European Parliament resolution on the report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on 'Designing tomorrow's education: promoting innovation with new technologies' (COM(2000) 23 — C5-0147/2000 — 2000/2090(COS))
Date: 2001-05-15
Institutions: Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety, European Parliament
Subjects: education, information technology, innovation, new technology, teaching, vocational training

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European Parliament legislative resolution on the amended proposal for a European Parliament
and Council decision establishing the list of priority substances in the field of water policy
(COM(2000) 47 (cid:129) COM(2001) 17 (cid:129) C5-0079/2000 (cid:129) C5-0021/2001 (cid:129) 2000/0035(COD))

Tuesday 15 May 2001

(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council and the

amended proposal (COM(2000) 47 and COM(2001) 17) (1),

(cid:129) having regard to Article 251(2) and Article 175(1) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commis-
sion submitted the proposal and the amended proposal to Parliament (C5-0079/2000 (cid:129) C5-0021/
2001),

(cid:129) having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:129) having regard to the report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy
and the opinions of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on
Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (A5-0135/2001),

1.

Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

Asks to be consulted again should the Commission intend to amend its proposal substantially or

2.
replace it with another text;

3.

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

(1) OJ C 177 E, 27.6.2000, p. 74, and OJ C (cid:133)

16. Promoting innovation with new technologies

A5-0299/2000

European Parliament resolution on the report from the Commission to the Council and the Euro-
pean Parliament on (cid:145)Designing tomorrow(cid:146)s education: promoting innovation with new techno-
logies(cid:146) (COM(2000) 23 (cid:129) C5-0147/2000 (cid:129) 2000/2090(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to the Commission report (COM(2000) 23 (cid:129) C5-0147/2000),

(cid:129) having regard to Articles 126 and 127 of the EC Treaty,

(cid:129) having regard to the Commission communication: e-Learning-Designing tomorrow(cid:146)s education

(COM(2000) 318),

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 10 October 1985 on new technologies and the school systems in

the European Community: work programme for the period 1985 to 1987 (1),

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 11 November 1986 on education and training in new techno-

logies (2),

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 13 March 1997 on the information society, culture and education (3),

(cid:129) having regard to the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council meeting of 23 and 24 March 2000

on the transition to a competitive, dynamic and knowledge-based economy,

(1) OJ C 288, 11.11.1985, p. 128.
(2) OJ C 322, 15.12.1986, p. 55.
(3) OJ C 115, 14.04.1997, p. 151.

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(cid:129) having regard to the conclusions of the Santa Maria da Feira European Council meeting of 19 and

20 June 2000 on the follow-up to the Lisbon European Council meeting,

(cid:129) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:129) having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport and
the opinions of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, the Committee on
Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Women(cid:146)s Rights and Equal Opportunities
(A5-0299/2000),

A. whereas we are now living in an information society, which is an inescapable reality and is in constant

development, and in which new technologies have an increasingly influential role,

B. whereas the Lisbon European Council concluded that every citizen must be equipped with the skills
needed to live and work in the existing and future information society; whereas it is particularly
important to ensure that the education sector has the resources it requires to enable young people
to master the new knowledge and communication tools and to adjust to the extremely fast pace of
technological change; whereas the eLearning initiative (an educational offshoot of the eEurope initi-
ative) was introduced with this in mind,

C. whereas the new link between information and communication technology (ICT) and the education
sector forms part of a broader process which the Lisbon European Council described as the establish-
ment of a (cid:145)learning society(cid:146), based on the desire to ensure that every member of European society
takes part in lifelong learning,

D. whereas, regardless of the limits imposed by the principle of subsidiarity, citizens should be offered
freely available services created by the European Union institutions and providing them with easier
access to programmes, methods and content in the field of information and communication techno-
logies,

E. whereas there is a genuine consensus among the Member States as to the vital need to ensure that all
educational establishments in Europe are given access to new technologies (in view of the wide range
of opportunities which they offer) and to ensure the spread (cid:129) and, thereby, a genuine democratisation
(cid:129) of the (cid:145)digital culture(cid:146),

F. whereas Europe is lagging some way behind the United States in terms of the use of ICT in edu-
cational establishments; whereas in today(cid:146)s society it is essential for every European citizen to have a
basic understanding of new technologies so as to ensure that Europe can remain competitive and
continue to innovate in the future and thereby retain its position as a leading world power,

G. whereas the development of ICT should cover all aspects, including hardware, software and quality

content indicators,

H. whereas, although it was originally based mainly on economic and agricultural concerns, the European
Union can no longer focus exclusively on such matters and must now initiate a drive towards a
Europe based on knowledge, culture and values; whereas, in general, the concept of European citizen-
ship has yet to be given concrete form and the best way of doing so is to give the education sector
more of a European dimension,

