compilation and presentation of these reports. 
4. To provide informational support for the activities undertaken in accordance with this Decision and 
under the Lingua programme, and to increase cooperation in this field in the Community, the 
Commission will: 
— support associations and consortia acting on a European-wide basis, both those linking teachers and 
researchers of the different Community languages, in particular with a view to making innovative 
initiatives in specific fields better known throughout the Community, notably with regard to the 
methodology of foreign language teaching and to the promotion of the teaching of the less widely 
taught foreign languages of the Community, and those concerned with promoting multilingualism in 
the media, 
— support publications designed to enhance awareness of study and teaching opportunities in the field 
of foreign languages on other Member States, and to draw attention to important developments and 
innovative models for cooperations in this field throughout the Community. 
5. The necessary technical assistance will be provided at Community level to underpin the activities 
undertaken in accordance with this Decision, taking into account the need to promote a balanced devel­
opment which encourages the teaching and learning of all Community languages. Furthermore, specific 
provision will be made by the Commission for the animation and continuing evaluation of these acti­
vities, and for the dissemination through all the Community languages of experience arising from them.