Council Resolution of 13 July 2001 on the role of education and training in employment related policies
Date: 2001-07-13
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU employment policy, continuing education, in-service training, professional qualifications, teaching curriculum, vocational training

20.7.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 204/1

I

(Information)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 13 July 2001

on the role of education and training in employment related policies

(2001/C 204/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

bearing in mind:

(1) The Conclusions of the European Council in Lisbon of 23
and 24 March 2000, where the European Union set itself a
new strategic goal for the next decade and emphasised the
fundamental
education and training in the
successful transition to a knowledge-based economy and
invited the
society.
Council (Education) to contribute to the Luxembourg and
Cardiff processes.

the European Council

In particular,

role of

(2) The opinion of the Council

(Education) of 9 November
2000 on the proposal for a Council Decision on guidelines
for Member States’ employment policies for the year 2001
which recommends
from 2001 the Commission
should, when drafting guidelines for employment policies
for the following year, take into account the opinion the
Ministers for Education will forward to it.

that

(3) The Conclusions of the Stockholm European Council of
23-24 March 2001 which reaffirmed the Lisbon strategic
goal and stressed the importance of basic skills, particularly
skills, and the role of
IT and digital
strong general
education in order
labour mobility and
to support
lifelong learning.

(4) The (cid:145)Employment Package 2000(cid:146), which was endorsed by
the European Council in Nice of 7 and 8 December 2000,
and Council Decision 2001/63/EC of 19 January 2001 on
Guidelines for Member States’ employment policies for the
year 2001 (1) which give priority to lifelong learning as a
horizontal objective around which Member States should
define coherent strategies.

(5) The European Social Agenda, also approved by the Nice
European Council, which amongst other things underlines
the need to improve access to lifelong learning and which
implies integrated policy formulation and implementation
at European and national levels.

(1) OJ L 22, 24.1.2001, p. 18.

(6) The report from the Council (Education) on the concrete
future objectives of education and training systems, which
was submitted to the Stockholm European Council as a
contribution to the Luxembourg and Cardiff processes,
and the request by the Stockholm European Council for
a new report to the spring European Council in 2002.

(7) The Communication from the Commission on (cid:145)New labour
markets, open to all, with access for all(cid:146) which underlines
the importance of increasing the level of skills and their
transferability from one country to another and of
the
strengthening of education skills and lifelong learning
policies, as well as the endorsement by the Stockholm
European Council of the setting-up of a high-level task
force on skills and mobility, drawing on expertise from
business, education and the social partners.

(8) The Commission’s memorandum on lifelong learning
which has launched a wide debate at European level and
in the Member States on how to implement comprehensive
lifelong learning, and the
for
and coherent
e-Learning action plan for
the period 2001 to 2004
which aims to involve education and training players, as
well as the relevant social, industrial and economic players,
in order to rectify the shortage of skills associated with the
new economy and to improve social inclusion,

strategies

RECOGNISES the importance placed on education and training
in the European Employment Strategy and the
policies
significant
attached to education and training for
achieving the new strategic goal set in Lisbon that Europe
dynamic
should
knowledge-based economy in the world;

competitive

the most

become

role

and

ACKNOWLEDGES the importance of addressing education and
training policy-related issues in a wide context,
taking full
account of all
the general aims that society attributes to
education and training: the development of society and the
individual as well as the development of the economy;

C 204/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

20.7.2001

UNDERLINES the relevance and the complementarity to the
objectives of
the three main
objectives
in the Report on the concrete future
objectives of education and training systems:

the Luxembourg process of

set out

(cid:151) increasing quality and effectiveness of education and

training systems in the European Union,

(cid:151) facilitating the access of all to the education and training

systems,

(cid:151) opening up education and training systems to the wider

world;

EMPHASISES that several sub-objectives stated in this report are
related to facilitating access to the labour market and to
improving adaptability of the workface, in particular:

(cid:151) developing skills for the knowledge society,

(cid:151) ensuring access to information and communications tech-

nologies (ICTs) for everyone,

(cid:151) open learning environment,

(cid:151) strengthening links with working life, research and society

at large,

(cid:151) developing the spirit of enterprise,

(cid:151) improving foreign language learning,

(cid:151) increasing mobility and exchanges;

STRESSES therefore that the drawing up and implementation of
the work programme resulting from the Report on the
concrete future objectives of
the education and training
systems is a process in its own right;

EMPHASISES THAT THE FOLLOW-UP OF THAT REPORT will make
a significant contribution to the Luxembourg process and to
the development of employment policies at both European and
national level;

NOTES the Commission’s document (cid:145)Education and training in
employment policies(cid:146) which highlights in this context:

(cid:151) the need for more intensive efforts to ensure quality initial
education to provide young people with the basic skills
needed to meet the demands of the knowledge society,

(cid:151) the importance of coherent education and training strategy
to link the various education and training systems and to
promote recognition of formal and informal training,

(cid:151) the importance of comparable statistics and availability of
the contribution of

indicators to analyse and monitor
Member States’ education and training policies;

LOOKS FORWARD TO the Commission’s forthcoming action
plan on lifelong learning, due to be released in November
2001, which should make an important contribution to
existing
a
initiatives
knowledge-based society and economy;

achieving

processes

and

for

to be submitted by the
LOOKS FORWARD TO the report
high-level
task force on skills and mobility by December
2001 and to the opportunity to contribute to the preparation
the action plan for developing and opening up new
of
European labour markets,
to be presented to the spring
European Council in 2002;

REAFFIRMS its intention to participate actively in the implemen-
tation of the European social agenda, particularly in relation to
the orientation (cid:145)More and better jobs(cid:146) by promoting effective
in
lifelong learning strategies,
information
the
mobility of students, teachers and trainees;

the development of

communication

technologies

skills
and

and

STRESSES the need for those responsible for education and
training to be actively involved in the different processes in
place at European level to promote full employment, given
the vital contribution that education and training systems are
expected to make to them and the importance of a coherent
approach to activities and initiatives relating to education and
training;

CALLS UPON THE COMMISSION AND THE MEMBER STATES

within their respective areas of competence,

(cid:151) to ensure that the follow-up to the Report on the concrete
future objectives of
the education and training systems
contributes to the Luxembourg and Cardiff processes and
places education and training in the centre of Community
cooperation in employment and related policy areas,

(cid:151) to ensure that the Council (Education) is actively involved
in the examination of the Commission’s proposal for the
employment guidelines and in the definition of policy
indicators with a view to
relevant
presenting a timely contribution to the preparation of the
guidelines and relevant areas dealing with education and
training as well as within a lifelong learning perspective,

and comparable

(cid:151) to strengthen the exchange of experience and examples of
good practice in the field, based on comparative analysis of
the national action plans for employment such as the
Commission’s
in
employment policies(cid:146).

(cid:145)Education and

document

training