I. whereas new technologies have many advantages and offer new educational benefits which can be
used to fill in the gaps left by traditional methods of learning; whereas those technologies must be
used to complement traditional methods rather than clash with them,

J. whereas, if optimum use is to be made of new technologies in education, students must be taught
how to search for and manage content ((cid:146)being taught how to learn(cid:146)), rather than memorising it,

K. whereas ICT are instruments or supports and must be supplemented by policies on the content, uses
and quality of education, whose management should be the responsibility of the authorities or the
educational establishments,

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L. whereas information and communication technology can help to improve teaching and training since
it can be used continuously and repeatedly, at the user(cid:146)s own pace, and encourages an interactive
approach and active learning, which is based on curiosity, discovery and experimentation; whereas
above all it makes educational establishments more open to the outside world by fostering a desire
to learn foreign languages and building bridges between what is happening in school and what is
happening outside,
including in other countries (networks for the exchange of information with
museums, libraries, research institutes or other schools),

M. whereas new technologies can be of great help to people with handicaps or learning difficulties;
whereas modern technology can enable certain people (such as the children of itinerant workers, the
inhabitants of remote areas and the elderly), for whom full-time attendance at traditional educational
establishments is impossible, to train and learn on a regular basis,

N. whereas equal access to new technologies must be ensured in accordance with the principle of fair-
ness, so that no one is deprived of information and knowledge; whereas, on the contrary, new tech-
nologies should help to strengthen social cohesion,

O. whereas the introduction of new technologies in schools provides the education sector with an oppor-
tunity to adjust to the realities and needs of the labour market and thus to provide young people with
an education that will be of use to them both in their daily lives and in their future professional life,

P. whereas equipping schools with computers is not an end to itself and whereas a computer is first and
foremost a tool (cid:129) a teaching aid (cid:129) and therefore cannot take the place of, or even compete with, the
special relationship that exists between pupils and teachers and which is based on physical presence
and dialogue,

Q. whereas the ultimate goal of education is to pass on knowledge and know-how that will enable stu-
dents to become genuinely independent; whereas this applies in particular to the use of new techno-
logies; whereas the presence and guidance of qualified staff who receive specialised, extensive and
constantly updated training is required in order to ensure that the use of new technologies for edu-
cational purposes is beneficial,

R. whereas, owing to the wide range of opportunities provided by new technologies and the boundless
information available on the Internet, the effectiveness of using ICT in the education sector can only
be maximised if the equipment and content made available are reliable and relevant and the necessary
preparatory work has been carried out beforehand,

S. whereas the introduction of ICT affords an opportunity for Member States to conduct an overall
review of the education process (curricula, school timetables, the methods used to test knowledge,
etc.), with particular reference to priorities and resources,

T. whereas the information society entails both risks and major opportunities which call for the estab-
lishment of a specific regulatory framework, particularly with a view to protecting minors against
content which is not aimed at them,

1.
Notes the Commission(cid:146)s report and the various causes for concern which it highlights, such as the
fact that Europe is lagging behind the United States in terms of innovation and technological advance and
that most educational establishments in the EU are still seriously under-equipped;

Calls on the Commission and the Member States to make further efforts to bridge the gulf between

2.
the European Union and United States regarding the use and command of IT in education and business;

3. Welcomes the recommendations in the Commission(cid:146)s report on designing tomorrow(cid:146)s education and
promoting innovation with new technologies, especially as regards promoting innovation, developing
quality on the supply side, and strengthening social cohesion;

4. Welcomes the progress made in the Member States(cid:146) national action plans for introducing information
and communication technology (ICT) in schools;

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5.
Notes that in the employment policy guidelines for 2000 the Member States adopted the objective of
equipping their schools with computers and facilitating Internet access by the end of 2002; calls on
Member States to define these general objectives by means of practical quantitative and qualitative indi-
cators;

6. Welcomes the stress placed by the Commission on the vital need to promote and foster linguistic and
cultural diversity when new technologies are introduced into schools, so as to avoid a situation in which
some languages hold sway over others, given that genuine equality between official languages is one of the
founding principles of the Union;

7. Welcomes the Council(cid:146)s and Commission(cid:146)s recent initiatives to promote ICT in schools and urges the
Commission to monitor closely the effectiveness of the relevant measures, the progress made and the
generalisation of best practice;

8.
Asks the Commission and the Member States to ensure that women and men have universal access
to new technologies, with lower access charges, greater cost efficiency and improved diversity and quality
of services, since it is essential to preserve the original features of each country and to reduce disparities in
access to ICT while promoting European content and access to it;

9.
Notes that there is a wide disparity among the Member States as regards their capacities for exploit-
ing new technologies in schools and their opportunities to do so, and that an effort must be made to
reduce, and even eliminate, the disparity in this area;

Calls on the Commission to ensure that women and men have equal access to general and voca-

