COMMON POSITION (EC) No 7/1999 adopted by the Council on 21 December 1998 with a view to adopting Council Decision 1999/.../EC of ... establishing the second phase of the Community vocational training action programme 'Leonardo da Vinci'
Date: 1998-12-21
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU programme, action programme, international cooperation, social partners, vocational training

22.2.1999

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C  49/65

COMMON  POSITION  (EC)  No  7/1999

adopted  by  the  Council  on  21  December  1998

with a view to adopting Council Decision 1999/. . ./EC of . . . establishing the second phase of
the  Community  vocational  training  action  programme  ‘Leonardo  da  Vinci’

(1999/C  49/05)

THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European
Community  and  in  particular  Article  127  thereof,

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  from  the  Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

Acting  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in
Article  189c  of  the  Treaty (3),

(1)  Whereas  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European
Community  stipulates  that  the  latter’s  action  shall
inter  alia  contribute  to  the  development  of  quality
education  and  vocational  training;

(4)  Whereas  life-long  learning  should  be  provided  for
persons of all ages and all occupational categories,
not  only  because  of  technological  change  but  also
as  a  result  of  the  reduction  in  the  number  of
persons  in  active  employment  in  the  age  pyramid;

(5)  Whereas  in  its  communication  ‘Towards  a  Europe
of  knowledge’  the  Commission  set  out  proposals
for  the  creation  of  a  European  education  area
capable  of  achieving  the  objective  of  life-long
education  and  vocational  training,  identifying  the
type  of  measures  to  be  developed  at  Community
level, all focusing on transnational cooperation and
designed  to  bring  added  value  to  the  action  taken
by  the  Member  States,  while  fully  respecting  the
principle  of  subsidiarity,  and  in  a  context  of
simplified  procedures;

an 

action  programme 

(2)  Whereas,  by  Decision  94/819/EC (4),  the  Council
established 
the
implementation  of  a  Community  vocational
training  policy;  whereas  it  is  appropriate,  on  the
basis  of 
that
programme,  to  ensure  its  extension,  taking  into
account  the  results  obtained  to  date;

experience  of 

the  acquired 

for 

(6)  Whereas in its White Paper ‘Teaching and learning
—  Towards  the  learning  society’,  the  Commission
states  that  the  emergence  of  the  learning  society
entails  encouraging 
the  acquisition  of  new
knowledge and to this end providing motivation to
learn  at  every  opportunity;  whereas  in  its  Green
Paper ‘Education, vocational training, research: the
obstacles 
mobility’
the  Commission  highlighted  the  advantages  of
mobility  for  people  and  competitiveness  in  the
European  Union;

transnational 

to 

(3)  Whereas  the  extraordinary  European  Council  on
employment  held  in  Luxembourg  on  20  and  21
November 1997 recognised that life-long education
and  vocational  training  can  make  an  important
to  Member  States’  employment
contribution 
policies 
to  enhance  employability,
adaptability  and  entrepreneurship  and  to  promote
equal  opportunities;

in  order 

(1)  OJ  C  309,  9.10.1998,  p.  9.
(2)  OJ  C  410,  30.12.1998,  p.  6.
(3)  Opinion  of  the  European  Parliament  of  5  November  1998
(OJ  C  359,  23.11.1998),  Council  common  position  of  21
December 1998 and Decision of the European Parliament of
. . .  (not  yet  published  in  the  Official  Journal).

(4)  OJ  L  340,  29.12.1994,  p.  8.

(7)  Whereas  measures  under  this  programme  should
serve  the  purpose  of  developing  quality,  fostering
innovation and promoting the European dimension
in vocational training systems and practices with a
view  to  encouraging  life-long  learning;  whereas,  in
the  implementation  of  this  programme,  attention
should  be  paid  to  fighting  exclusion  in  all  its
forms,  including  racism  and  xenophobia;  whereas
special attention should be focused on removing all
forms  of  discrimination  and  inequality,  inter  alia
for  people  with  a  disability,  and  on  promoting
equal  opportunities  for  women  and  men;

C  49/66

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

22.2.1999

. . ./1999/EC  of 

their  Decision  No 

(8)  Whereas the European Parliament and the Council,
in 
. . .
establishing  the  second  phase  of  the  Community
action  programme 
in  the  field  of  education
‘Socrates’ (1)  and  No  . . ./1999/EC  on  youth (2),
have  established  Community  actions  programmes
for  the  education  and  youth  fields  respectively,
which contribute, together with this programme, to
promoting  a  Europe  of  knowledge;

(9)  Whereas  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  reinforce  the
added value of Community action, to ensure, at all
levels,  a  coherence  and  complementarity  between
the  actions  implemented  in  the  framework  of  this
Decision  and  other  Community  interventions;

(10)  Whereas,  in  view  of  their  role  in  the  maintenance
and  creation  of  jobs  and  the  development  of
training, 
small  and  medium-sized  enterprises
(SMEs)  and  the  craft  industry  should  be  more
closely  involved  in  the  implementation  of  this
programme;

(11)  Whereas  the  Commission,  in  cooperation  with  the
Member  States,  is  seeking  to  secure  coherence  and
complementarity  between  the  actions  under  this
programme  and  other 
relevant  Community
policies, instruments and actions by facilitating the
transfer  and  dissemination,  on  a  wider  scale,
innovatory  approaches  and  methods  developed
under  this  programme;  whereas  the  Commission,
in partnership with social partners, is endeavouring
to  develop  cooperation  between  this  programme
and 
the  Community  social
dialogue;

the  activities  of 

(12)  Whereas 

the  Agreement  on 

training  and  youth  between 

the  European
Economic  Area  (EEA  Agreement)  provides  for
greater  cooperation  in  the  field  of  education,
the
vocational 
European  Community  and  its  Member  States,  on
the  one  hand,  and  the  countries  of  the  European
Free Trade Association (EFTA) participating in the
European  Economic  Area  (EFTA/EEA  countries),
on  the  other;

(13)  Whereas provision should be made to open up this
programme  to  participation  of  the  associated
central and eastern European countries (CEECs), in
accordance  with  the  conditions  established  in  the
Europe  Agreements,  in  their  additional  protocols
and  in  the  decisions  of  the  respective  Association
Councils,  of  Cyprus  under  the  same  conditions  as
those  applied  to  the  EFTA/EEA  countries,  funded
by  additional  appropriations  in  accordance  with
the  procedures  to  be  agreed  with  that  country  as
well as of Malta and Turkey, funded by additional
appropriations  in  accordance  with  the  Treaty;

(14)  Whereas  this  programme  should  be  regularly
monitored  and  evaluated  in  cooperation  between
the Commission and the Member States in order to
allow 
the
readjustments,  particularly 
priorities  for  implementing  the  measures;

for 

in 

(15)  Whereas  a  financial  reference  amount,  within  the
meaning  of  point  2  of  the  Declaration  by  the
the
European  Parliament, 
Commission  of  6  March  1995 (3)  is  included  in
this  Decision  for  the  entire  duration  of  the
programme,  without  thereby  affecting  the  powers
of  the  budgetary  authority  as  they  are  defined  by
the  Treaty;

the  Council  and 

(16)  Whereas,  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of
subsidiarity  and  the  principle  of  proportionality  as
set  out  in  Article  3b  of  the  Treaty,  since  the
objectives  of  the  proposed  action  concerning  the
implementation  of  a  vocational  training  policy  at
Community level cannot be sufficiently achieved by
the  complexity  of
the  Member  States  given 
vocational training partnerships, they can therefore
be better achieved by the Community owing to the
transnational dimension of the Community actions
and  measures;  whereas  this  Decision  is  limited  to
the  minimum  required  to  achieve  these  objectives
and  does  not  go  beyond  what  is  necessary  to
achieve  these  objectives,

HAS  DECIDED  AS  FOLLOWS:

Article  1

Establishment  of  the  programme

1. This  Decision  establishes  the  second  phase  of  the
action  programme 
implementation  of  a
Community  vocational  training  policy  ‘Leonardo  da
Vinci’,  hereinafter  referred  to  as  ‘this  programme’.

the 

for 

2. This programme shall be implemented over the period
starting  on  1  January  2000  and  ending  on  31  December
2006.

