WRITTEN QUESTION E-0733/01

by Roy Perry (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 March 2001)

Subject: Benchmarking in employment and education

The 2000 Lisbon European Council asked the Council and the Commission to address: improving employability and reducing skills gaps; giving higher priority to lifelong learning as a basic component of the European social model; increasing employment in services, including personal services, where there are major shortages; [and] furthering all aspects of equal opportunities. What steps have been taken to address each of these four elements, and, where appropriate, what benchmarks have been established?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(6 June 2001)

The Commission reviewed overall progress since the Lisbon European Council in its synthesis report to the Stockholm European Council of 23/24 March 2001(1). The four priorities the Honourable Member refers to are being addressed within the European Employment Strategy, and the eEurope Action Plan and its eLearning component.

The Employment Guidelines for 2001(2) have incorporated these objectives in a detailed way, setting also specific European or national targets as appropriate. Member States reflect the Employment Guidelines in their employment policies and their success in doing so will be set out in the Joint Employment Report for 2001 based on analysis of National Action Plans to be submitted by Member States in May 2001.

The European Social Fund (ESF) is the Community's main financial tool for supporting the European Employment Strategy and hence, also, these four objectives.

Furthermore, the Honourable Member's attention is drawn to other initiatives which are complementing the Guidelines in the Lisbon follow-up:

- The above-mentioned Commission Communication to the Stockholm European Council sets as one of its ten priorities the development by 2005 of new European labour markets open to all and accessible for all. This is backed up by a more extensive Communication(3) which identifies where progress is needed and which calls for the establishment of a High Level Task Force on skills and mobility. The report of the Task Force will form the basis of the Action Plan on the new European labour markets which the Commission will be submitting in time for the Spring European Council in 2002.

- A report on the concrete future objectives of education and training systems was adopted by the Council on 12 February 2001(4) and submitted to the Stockholm European Council. The Council was requested, together with the Commission, to present a report to the Spring European Council in 2002 containing a detailed work programme on the follow-up of the objectives of education and training systems. Indicators and benchmarks will be key elements of the follow-up process.

- Employment and education issues are also addressed by the eEurope Action Plan, which was endorsed by the Feira European Council in June 2000. The key aims of eEurope in this area are to contribute to filling the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills gap, to give workers the skills they need to work and ensure participation for all in the knowledge-based economy.

- The follow-up of the implementation of the targets of the eEurope Action Plan is based on the benchmarking of national progress according to a set of indicators, including education related indicators agreed by the Council on 30 November 2000(5). Indicators related to working and participation in the knowledge-based economy are the percentage of the workforce with (at least) basic Information technology (IT) training; the number of places and graduates in ICT-related third-level education; the percentage of the workforce using telework; and the number of Public Internet Points (PIAPS) per 1 000 inhabitants.

- In addition the High level Group on the Employment and Social Dimension of the Information Society - ESDIS - has drawn up a Benchmarking Report following-up the Strategies for jobs in the Information Society(6) for which Member State data and a specific Eurobarometer survey on ICT and working (results November 2000) have been used with the view of further assessing impact of the Information Society on jobs, and fulfilling ESDIS mandates under the eEurope action plan.

- Moreover a specific Action Plan eLearning: Designing tomorrow's education was adopted on 28 March 2001 by the Commission(7) to ensure that the eEurope Action Plan is taken forward in the field of education and training.

- A Memorandum on lifelong learning(8) has launched a consultation involving, both in Member States and at Community level, social partners, public authorities, learning and related service providers and civil society. The results will be used by the Commission for drafting an action plan in the second half of 2001 including the development of indicators and benchmarking.

- The new Programme relative to the Community framework strategy on gender equality (2001-2005) has now commenced and the priority theme for 2001/2002 is Equal pay(9).

(1) Commission Communication Realising the European Union's potential: consolidating and extending the Lisbon strategy COM(2001) 79 final.

(2) Council Decision 2001/63 EC of 19 January 2001 (OJ L 22, 24.1.2001).

(3) COM(2001) 116 final.

(4) Press:46 - No: 5927/01.

(5) See Note from the French Presidency on: http://europa.eu.int/comm/information_society/eeurope/documentation/update/index_en.htm.

(6) SEC(2001) 222 (http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/soc-dial/info_soc/esdis/index.htm).

(7) Commission Communication e-Learning - Designing tomorrow's education COM(2001) 172 final.

(8) Commission staff working paper - SEC(2000) 1832.

(9) Council Decision 2001/51/EC of 20 December 2000 (OJ L 17, 19.1.2001).