10.
tional training leading to careers in the information society;

Observes that in order to create a socially just information society, access to information and com-
11.
munications technologies should be open to citizens of all socio-economic strata and age groups; calls on
Member States and the Commission, in this connection:

(cid:129) to promote measures to facilitate access to information and communications technologies for all

pupils, including outside regular education;

(cid:129) to promote exchanges of know-how concerning how to use ICT between pupils and parents;

(cid:129) in developing teaching software, to devote special attention to the specific needs of children with

learning difficulties or disabilities;

Deplores the fact that the Commission(cid:146)s report considers education solely from the traditional angle
12.
of children and young people learning in educational establishments, thereby ignoring the essential role
played by lifelong learning, which is aimed at adults and all those outside the traditional learning environ-
ment who wish to acquire knowledge and receive training and which is wholly in keeping with the goal
set by the Lisbon European Council of establishing a (cid:145)learning society(cid:146);

13.
Calls for new technologies to be made available to all citizens, including those no longer of school
age and no longer on the labour market, through the creation of (cid:145)electronic communication centres(cid:146) situ-
ated in local authority areas in every region of Europe;

14.
Notes the Commission recommendation that points to the regrettable lack of studies conducted on
the use made of ICT in schools, and calls therefore on the relevant bodies to develop and use accurate and
appropriate indicators which enable actual practice to be thoroughly assessed and monitored;

15.
Calls on the Commission to set the immediate objective of defining the scientific correlation
between information and communication technologies and school results by commissioning studies and
taking any effective action so that the investment made produces measurable results;

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16.
Stresses that the necessary introduction of ICT into the school system must not lead to information
overload, that it should be combined with pupils(cid:146) need for free time and the cultivation of imagination and
creativity, and should take account in every way of the psychological aspects of their age and help develop
communication within the school group;

Calls on the Commission to include the training of teachers in the use of ICT as one of the priority

17.
areas in the programmes on lifelong training financed from the Structural Funds;

18.
Proposes that educational and teaching systems should be promoted not only through public funds
but also through private investment in new technologies in order to speed up the introduction of these
new systems;

19.
Calls on the Commission, with due regard for the principle of subsidiarity, to assist Member States
with implementation of the eLearning initiative and, inter alia, to make their work easier by means of a
network for the exchange of experience between Member States;

20.
Calls on the Commission to put forward a plan for making optimum use of public investment in
ICT; this plan should cover the problems associated with digital libraries and public points of access to
digital media with a view to reducing inequalities and better serving the public interest and the interests of
European citizens;

21.
Points out that a quarter of the jobs created in the 1990s related to activities associated with the
information society and that this trend on the employment market has persisted; consequently students
need to be properly prepared for a labour market dominated by new technologies;

Calls for substantial investment in the education sector so it will be possible to respond to rapid

22.
change in the area of new technology;

23.
Requests that the Commission, in order to show its support for the Bologna agreements on the
creation of a university area of knowledge, should promote joint programmes for the development of ICT,
in order to encourage partnerships between different universities to disseminate common knowledge and
the voluntary award of the same qualifications;

24.
Calls on the Commission to develop programmes to encourage knowledge mobility, scientific and
technical cooperation, and technology transfer, and to promote the convergence of ICT languages and
supports;

25.
Calls on the Commission, together with the Member States, to make use of Community instruments
and programmes in pursuing the jointly established goals; the Member States are therefore encouraged to
use their Structural Fund allocations for the purpose of equipping schools with computer facilities and
training teachers, while a contribution from the educational, cultural and research programmes could be
envisaged;

26.
Calls on the European Union and the Member States to encourage training in the new technology
sectors and to give businesses adequate technical and financial support to deal with the rapid change in the
ICT field, including in particular SMEs, micro-businesses and independent skilled workers, as called for by
the Multiannual Programme for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (2001-2005);

Stresses the importance of encouraging ICT in education as well as in business so as to meet the
27.
challenges of the new economy, combat social exclusion and enable certain regions of the European Union
to catch up in their economic development;

Points out that ICT can create a transnational social and economic area, a factor that must be taken

28.
into account in economic, social, education, training and work policies;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to set up state or public information and communication

29.
networks for education to ensure that there are technological infrastructures;

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Calls on the Commission and Council,

30.
in accordance with Article 158 (ex Article 130a) of the
Treaty, which lays down the objective of (cid:145)reducing disparities between the levels of development of the
various regions and the backwardness of the least favoured regions or islands, including rural areas(cid:146), to
introduce a programme financed from the Structural Funds setting up a European educational network of
information and communication technologies, which public and private educational centres can join vol-
untarily, in order to create public networks of information and communication infrastructures;

Recommends that the Commission undertake a survey of the ICT equipment and how it is used for
31.
teaching purposes in the various countries, as this is the only way to complement and allocate aid for
learning in information and communication technologies;