3. This programme shall contribute to the promotion of
a Europe of knowledge by developing a European area of
cooperation  in  the  field  of  education  and  vocational
training.  It  shall  support  Member  States’  policies  on
life-long  learning  and  the  building  up  of  the  knowledge
and  skills  and  competences 
likely  to  foster  active
citizenship and employability.

4. This programme shall support and supplement action
taken by and in the Member States while fully respecting

(1)  OJ  . . .
(2)  OJ  . . .

(3)  OJ  C  102,  4.4.1996,  p.  4.

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C  49/67

their  responsibility  for  the  content  and  organisation  of
vocational  training,  and  of  their  cultural  and  linguistic
diversity.

(b) support  for  pilot  projects  based  on  transnational
partnerships  designed  to  develop  innovation  and
quality  in  vocational  training  (‘pilot  projects’);

Article  2

Objectives  of  the  programme

1. Within  the  framework  of  the  objectives  set  out  in
Article  127  of  the  Treaty,  this  programme  aims  at
developing 
innovation  and  European
dimension  in  vocational  training  systems  and  practices,
through  transnational  cooperation.  The  objectives  of  the
programme  shall  be  to:

the  quality, 

(a)  improve  the  skills  and  competences  of  people,
especially  young  people,  in  initial  vocational  training
at  all  levels;  this  may  be  achieved  inter  alia  through
work-linked  vocational  training  and  apprenticeship
with  a  view 
to  promoting  employability  and
facilitating  vocational  integration  and  reintegration;

(b) improve  the  quality  of,  and  access  to,  continuing
vocational  training  and  the  life-long  acquisition  of
skills  and  competences  with  a  view  to  increasing  and
in  order  to
developing  adaptability,  particularly 
consolidate  technological  and  organisational  change;

innovative  counselling  and  guidance  approaches  are
of  particular  importance  for  the  fulfilment  of  the
objectives  set  out  in  (a)  and  (b)  and  shall  be  given
support;

c)  promote  and  reinforce  the  contribution  of  vocational
training  to  the  process  of  innovation,  with  a  view  to
improving  competitiveness  and  entrepreneurship;
special  attention  shall  be  paid  in  this  respect  to
fostering  cooperation  between  vocational  training
institutions,  including  universities,  and  undertakings,
particularly SMEs.

2.
In implementing the objectives set out in paragraph 1,
particular  attention  shall  be  paid  to  people  at  a
disadvantage  in  the  labour  market,  to  the  promotion  of
equality  and  to  equal  opportunities  for  women  and
men.

(c)  promotion  of  language  competences,  including  for
less  widely  used  and 
languages,  and
understanding  of  different  cultures  in  the  context  of
vocational training (‘language competences’);

taught 

(d) support 

for 

transnational
the  development  of 
cooperation  networks  facilitating  the  exchange  of
experience 
(‘transnational
networks’);

practice 

good 

and 

(e)  the  development  and  updating  of  reference  material
through support for surveys and analyses, comparable
data,  the  observation  and  dissemination  of  good
practices  and 
the  comprehensive  exchange  of
information  (‘reference  material’).

2.
In carrying out the measures referred to in paragraph
1,  specific  support  for  transnational  actions  shall  be
available  for  the  promotion  and  use  of  information  and
communication 
vocational
training.

technologies 

(ICT) 

in 

Article  4

Access  to  the  programme

the 

and 

conditions 

for
Under 
implementation  specified  in  the  Annexes,  access  to  this
programme  shall  be  open  to  all  public  and/or  private
bodies  and  institutions  involved  in  vocational  training
and,  in  particular:

arrangements 

(a)  vocational training establishments, centres and bodies

at  all  levels,  including  universities;

(b) research  centres  and  bodies;

(c)  undertakings,  particularly  SMEs  and 

the  craft
industry,  or  public  or  private  sector  establishments,
including  those  involved  in  vocational  training;

(d) trade organisations, including chambers of commerce,

etc.;

(e)  social partners;

Article  3

Community  measures

(f)  local  and  regional  bodies  and  organisations;

(g)  non  profit  making  organisations,  voluntary  bodies

and  NGOs.

1. The objectives of this programme shall be pursued by
means of the following measures, the operational content
and  application  procedures  of  which  are  described  in  the
Annexes  and  which  may  be  combined:

(a)  support  for  the  transnational  mobility  of  people
training,  especially  young
training

those  responsible 

undergoing  vocational 
people,  and 
(‘mobility’);

for 

for 

Article  5

Implementation  of  the  programme  and  cooperation  with
the  Member  States

1. The  Commission  shall  ensure  the  implementation  of
the  Community  actions  covered  by  this  programme.

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22.2.1999

2. Member  States  shall:

—  take  the  necessary  steps  to  secure,  by  means  of
appropriate structures, the coordination, an integrated
management  and  the  follow-up  for  the  attainment  of
the  objectives  of  this  programme,  involving  all  the
parties 
in
accordance  with  national  practice,

concerned  by  vocational 

training, 

—  ensure  that  relevant  information  and  publicity  is

provided  on  the  actions  of  this  programme,

—  take  the  necessary  steps  to  ensure  the  efficient

running  of  this  programme,

—  endeavour, as far as possible, to adopt such measures
as  they  deem  necessary  and  desirable  to  remove
obstacles  to  access  to  this  programme.

In  cooperation  with  Member  States,  the  Commission

3.
shall:

—  take the steps described in the Annexes to build upon
the achievements of the first phase of this programme
and  the  Community 
in  the  area  of
vocational training,

initiatives 

—  ensure  the  smooth  transition  between  those  actions
developed  in  the  framework  of  the  first  phase  of  this
programme  and  those  to  be  implemented  under  the
second  phase.

Article  6

Joint  actions

As  part  of  the  process  of  building  up  a  Europe  of
knowledge,  the  measures  contained  in  this  programme
may  be  implemented,  in  conformity  with  the  procedure
laid  down  in  Article  7,  as  joint  actions  with  related
Community  programmes  and  actions,  particularly  the
Socrates  and  Youth  programmes.

Article  7

Committee

1. The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  a  committee
composed  of  two  representatives  from  each  Member
State  and  chaired  by 
the
Commission.

representative  of 

the 

2. The  Committee  shall  deliver  opinions  on 
following  points:

the

(a)  the  general  guidelines  for  the  implementation  of  this
programme  and  the  financial  support  to  be  supplied
by  the  Community;

(b) the  annual  plan  of  work  for  the  implementation  of
this  programme’s  actions  including  priorities,  the
themes  for  the  thematic  actions  and  the  joint  actions
and  the  Commission  proposals  for  project  selection,
including  those  under  the  joint  actions;

(c)  the  annual  budgets  and  the  distribution  of  funding
between  measures,  as  well  as 
joint  actions,
accompanying  measures  and  projects  of  European
organisations;

(d) the  criteria  applicable  for  establishing  the  indicative
breakdown  of  funds  among  the  Member  States  for
the  purpose  of  the  actions  to  be  managed  according
to  selection  procedure  A  (Annex  I,  section  III);

(e)  the  arrangements  for  monitoring  and  evaluating  the
programme  and  for  the  dissemination  and  transfer  of
results.

3. As  regards  the  points  referred  to  in  paragraph  2,  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 this draft within a
time  limit  which  the  Chairman  may  lay  down  according
to  the  urgency  of  the  matter.  The  opinion  shall  be
delivered  by  the  majority  laid  down  in  Article  148(2)  of
the  Treaty  in  the  case  of  decisions  which  the  Council  is
required  to  adopt  on  a  proposal  from  the  Commission.
The  votes  of  the  representatives  of  the  Member  States
within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set
out  in  that  Article.  The  Chairman  shall  not  vote.

4.  (a)  The  Commission  shall  adopt  measures  which

apply immediately.

(b) However,  if  these  measures  are  not  in  accordance
with  the  opinion  of  the  Committee,  they  shall  be
communicated  by  the  Commission  to  the  Council
forthwith.  In  that  event:

—  the  Commission  shall  defer  application  of  the
measures  which  it  has  decided  for  a  period  of
up  to  two  months  from  the  date  of  the
communication,

—  the  Council,  acting  by  a  qualified  majority,
may  take  a  different  decision  within  the  time
limit  referred  to  in  the  preceding  indent.

5. The  representative  of  the  Commission  shall  consult
the  Committee  on  other  appropriate  matters  concerning
implementation  of  this  programme.  In  that  event,  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
time  limit  which  the  Chairman  may  lay  down  according
to  the  urgency  of  the  matter,  if  necessary  by  taking  a
vote.

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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.

adopted  by  the  Council,  as  part  of  a  coordinated
employment strategy.

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  shall  draw  up  its  rules  of  procedure.

7. The Commission, in cooperation with the Committee,
shall  establish  regular  and  structured  cooperation  with
the Committees established for the implementation of the
European  Community 
youth
programmes  (Socrates  and  Youth).

educational 

and 

8. To  ensure  the  consistency  of  this  programme  with
other  measures  referred  to  in  Article  9,  the  Commission
shall  keep  the  Committee  regularly  informed  about
Community  initiatives  taken  in  the  fields  of  education,
vocational training and youth, including cooperation with
third  countries  and  international  organisations.

Article  8

Social  partners

Without  prejudice  to  the  procedures  described  in  Article
7(3),  (4)  and  (5),  the  Commission  may  consult  the
Committee  on  any  matter  concerning  the  application  of
this  Decision.

Whenever such consultation takes place, a number, equal
to  that  of  the  representatives  of  the  Member  States,  of
representatives  of  the  social  partners,  appointed  by  the
Commission  on  the  basis  of  proposals  from  the  social
partners  at  Community  level,  shall  participate  in  the
work  of  the  Committee  as  observers.

They shall have the right to request that their position be
recorded  in  the  minutes  of  Committee  meetings.

Article  9

Consistency  and  complementarity

1. The  Commission  shall, 
in  cooperation  with  the
Member  States,  ensure  the  overall  consistency  and
complementarity with other relevant Community policies,
instruments  and  actions,  in  particular  those  contributing
to  a  Europe  of  knowledge,  in  particular  in  the  fields  of
education,  vocational  training,  youth,  research  and
technological  development,  and  innovation.

3.
In  partnership  with  Community  social  partners,  the
Commission shall endeavour to develop the coordination
between  this  programme  and  the  social  dialogue  at
Community  level,  including  at  sectoral  levels.

4. The  Commission  shall  secure  the  assistance  of  the
European  Centre  for  the  Development  of  Vocational
Training  (Cedefop)  in  implementing  this  programme,  in
accordance  with  the  arrangements  set  out  in  Regulation
(EEC) No 337/75 (1) establishing the Cedefop. Subject to
lend
the  same  conditions  and 
themselves  to  it,  coordinations  shall  be  established  under
the  auspices  of  the  Commission  with  the  European
Training  Foundation  as  specified  by  Regulation  (EEC)
No  1360/90 (2).

in  the  areas  which 

5. The  Commission  shall  keep  the  Advisory  Committee
on  Vocational  Training  regularly 
the
progress  of  this  programme.

informed  of 

Article  10

Participation  of  the  EFTA/EEA  countries,  the  associated
central  and  eastern  European  countries  (CEECs)  Cyprus,
Malta  and  Turkey

1. This  programme  shall  be  open  to  the  participation
of:

—  the  EFTA/EEA  countries  in  accordance  with  the

conditions  established  in  the  EEA  agreement,

in 

—  the associated central and eastern European countries
conditions
accordance  with 
(CEECs) 
established 
in  their
additional  protocols  and  in  the  decisions  of  the
respective  Association  Councils,

in  the  Europe  Agreements, 

the 

—  Cyprus, under the same conditions as those applied to
the  EFTA/EEA  countries, 
funded  by  additional
appropriations  in  accordance  with  the  procedures  to
be  agreed  with  that  country,

—  Malta 

and  Turkey, 

additional
appropriations,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of
the  Treaty.

funded 

by 

Article  11

International  cooperation

Under  this  programme,  and  in  accordance  with  the
procedure  laid  down  in  Article  7(2),  (3)  and  (4),  the
Commission  shall  strengthen  its  cooperation  with  third
countries  and  with 
international
the 
organisations.

competent 

2.
In implementing the measures of this programme, the
Commission  and  the  Member  States  shall  have  regard  to
the  priorities  set  out  in  the  employment  guidelines

(1)  OJ  L  39,  13.2.1975,  p.  1.  Regulation  as  last  amended  by
Regulation  (EC)  No  354/95  (OJ  L  41,  23.2.1995,  p.  1).
(2)  OJ  L  131,  23.4.1990,  p.  1.  Regulation  as  last  amended  by
Regulation  (EC)  No  2063/94  (OJ  L  216,  20.8.1994,  p.  9).

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Article  12

Funding

In  accordance  with  criteria  established  using 
the
procedure  described  in  Article  7(2),  (3)  and  (4),  there
shall  be  regular  independent  external  evaluations  of  the
results  of  the  Community  actions.

financial 

the
reference 
1. The 
implementation of this programme for the period 2000 to
2006  shall  be  EUR  1 150  million.

amount 

for 

2. The  annual  appropriations  shall  be  authorised  by  the
budgetary  authority  within  the  limits  of  the  financial
perspective.

Article  13

Monitoring  and  evaluation

regularly  monitor 
1. The  Commission 
programme  in  cooperation  with  the  Member  States.

shall 

this

This  monitoring  shall  include  the  reports  referred  to  in
paragraph  4  and  specific  activities.

evaluate 

regularly 

2. The  Commission 
the
shall 
implementation  of  this  programme  in  cooperation  with
the Member States, in accordance with the procedure laid
down  in  Article  7(2),  (3)  and  (4)  and  on  the  basis  of
criteria  devised  in  cooperation  with  the  Member  States.
The  main  objective  shall  be  the  evaluation  of  the
effectiveness  and  the  impact  of  actions  implemented  in
comparison with the objectives aimed at in Article 2. The
evaluation  shall  also  look  at  the  dissemination  of  the
results  of  actions  under  this  programme,  of  good
practices and the impact of this programme as a whole in
terms  of  its  objectives.

3. The findings of the monitoring and evaluation should
be 
this
taken 
programme.

into  account  when 

implementing 

4. Member States shall submit to the Commission by 31
December 2003 and 30 June 2007 respectively reports on
the  implementation  and  effectiveness  of  this  programme
and  its  impact  on  the  vocational  training  systems  and
arrangements  which  exist  in  the  Member  States.

5. The  Commission  shall  submit  to  the  European
Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Economic  and  Social
Committee:

—  an  interim  report  on  the  implementation  of  this

programme  by  30  June  2004;

—  a  communication  on 

this
programme  by  31  December  2004,  and  where
appropriate,  that  communication  shall  contain  a
suitable  proposal,

the  continuation  of 

—  a 

final  report  on 

the 

implementation  of 

this

programme  by  31  December  2007.

Article  14

Entry  into  force

This  Decision  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  date  of  its
publication  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European
Communities.

This  evaluation  shall  also  examine  the  complementarity
between actions under this programme and those pursued
under  other  relevant  Community  policies,  instruments
and  actions.