Calls on the Member States to make the provision of basic and, in particular, continuing training in
32.
new technologies compulsory for teachers and future teachers (which is not currently the case in over half
the countries of Europe), so as to ensure that all teachers have the skills they require to use new techno-
logies for teaching purposes while taking a critical approach to them, in particular the Internet (teaching
young people to distinguish between information and advertising, between fiction and reality, between the
virtual and the real, etc.);

33.
Encourages the Member States to implement priority measures for less-favoured areas and vulner-
able or disadvantaged groups (such as women, the elderly, minorities, the disabled and the low-skilled),
involving the provision of carefully targeted assistance aimed at enabling them to attain satisfactory skills
levels and ensuring that resources are allocated more effectively;

Calls on the Member States to promote the conversion of teaching and training centres into centres
34.
for acquiring knowledge that are versatile and accessible to all, as recommended in the conclusions of the
Lisbon European Council, and to encourage libraries to play to the full their key role in providing universal
access to networks and multimedia content;

35.
Requests that the Council and Commission, in the interests of all those who wish to pursue learning
in Europe, whatever their nationality and status, develop minimum quantity and quality indicators relating
to minimum hardware and software requirements, and the quality and appropriateness of content;

Calls for the education sector itself to focus on teaching systems, using new technologies and

36.
quality content, as a basis for learning and knowledge;

Calls on the Commission to support the production and dissemination of high-quality educational

37.
software under the Community programmes relating to research and training and further training;

38.
Urges the Member States to foster the establishment of links between educational establishments
and social bodies and firms with a view to the joint development of relevant, high-quality software which
meets the real needs of learners and can be used effectively in continuous learning, while taking care to
ensure that such a partnership does not undermine the objectiveness and reliability of the content;

39.
Stresses that the introduction of ICT should not only be a process emanating (cid:145)from above(cid:146), but
should take place in interaction with society owing to the extremely wide range of circumstances and the
complexity of the problems involved; considers, therefore, that parents associations, teachers, psycholog-
ists, etc. should be encouraged to take part in that process;

40.
Stresses that, while the Member States have set up varying strategies and policies seeking to pro-
mote the dissemination of new technologies in education, and training in their use, cooperation among
themselves and with the European Union remains an essential precondition for their success;

Calls on the Member States to give tax incentives to suppliers of multimedia equipment and services

41.
who offer special rates to educational establishments;

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42. Welcomes the Commission(cid:146)s intention to promote fast Internet access for students, and hopes that
it will make an effort to promote coordination with the European Research Area;

Calls on the Member States to take action to bring down telecommunications prices, with particular

43.
reference to the cost of Internet access, as recommended by the Santa Maria da Feira European Council;

Calls on the Community(cid:146)s financial bodies, such as the European Investment Bank (EIB), to con-

44.
tribute to the efforts being made by the Member States to provide equipment and training;

Considers that the problem of adapting schools to the extremely rapid advances and changes in ICT

45.
should be studied in the light of budget, technological infrastructure and educational continuity;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council and the govern-

46.
ments and parliaments of the Member States.

17. Teaching and learning (cid:129) Towards the learning society

A5-0302/2000

European Parliament resolution on the Commission report Implementation of the White Paper
(cid:145)Teaching and learning (cid:129) Towards the learning society(cid:146) (COM(1999) 750 (cid:129) C5-0145/2000 (cid:129)
2000/2088(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to the Commission report (COM(1999) 750 (cid:129) C5-0145/2000),

(cid:129) having regard to Article 149(4) and Article 150(4) of the EC Treaty,

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 12 March 1997 on the Commission(cid:146)s White Paper on education and

training (cid:145)Teaching and learning (cid:129) towards the learning society(cid:146) (1),

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 13 May 1998 on the communication from the Commission

(cid:145)Towards a Europe of Knowledge(cid:146) (2),

(cid:129) having regard to the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council of 23-24 March 2000;

(cid:129) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:129) having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport and
the opinions of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy and the Committee
on Employment and Social Affairs (A5-0302/2000),

A. whereas the emergence of the knowledge society and economy has underlined the link between edu-

cation and training and economic growth,

B. whereas the purpose of the Commission(cid:146)s efforts in the education sector should be to promote access
to knowledge and contribute to equality of opportunity, as well as to create a favourable environment
for innovation and employment and to increase the European Union(cid:146)s competitiveness by bringing
educational institutions closer to the world of work,

C. whereas a necessity of the single market is a flexible labour force with students, young people and
adult workers adequately prepared and advised to meet the labour needs across the single market,

D. whereas the risk of social exclusion is being increased by the new technologies, with the result that the

gulf between those with and those without qualifications is constantly widening,

(1) OJ C 115, 14.4.1997, p. 85.
(2) OJ C 167, 1.6.1998, p. 136.