Done  . . .

For  the  Council

The  President

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ANNEX  I

COMMUNITY  ACTIONS  AND  MEASURES

SECTION  I: GENERAL  PRINCIPLES

1.  The  objectives  set  out  in  Article  2  of  the  Decision  will  be  implemented  by  means  of  transnational
partnerships  which  submit  proposals  for  action  on  the  basis  of  the  Community  measures  described  in
Article  3.

2.  Each proposal submitted by a transnational partnership will pursue one or more of the objectives of the
programme,  and  will  indicate  the  measure(s)  it  intends  to  implement  in  order  to  achieve  its  aims.
Proposals can be submitted for activities integrating various measures according to Article 3(1) and in a
manner to be determined by the Committee referred to in Article 7 of the Decision. With the exception
of  measures  1  (mobility)  and  3  (language  competences)  as  described  in  section  II,  each  proposal  must
involve  partners  from  at  least  three  participating  countries,  of  which  at  least  one  must  be  a  Member
State  of  the  European  Union.  In  the  case  of  project  proposals  under  measures  1  and  3,  each  proposal
must involve partners from at least two participating countries, of which at least one must be a Member
State  of  the  European  Union.

3.  Community calls for proposals will define the priorities for the objectives, the timetable, the conditions
of  submission,  the  common  eligibility  criteria,  particularly  in  terms  of  transnationality,  project
evaluation  and  selection  procedures.  The  indicative  timetable  will  include  Community  annual  deadlines
for  submission,  selection  and  approval  of  project  applications.

A first call for proposals will remain valid for three years. A second call for proposals will be drawn up
in  2002  valid  for  two  years,  a  third  in  2004  valid  for  two  years  on  the  basis  of  the  interim  report
referred  to  in  Article  13(5)  of  the  Decision.

The  Community  calls  for  proposals  will  be  published  by  the  Commission  after  having  sought  the
opinion  of  the  Committee  referred  to  in  Article  7  of  the  Decision.

4.  The  proposals  for  action  must  set  out  clearly  the  aims  established,  the  methods  of  implementation,  the
results  anticipated,  the  mechanisms  for  evaluating  the  actual  results,  the  plans  for  dissemination,  the
beneficiaries  and  the  partners  associated,  as  well  as  the  nature  and  level  of  participation  of  these
partners,  including  their  financial  contribution  and  the  timetable  of  work.

5.  Proposal  selections  will  take  place  at  least  once  yearly  in  accordance  with  the  procedures  defined  in

section  III.

6.  Member States will take appropriate steps to promote interaction between the players taking part in this

programme  and  in  education  and  youth-related  programmes.

7.  Under  no  circumstances  may  the  project  partners’  own  resources  derive  from  other  Community

funding.

SECTION  II: MEASURES

1.  Mobility

Support  for  transnational  mobility  projects  for  people  undergoing  vocational  training,  especially  young
people,  and  for  trainers

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Community  support  will  be  provided  for  the  following  actions:

(a)  Preparation  and  implementation  of  transnational  placement  projects  for:

—  people undergoing initial vocational training (placements of normally three weeks to nine months
in vocational training institutions and undertakings; these placements form an integral part of the
vocational  training  programme  for  the  people  concerned),

—  students  (placements  of  3  to  12  months  in  undertakings),

—  young  workers  and  recent  graduates  (placements  of  2  to  12  months  in  vocational  training

institutions  and  undertakings);

Whenever  possible,  these  placements  should  involve  the  validation  of  skills  and  competences
acquired  during  the  placement,  according  to  the  practices  of  the  country  of  origin.

These  placements  may  also  include  projects  which  are  part  of  ‘European  pathways  for  work-linked
vocational  training  and  apprenticeship’  within  the  meaning  of  Decision  1999/. . ./EC.

The transnational placement projects for people undergoing vocational training which involve SMEs
and craft industry as host bodies will receive special financial support under the conditions described
below.

(b) The  organisation  of  transnational  projects  of  exchanges

—  between undertakings, on the one hand, and vocational training organisations or universities, on
the  other,  targeting  human  resources  managers  in  the  business  sector,  and  vocational  training
programme  planners  and  managers,  particularly  trainers,  and  occupational  guidance  specialists,

—  for trainers and mentors in the area of language competences (between the business sector, on the
one hand, and the specialised language vocational training establishments, including universities,
or  vocational  training  bodies  on  the  other).

Exchanges  for  these  target  groups  will  last  between  one  week  and  a  maximum  of  six  weeks.

(c)  Study visits for those responsible for vocational training on the themes proposed by the Commission

can  be  provided  by  the  Cedefop.

The  transnational  placement  and  exchange  projects  may  last  up  to  two  years.

Funding

The  Community’s  financial  contribution  to  the  transnational  placement  and  exchange  projects  defined
under  this  measure  may  not  exceed  EUR  5 000  per  beneficiary  for  a  placement  or  an  exchange  —  the
maximum amount of this contribution corresponding to the maximum duration indicated in (a) and (b).
This  maximum  amount  may  be  exceeded  in  the  case  of  participants  with  a  disability.

For this measure, the Commission will allocate to each Member State an annual global grant the amount
of  which  will  be  defined  in  accordance  with  the  procedures  described  in  Annex  II.

Up  to  10 %  of  this  allocation  will  be  set  aside,  in  accordance  with  procedures  agreed  upon  with  the
management  structure  concerned  to  help:

—  SME  promoters  submitting  their  first  application  to  the  programme.  The  sum  may  not  exceed  EUR

500  per  promoter,

—  all  promoters  preparing  the  target  group  mentioned  under  (a).  The  sum  allowed  for  the  pedagogic,
cultural  and  linguistic  preparation  of  that  target  group,  may  not  exceed  EUR  200  per  placement  of
less  than  three  months  duration  or  EUR  500  per  placement  of  more  than  three  months  duration,
with  a  ceiling  of  EUR  25 000  per  promoter.

This amount is on top of that set aside for the sending organisation for the management and monitoring
of  transnational  placement  projects.

Any  unused  part  of  this  allocation  may  be  redeployed  by  the  management  structure  elsewhere  within
this  measure.

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2.  Pilot  projects

Support  for  transnational  pilot  projects  to  develop  and  transfer  innovation  and  quality  in  vocational
training,  including  actions  aiming  at  the  use  of  information  and  communication  technologies  (ICT)  in
vocational training

Community  support  is  available  for  the  design,  development,  testing  and  assessment  of  transnational
pilot  projects  to  develop  and/or  disseminate  innovation  in  vocational  training.

Such transnational pilot projects may relate to the development of quality in vocational training, to the
development  of  new  methods  of  vocational  training  and  to  vocational  guidance  in  the  context  of
life-long learning.

Transnational  pilot  projects  may  also  aim  at:

—  developing  the  use  of  ICT  in  vocational  training  actions  and  products,

—  promoting  access  for  people  undergoing  vocational  training  to  new  tools,  services  and  vocational

training  products  which  use  ICT,

—  supporting the development of transnational open and distance vocational training networks through

the  use  of  ICT  (multimedia  products,  web  sites,  network  transmission,  etc.),

—  designing,  testing  and  validating  new  vocational  training  approaches  arising  from  new  work

situations  (e.g.  teleworking).

Community  support  for  projects  under  this  measure  may  be  available  for  up  to  three  years.

Thematic actions

Special  support  will  be  given  to  a  small  number  of  projects  on  themes  of  particular  interest  at
Community  level,  for  example:

—  the  development  of  new  methods  of  promoting  transparency  with  an  emphasis  on  new  forms  of

certification  or  accreditation  of  skills  and  expertise  learned  on  the  job,

—  actions in support of Member States’ policies and initiatives to equip with appropriate skills those at
a  disadvantage  in  the  labour  market,  particularly  those  young  people  who  have  no  qualifications,

—  developing  European  arrangements  for  vocational  guidance,  counselling  and  vocational  training  in

business-related services.

Funding

The Community may contribute up to 75 % of eligible expenditure for the transnational pilot projects,
with  a  ceiling  of  EUR  200 000  per  year  and  per  project.  For  the  thematic  actions,  the  ceiling  may  be
raised  to  EUR  300 000  per  year  and  per  project,  if  justified  by  the  scope  of  the  project  concerned.

3.  Language competences

Support  for  projects  to  promote  language  and  cultural  competences  in  vocational  training

Community support is available for transnational pilot projects to develop language competences linked
to  the  promotion  of  the  social  and  occupational  integration  of  people,  especially  young  people,  and  a
higher  level  of  employability  and  adaptability  of  workers.  Special  attention  will  be  paid  to  projects  on
less  widely  used  and  taught  languages.

The  point  of  these  projects  is  to  design,  test  and  validate,  assess  and  disseminate  teaching  material  as
well  as  innovative  pedagogical  methods  tailored  to  the  specific  needs  of  each  occupational  area  and
economic  sector,  including  through  the  use  of  language  audits,  and  also  innovatory  pedagogical
approaches  based  on  language  self-tuition  and  the  dissemination  of  their  results.

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Proposals  for  linguistic  and  cultural  support  may  also  be  submitted  under  other  actions  and  measures,
particularly  in  order  to  improve  language  and  cultural  competences  amongst  the  trainers  and  mentors
responsible  for  the  pedagogic  supervision  of  people  taking  part  in  transnational  mobility  programmes.

Community  support  is  also  available  for  transnational  programmes  between  the  business  sector  on  the
one  hand  and  the  specialised  language  vocational  training  establishments  or  vocational  training  bodies
on  the  other.

Community  support  for  projects  under  this  measure  may  be  available  for  up  to  three  years.

Funding

The Community may contribute up to 75 % of eligible expenditure, with a ceiling of EUR 200 000 per
project  and  per  year.

4.  Transnational  networks

Support  for  transnational  networks  of  European  expertise  and  dissemination

Community support is available for the activities of multi-player vocational training networks, bringing
together in the Member States, at the regional or sectoral level, the public and private players concerned.
Those  players  include  the  local  authorities,  local  chambers  of  commerce,  trade  organisations  for
employers  and  employees,  undertakings  and  research  and  vocational  training  centres  —  including
universities — as providers of services, advice and information on access to validated vocational training
methods  and  products.  These  activities  aim  at:

(i)  assembling,  distilling  and  building  on  European  expertise  and  innovatory  approaches;

(ii) improving  the  analysis  and  anticipation  of  skills  requirements;

(iii) disseminating  the  network  outputs  and  project  results  throughout  the  EU  in  the  appropriate

circles.

Community  support  for  transnational  networks  may  be  available  for  up  to  three  years.

Funding

The  Community  may  contribute  up  to  50 %  of  eligible  expenditure  for  the  activities  of  transnational
networks,  with  a  ceiling  of  EUR  150 000  per  year  and  per  network.

5.  Reference  material

Support  for  actions  to  establish,  update  and  disseminate  reference  material

Community  support  is  available  for  actions  undertaken  on  a  transnational  basis  on  priority  themes  of
common  interest.  Such  actions  shall  make  a  contribution  to:

—  establishing comparable data on vocational training systems and arrangements, practices and various

approaches  to  qualifications  and  competences  in  the  Member  States,  or

—  producing  quantitative  and/or  qualitative  information,  analyses  and  observing  best  practices  in
support  of  policies  and  vocational  training  practices  for  life-long  learning  that  cannot  be  made
available  by  Eurostat  or  Cedefop.  Eurostat  and  Cedefop  are  closely  associated  with  the  production
of  statistical  instruments  within  the  procedures  currently  in  place  notably  those  defined  by  Council
Regulation  (EC)  No  322/97  of  17  February  1997  on  Community  statistics (1),  taking  into  account
the  Council  Decision  on  the  Community  statistical  programme  1998  to  2002 (2).

(1)  OJ  L  52,  22.2.1997,  p.  1.
(2)  OJ  . . .

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Community  support  for  projects  under  this  measure  may  be  available  for  up  to  three  years.

The  Commission  and  the  Member  States  will  ensure  that  such  reference  material  is  disseminated  as
widely  as  possible,  particularly  in  order  to  make  it  available  to  public  and  private  decision-makers  in
vocational training.

Funding

The  Community’s  financial  contribution  will  be  between  50 %  and  100 %  of  eligible  expenditure,
within  a  ceiling  of  EUR  200 000  per  year  and  per  project.  If  justified  by  the  scope  of  the  project
proposed,  this  ceiling  could  be  raised  to  EUR  300 000.

6.  Joint  actions

1.  For the joint actions described in Article 6 of the Decision, Community support may be provided for
joint  actions  with  other  Community  actions  promoting  a  Europe  of  knowledge,  particularly  the
Socrates  and  Youth  programmes.

2.  Such joint actions may be carried out by common calls for proposals for selected themes of interest
in fields of activity which are not exclusively covered by one single programme. The themes for joint
actions will be agreed by the committees concerned, in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article  7(2),  (3)  and  (4)  of  the  Decision.

The common calls for proposals may also respond to new demands orginating during the running of
the  programmes  concerned.

Community  support  for  projects  under  this  measure  may  be  available  for  up  to  three  years.

Funding

The  Community  may  contribute  up  to  75 %  of  eligible  expenditure.

7.  Accompanying measures

1.  To  attain  the  objectives  set  out  in  Article  2  of  the  Decision,  Community  support  is  available  for:

—  management,  coordination,  monitoring  and  evaluation  activities  by  the  Member  States  as

described  in  Articles  5  and  13  and  of  the  Decision  and  in  section  I(6)  of  this  Annex,

—  information,  monitoring,  assessment  and  dissemination  activities  by  the  Member  States  and  the
Commission  to  facilitate  access  to  the  programme  and  consolidate  the  transfer  of  methods,
products  and  tools  designed,  and  of  the  results  obtained  by  this  programme,  among  others
through  data  banks  accessible  to  a  wide  public,

—  the  transnational  network  of  national  resource  centres  for  vocational  guidance,

—  cooperation activities with third countries and with relevant international organisations according

to  Article  11  of  the  Decision.

2.  Community  financial  assistance  shall  be  provided  to  support  the  activities  of  the  appropriate

structures  set  up  by  the  Member  States  in  accordance  with  Article  5  of  the  Decision.

3.  In  carrying  out  the  programme,  the  Commission  can  have  recourse  to  technical  assistance
organisations  the  financing  of  which  shall  be  provided  for  within  the  overall  envelope  for  the
programme.  It  can,  under  the  same  conditions,  have  recourse  to  experts.  Furthermore,  the
Commission  will  be  able  to  organise  seminars,  colloquia  or  other  meetings  of  experts,  likely  to
facilitate  the  implementation  of  the  programme  and  take  forward  information,  publication  and
dissemination  actions.

4.  The  respective  roles  and  tasks  of  the  technical  assistance  organisation(s)  and  the  national

management  structures  should  be  defined.

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SECTION  III: SELECTION  PROCEDURES

The proposals submitted by promoters under the calls for proposals shall be selected according to one of the
following  procedures:

—  procedure  A  applicable  to  mobility  actions  (measure  1),

—  procedure  B  applicable  to:

—  pilot  projects  (measure  2)  except  for  thematic  actions,

—  language  competences  (measure  3),

—  transnational  networks  (measure  4),

—  procedure  C  applicable  to:

—  reference  material  (measure  5),

—  thematic  actions  (within  measure  2),

—  joint  actions  (measure  6),

—  projects  of  European  organisations  (under  all  measures).

1.  Procedure  A

This  selection  procedure  consists  of  the  following  stages:

(i) 

the  Commission  will  allocate  a  global  grant  to  each  participating  country  according  to  the
procedure  defined  in  Annex  II,  after  having  sought  the  opinion  of  the  committee  referred  to  in
Article  7  of  the  Decision;

(ii)  under the rules defined in the calls for proposals, proposals are to be submitted by the promoters to

the  management  structure  designated  by  the  Member  State;

(iii)  the  management  structure  will  assess  the  proposals  on  the  basis  of  specifications  established  at
Community  level.  The  management  structure  will  establish  a  list  of  the  mobility  programmes
selected  and  circulate  this  list,  for  information,  to  the  Commission  and  the  management  structures
in  the  other  Member  States;

(iv)  the Member States, with the assistance of the respective management structures, shall be responsible

for  contracting  and  allocating  the  global  grant  to  the  individual  promoters;

(v)  the  Member  States  will  submit  to  the  Commission  an  annual  report  on  the  results  of  the  mobility

programmes.

2.  Procedure  B

This  selection  procedure  consists  of  a  two-step  selection  process:

—  selection  of  pre-proposals,

—  selection  of  full  proposals;

(i) 

under  the  rules  defined  in  the  call  for  proposals,  pre-proposals  are  to  be  submitted  by  the
promoters  to  the  management  structure  designated  by  the  Member  State;

(ii)  Member  States  will  evaluate  and  select  the  pre-proposals.  The  promoters  will  be  informed  of
the  outcome  of  this  selection.  Only  promoters  of  successful  pre-proposals  will  be  invited  to
submit  a  full  proposal  to  the  management  structure  in  the  respective  Member  State.  The
promoters  will  also  send  a  copy  of  their  full  proposals  to  the  Commission;

(iii)  Member  States  will  evaluate  and  rank  the  full  proposals  and  submit  a  report  to  the
Commission,  presenting  the  outcome  of  this  pre-selection  by  objective  and  by  measure,  the
assessment  procedure,  the  parties  involved  in  this  procedure  as  well  as  a  descriptive  and
reasoned list of proposals likely to be retained in order of priority. This report will also present
the  information  and  publicity  measures  taken  to  facilitate  participation  in  the  programme;

(iv) 

the  Commission,  with  the  assistance  of  independent  experts,  will  co-evaluate  the  proposals,
with  a  view  to  assessing  and  ensuring  their  transnational  and  innovative  nature.  These
independent experts will be appointed by the Commission, taking full account of the views of

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the Member States and the social partners. The Commission will examine the national reports
and  consult  accordingly  with  each  Member  State;

(v) 

the  Commission  will  submit  to  the  committee  a  proposal  on  the  allocation  of  the  budgetary
resources by measure and by Member State and will obtain its opinion in accordance with the
procedure  set  out  in  Article  7  of  the  Decision;

(vi)  after receiving the opinion of the committee, the Commission will establish the list of selected
projects  per  Member  State  and  allocate  the  funds  for  the  implementation  of  the  selected
projects  to  each  Member  State;

(vii)  Member States, with the assistance of the respective management structures, will be responsible

for  contracting  and  allocating  funds  to  the  individual  promoters;

(viii)  the  process  on  stages  (iii)  to  (v)  should  not  take  more  than  five  months.

3.  Procedure  C

This  procedure  consists  of  a  two-step  selection  process:

—  selection  of  pre-proposals,

—  selection  of  full  proposals;

(i) 

(ii) 

under  the  rules  defined  in  the  call  for  proposals,  pre-proposals  are  to  be  submitted  by  the
promoters  to  the  Commission.  The  promoters  will  also  send  a  copy  of  their  pre-proposals  to
the  management  structure  in  their  Member  States;

the  Commission  will  evaluate  all  the  pre-proposals  and,  having  sought  the  opinion  of  the
programme  committee,  make  a  selection.  The  promoters  will  be  informed  of  the  outcome  of
this  selection;

(iii)  only  promoters  of  successful  pre-proposals  will  be  invited  to  submit  a  full  proposal  to  the
Commission.  The  promoters  will  also  send  a  copy  of  their  full  proposals  to  the  management
structure  of  their  Member  States;

(iv) 

(v) 

(vi) 

the  Commission,  with  the  assistance  of  independent  experts,  will  undertake  a  transnational
appraisal  of  the  proposals  received  and  establish  a  short  list  of  projects.  These  independent
experts  will  be  appointed  by  the  Commission,  taking  full  account  of  the  view  of  the  Member
States  and  the  social  partners;

in accordance with the arrangements set out in Article 7 of the Decision, the Commission shall
seek  the  opinion  of  the  committee  on  this  short  list;

the Commission will establish the final list of proposals selected and inform the committee. It
will  set  out  the  conditions  for  monitoring  these  projects  in  conjunction  with  the  management
structures  in  the  Member  States;

(vii)  the  Commission,  with  the  appropriate  technical  assistance,  will  be  responsible  for  contracting

and  allocating  funds  to  the  individual  promoters;

(viii)  the  process  on  stages  (iii)  to  (vi)  should  not  take  more  than  five  months.

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ANNEX  II

SECTION  I: OVERALL  BUDGET  BREAKDOWN

1.  At the beginning of the operation, and no later than 1 March every year, the Commission will submit to
the committee an ex ante breakdown of budget resources by type of measure, by procedure and taking
into account, to this end, the objectives set out in Article 2 of the Decision and will seek its opinion. The
Commission will on this basis define an indicative budget for each Member State for the implementation
of  the  actions  covered  by  selection  procedure  A  referred  to  in  Annex  I.

2.  The  funds  available  will  be  broken  down  internally  subject  to  the  following  restrictions:

(a)  the funds allocated to mobility programmes may not be less than 39 % of the annual budget for the

programme;

(b) the  funds  allocated  in  support  of  devising,  developing  and  testing  transnational  pilot  projects  may
not  be  less  than  36 %  of  the  annual  budget  for  the  programme.  Within  this  allocation  the  funds
allocated  in  support  of  thematic  action  projects  may  not  be  more  than  5 %;

(c)  the funds allocated in support of devising, developing and testing language competence projects may

not  be  less  than  5 %  of  the  annual  budget  for  the  programme;

(d) the  remaining  expenditure  may  not  be  less  than  15 %.  Within  this  expenditure,  the  funds  allocated
for the accompanying measures is not to exceed 9 %. The funds allocated for activities under Article
11  of  the  Decision  is  not  to  exceed  0,2 %  of  the  annual  budget  of  the  programme.

3.  All  the  percentages  given  above  are  indicative  and  can  be  adapted  by  the  Committee  according  to  the

procedure  laid  down  in  Article  7(2),  (3)  and  (4)  of  the  Decision.

SECTION  II:  SPECIFIC  REGULATIONS  FOR  MOBILITY  GLOBAL  GRANTS

1.  Before the start of the transnational exchange and placement programmes, the Commission will allocate
a global grant established on the basis of calculation criteria defined within the procedures described in
Article  7  of  the  Decision,  taking  into  account:

—  the  population,

—  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  living  between  the  Member  State  of  origin  of  the  sending  organisation

and  the  host  Member  State,

—  the  geographical  distance  and  the  costs  of  transport,

—  the  weight  of  the  target  public  concerned  in  relation  to  the  overall  population,  depending  on  the

availability  of  data  for  all  Member  States.

In  any  event,  the  application  of  these  criteria  cannot  result  in  the  exclusion  of  any  Member  State  from
funding  of  the  transnational  placement  and  exchange  programmes  described  in  Annex  I.

2.  The overall grant is allocated to each Member State on the basis of an operational plan which must set

out clearly:

—  the  arrangements  for  managing  financial  support,

—  the  steps  to  be  taken  to  assist  placement  and  exchange  organisers  to  identify  potential  partners,

—  appropriate  measures  to  be  taken  in  the  interests  of  sound  preparation,  organisation  and  follow-up

of  placements  and  exchanges.

3.  For the first year of programme implementation, Member States will submit this operational plan to the
Commission no later than 31 March 2000. The Commission will on this basis allocate to each Member
State an amount on the basis of which it can go ahead with transnational programmes. The amounts not
used up within this allocation at 1 October 2000 will be incorporated in the final amount of the global
grand.

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ANNEX  III

DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of the Decision and taking account of the differences which exist between the systems and
arrangements  in  the  Member  States:

(a)  ‘initial  vocational  training’  means  any  form  of  initial  vocational  training,  including  technical  and
vocational  teaching,  apprenticeship  and  vocationally  oriented  education,  which  contributes  to  the
achievement of a vocational qualification recognised by the competent authorities in the Member States
in  which  it  is  obtained;

(b) ‘work-linked training’ means vocational training, at any level including higher education. This vocational
training,  recognised  or  certified  by  the  competent  authorities  of  the  Member  State  of  provenance
according  to  its  own  legislation,  procedures  or  practices,  involves  structured  periods  of  training  in  an
undertaking  and,  where  appropriate,  in  a  vocational  training  establishment  or  centre;

(c)  ‘continuing  vocational  training’  means  any  vocational  training  undertaken  by  a  worker  in  the

Community  during  his  or  her  working  life;

(d) ‘life-long  learning’  means  the  education  and  vocational  training  opportunities  offered  to  individuals
throughout  their  lives  to  enable  them  continually  to  acquire,  update  and  adapt  their  knowledge,  skills
and  competences;

(e)  ‘open  and  distance  vocational  training’  means  any  form  of  flexible  vocational  training  involving:

—  the  use  of  ICT  techniques  and  services  in  traditional  or  modern  form,  and

—  support  in  the  form  of  individualised  advice  and  mentoring;

(f)  ‘European pathways for work-linked vocational training and apprenticeship’ means any period which is
completed  by  a  person  in  a  Member  State  other  than  the  one  where  his  or  her  work-linked  vocational
training  is  based,  which  forms  part  of  this  work-linked  vocational  training;

(g)  ‘vocational  guidance’  means  a  range  of  activities  such  as  counselling,  information,  assessment  and
advice,  to  assist  people  to  make  choices  relating  to  initial  and  continuing  vocational  education  and
vocational  training  programmes,  and  to  employment  opportunities;

(h) ‘undertaking’  means  all  undertakings  in  the  public  or  private  sector  whatever  their  size,  legal  status  or
the  economic  sector  in  which  they  operate,  and  all  types  of  economic  activities,  including  the  social
economy;

(i)  ‘workers’  means  all  persons  available  on  the  labour  market  in  accordance  with  national  laws  and

practices,  including  the  self-employed;

(j)  ‘vocational  training  bodies’  means  any  type  of  public,  semi-public  or  private  establishment  which,  in
accordance  with  national  laws  and/or  practices,  design  or  undertake  vocational  training,  further
vocational training, refresher vocational training or retraining, irrespective of the designation given to it
in  the  Member  States;

(k) ‘university’ means any type of higher education institution, according to national legislation or practice,
which offers qualifications or diplomas at that level, whatever such establishments may be called in the
Member  States;

(l)  ‘students’ means persons registered in universities as defined in the Annex, whatever their field of study,
in order to follow higher education studies leading to a degree or diploma, up to and including the level
of  doctorate;

(m) ‘social  partners’  means,  at  national  level,  employers’  and  workers’  organisations  in  conformity  with
national  laws  and/or  practices  and,  at  Community  level,  employers’  and  workers’  organisations  taking
part  in  the  social  dialogue  at  Community  level;

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(n) ‘local  and  regional  partners’  means  any  player  in  regional  and  local  life  —  local  authority,  association,
local  chambers  of  commerce  and  associations,  consortia,  advisory  bodies,  the  media  —  participating  in
local  or  regional  cooperation  activities  which  include  vocational  training;

(o) ‘European  organisation’  means  social  partners  at  Community  level,  European  employers’  and  trade
union  federations  in  specific  sectors,  and  bodies  and  organisations  with  a  European  status  or  scope;

(p) ‘reference material’ means all the analyses, studies, surveys and identification of good practice with make
it  possible  to  locate,  at  Community  level,  the  relative  position  of  the  various  Member  States  and  the
progress  made  on  a  given  subject  or  in  a  given  area.

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STATEMENT  OF  THE  COUNCIL’  REASONS

I. 

INTRODUCTION

1.  On 1 September 1998 the Commission submitted to the Council, on the basis of Article
127  of  the  treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  a  proposal  for  a  Decision
establishing the second phase of the Community vocational training action programme
‘Leonardo  da  Vinci’.

2.  The  Economic  and  Social  Committee  delivered  its  opinion  on  15  October  1998.

The  European  Parliament  delivered  its  opinion  at  a  first  reading  on  5  November
1998.

3.  By  letter  dated  2  December  1998,  the  Commission  submitted  an  amended  proposal  to

the  Council  containing  some  of  the  European  Parliament’s  amendments.

4.  In  accordance  with  Article  189c  of  the  EC  Treaty,  the  Council  adopted  its  common

position  on  21  December  1998.

II.  OBJECTIVE

This  Decision  establishes  a  second  phase  of  the  Community  vocational  training  action
programme  ‘Leonardo  da  Vinci’,  which  will  start  on  1  January  2000  and  last  for  seven
years.

III.  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  COMMON  POSITION

1. 

GENERAL  COMMENTS

Article  127  of  the  EC  Treaty  stipulates  that  the  Community  shall  implement  a
vocational  training  policy  which  shall  support  and  supplement  the  action  of  the
Member  States,  while  fully  respecting  the  responsibility  of  the  Member  States  for
the content and organisation of vocational training. The common position adopted
by  the  Council  is  entirely  in  line  with  this.

The  guidelines  for  employment  for  1998  adopted  by  the  extraordinary  European
Council in Luxembourg (20-21 November 1997) and the guidelines for employment
for 1999 to be adopted by the European Council in Vienna (11-12 December 1998)
point  out  the  importance  of  apprenticeship  in  enhancing  employability.  The
common  position  will  accordingly  encourage  the  mobility  of  people  involved  in
work-lined  training  and  will  also  make  possible  exchanges  of  the  best  practices  of
each  Member  State  in  this  area.

Finally, the programme gives concrete form in the Youth and Socrates programmes
to the ‘Europe of knowledge’ advocated by the Commission in its communication of
November  1997  (COM(97)  563  final).

2. 

AMENDMENTS  MADE  BY  THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT

2.1.  European  Parliament  amendments  not  adopted  by  the  Commission

The  Commission  did  not  in  its  modified  proposal  adopt  amendments  6,  9,  10,  17,
20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 36, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 48, 56 and some parts of amendments 8,
11,  14,  16,  18,  60,  62,  64.

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2.2.  European  Parliament  amendments  adopted  by  the  Commission

In  its  modified  proposal,  the  Commission  included  42  of  the  66  amendments
proposed  by  the  European  Parliament.

3. 

AMENDMENTS  MADE  BY  THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  MODIFIED  COMMISSION
PROPOSAL

(Unless otherwise indicated, the numbering of the recitals and paragraphs is that of
the  common  position).

The Council adopted in full 15 of the 42 amendments included by the Commission,
either to the letter or in spirit. These were amendments 1, 2, 5, 16, 18, 23, 29, 30,
31,  38,  41,  50,  52,  54,  60,  61.

The Council also adopted two of the European Parliament’s amendments which had
been  rejected  by  the  Commission,  namely  amendments  10  and  11.

However,  the  Council  did  not  think  it  appropriate  to  include  amendments  4,  7,  8,
15,  19,  24,  32,  33,  35,  37,  42,  47,  51,  53,  55,  58,  62,  66,  i. e.  18  amendments.

Finally, the Council included 10 other amendments in part. These were amendments
3,  11,  12,  14,  22,  27,  34,  46,  49,  64.

3.1. 

Preamble

The Council did not think it appropriate to include the whole of recital 8 from the
modified  Commission  proposal  (amendment  3)  since,  in  order  to  make  the  text
clearer  and  more  concise,  it  had  deleted  the  long  list  of  areas  in  which
complementarity  should  be  sought  (recital  9  of  the  common  position).

The  Council  was  not  able  to  include  the  reference  to  the  ‘employability’  of
unemployed  people  proposed  in  recital  9  of  the  modified  proposal  (amendment  4)
as it had decided to delete altogether this recital concerning reform of the structural
funds.

The Council did not include recital 12 b of the modified proposal (amendment 7) as
it  thought  it  unrealistic  to  include  the  Leonardo  programme  among  such  general
‘employment
‘global  competitiveness’  of  undertakings  or  the 
ideas  as  the 
opportunities  for  all’.

The Council did not include recital 12 c of the modified proposal (amendment 8) as
the  duration  of  the  programme  envisaged  by  the  Council  was  seven  years  with  an
increased  illustrative  reference  amount  in  order  to  take  account  of  the  extension  in
the duration of the programme. The Council was also unwilling to include a recital
which  did  not  reflect  any  of  the  provisions  in  the  enacting  terms.

3.2.  Establishment  of  the  programme  (Article  1)

Altough it had included the two ideas of ‘active citizenship’ and ‘employability’, the
Council  did  not  think  it  advisable  to  limit  the  first  to  the  second  in  the  way
proposed  by  the  European  Parliament  (amendment  11),  i. e.  by  limiting  the  full
exercise  of  active  citizenship  to  the  development  of  knowledge  and  skills  likely  to
foster employability.

3.3.  Objectives  of  the  programme  (Article  2)

The  Council  incorporated  the  whole  of  the  text  in  the  modified  proposal
(amendment  12)  in  a  slightly  different  form  as  it  preferred  inter  alia  to  include  the

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reference  to  innovative  approaches  to  counselling,  guidance,  etc.  in  a  separate
subparagraph for reasons of clarity. The Council also thought that to be consistent,
it  would  be  better  to  move  to  paragraph  2  the  subparagraph  on  measures  which
facilitate  access  to  training  for  people  vulnerable  to  exclusion.

Finally,  in  Article  2(2),  the  Council  did  not  include  the  addition  of  ‘all  forms  of
discrimination  and  inequality’  (amendment  62)  as  it  thought  that  this  obligation
was far too general and did not therefore indicate sufficiently precise obligations on
the  Member  States.  The  Council  preferred  the  wording  ‘to  promote  equality’.

3.4.  Community  measures  (Article  3)

The Council included most of amendments 14 and 64. It should however be noted
that  the  reference  to  the  first  or  second  course  of  training,  with  the  latter  idea  not
moreover clearly defined, seemed too restrictive for the Council to be able to accept
it.  Moreover,  the  reference  to  new  information  and  communication  technologies
(NICT),  which  was  a  horizontal  measure,  was  now  the  subject  of  a  separate
paragraph.

3.5.  Access  to  the  programme  (Article  4)

The  Council  was  not  able  to  adopt  amendment  15  since  it  thought  it  preferable  to
delete  any  reference  to  organisations  of  both  sides  of  industry.

3.6. 

Implementation  of  the  programme  of  cooperation  with  the  Member  States  (Article
5)

The  proposed  addition  of  a  reference  to  ‘people  likely  to  be  discriminated  against’
(amendment 19) was not included by the Council, which though it too general and
not  in  line  with  efforts  to  make  the  text  specific.

3.7.  Cohesion  and  complementarity  (Article  9)

The Council included amendment 22 with the exception of the reference to synergy
as  it  thought  that  this  idea  was  already  covered  by  that  of  consistency  of
implementation  of  the  Leonardo  programme  with  other  Community  policies,
instruments  and  measures.  Moreover,  the  reference  to  the  European  Training
Foundation  requested  by  the  Parliament  is  now  to  be  found  in  Article  9(4).

Finally,  the  Council  did  not  want  to  include  the  reference  to  transfers  of  good
practice (amendment 24) in Article 9 as the practical procedures for such exchanges
were  not  clearly  defined.

3.8. 

Follow-up  and  evaluation  (Article  13)

The Council included the idea of evaluating the effectiveness of the programme, but
did  not  think  it  appropriate  for  practical  reasons  to  include  in  this  Article  the
reference  to  combating  all  forms  of  discrimination  (amendment  27).  The  most
widespread form of discrimination was indirect discrimination, and it was therefore
difficult  to  evaluate,  while  it  would  be  impossible  to  evaluate  the  combating  of
indirect  discrimination  in  the  course  of  implementation  of  this  programme.

3.9.  Community  actions  and  measures  (Annex  A,  section  I)

The  Council  did  not  include  amendments  32  and  33,  which  contained  provisions
already  appearing  at  other  points  in  the  text,  in  recital  7,  Article  2  and  Annex  A,
section  II,  in  the  case  of  the  disabled  and  Annex  A,  section  III,  in  the  case  of
selection  procedures.

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3.10.  Actions  (Annex  A,  section  II)

The Council included amendment 34 with the exception of the part concerning ‘any
persons  who  are  not  covered  by  the  above  categories’,  since  the  various  categories
of  person  referred  to  in  the  text  of  the  common  position  already  covered  all  those
concerned  by  the  Leonardo  programme.

The  provisions  of  amendment  35  on  the  disabled  already  appear  at  other  points  in
the  text,  in  recital  7,  Article  2  and  Annex  A,  section  II,  and  were  not  therefore
included  in  the  present  Annex.

On  the  other  hand,  the  Council  thought  that  it  could  not  accept  amendment  37  as
the  total  amount  which  the  European  Parliament  proposed  reserving  for  promoters
which only limited experience seemed far too high and not necessarily useful since a
maximum  amount  was  already  provided  for  each  new  promoter.

The  Council  did  not  think  it  appropriate  to  include  amendment  42  since  new
information  and  communication  technologies  were  now  indicated  under  ‘pilot
projects’.

The  Council  only  included  the  second  part  of  amendment  46  as  it  did  not  want  to
limit  the  acquiring  of  language  skills  to  a  vocational  training  context.

The  Council  did  not  include  amendment  47  on  the  one  hand  since  the  proposed
title  for  reference  material  was  too  complicated  (‘Community  reference  material
concerning  vocational  training’)  and  in  a  programme  on  vocational  training  such
reference  material  was  automatically  relevant  and  the  other  hand  because  the
reference  to  Community  data  only  was  more  restricting  than  the  quantitative  and
qualitative  information,  analyses  and  good  practices  also  mentioned.

The  Council  only  partially  included  amendment  49  and  omitted  the  reference  to
integration  services  proposed  by  the  European  Parliament.

3.11.  Selection  procedures  (Annex  A,  section  II)

The  Council  did  not  include  amendments  51,  53  and  55  since,  as  the  whole
structure  of  section  III  had  been  changed,  those  amendments  would  no  longer  be
consistent  with  the  rest  of  the  text.

3.12.  Special  regulations  for  mobility  global  grants  (Annex  B,  section  II)

The Council did not want to include amendment 66 as the terminology used would
not  be  consistent  with  that  in  the  rest  of  the  text.

The  Council  thought  it  no  longer  appropriate  to  include  amendment  58  since  the
provisions  on  equal  opportunities  were  already  to  be  found  at  other  points  in  the
text  in  recital  7  and  Article  2.