Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council adopting a multiannual programme (2004-2006) for the effective integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education and training systems in Europe (eLearning Programme)" (COM(2002) 751 final)
Date: 2003-03-26
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU programme, educational system, information society, information technology

6.6.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 133/33

3.5.

Procedural guarantees

The EESC considers the proposed maximum period
3.5.1.
of 90 days for administrative decisions on admission or
renewal to be excessive: the time limit should be no more than
60 days.

EESC has argued in previous opinions (1), such appeals must
have suspensory effect on administrative decisions, where
they involve amending, withdrawing or refusing to renew a
residence permit.

The draft directive grants the right of individuals to
3.5.2.
apply to the courts for review of decisions. However, as the

(1) EESC opinion on the Proposal for a Directive on the status of
third-country nationals who are long-term residents, OJ C 36,
8.2.2002.

Brussels, 26 March 2003.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Decision of the
European Parliament and of the Council adopting a multiannual programme (2004-2006) for the
effective integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education and
training systems in Europe (eLearning Programme)’

(COM(2002) 751 final)

(2003/C 133/08)

On 19 December 2002 the European Commission decided to consult the European Economic and Social
Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-
mentioned proposal.

The Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 4 March 2003. The rapporteur was
Mr Rodríguez García Caro.

At its 398th plenary session on 26 and 27 March 2003 (meeting of 26 March), the European Economic
and Social Committee unanimously adopted the following opinion.

1.

Introduction

The conclusions of the Lisbon European Council in
1.1.
March 2000 included the need for European education and
training systems to be adapted to the needs of the knowledge
economy, and declared information technologies to be one of
the basic components of this new approach.

1.2.
In these conclusions, the Member States were also
urged to ensure that this new economy did not compound,
inter alia, problems of social exclusion, and called for the
promotion of digital literacy.

1.3.
eLearning is the educational component of the Action
Plan eEurope 2002 (2), which develops the Lisbon strategy. Its
targets include connecting schools to the Internet and training
as many teachers as possible in these technologies. The Action
Plan eEurope 2005 (3) includes eLearning as one of the most
important measures.

The eLearning Action Plan (4) developed the four action
1.4.
lines of the eLearning initiative in ten key actions in order to

(2) See the Action Plan eEurope 2002 — An information society for

all — COM(2000) 330 final

(3) See the Action Plan eEurope 2005 — An information society for

all — COM(2002) 263 final.

(4) See the Commission Communication — eLearning — Designing

tomorrow’s education — COM(2000) 318 final.

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achieve greater coherence and synergy between the various
Community programmes and instruments, and thereby facili-
tate access for citizens.

The financial framework for the implementation of the

2.4.
programme is EUR 36 million, to be distributed as follows:

— 25 % for e-learning for fighting the digital divide;

In its resolutions on these Communications, the Euro-
1.5.
pean Parliament recognised that this initiative was helping to
strengthen the single European educational area, and called for
it to be developed under a specific programme so as to avoid
duplication with existing programmes.

— 30 % for virtual campuses;

— 25 % for e-twinning schools;

— 10 % for transversal actions and monitoring of e-learning;

— 10 % for technical and administrative assistance.

1.6.
Under Articles 149(4) and 150(4) of the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Community, the European Commission
is submitting this Proposal for a Decision to the European
Economic and Social Committee for an Opinion.

3. General comments

2. Gist of the proposal

2.1.
The general objective of the Proposal for a Decision
is to promote and facilitate the use of information and
communication technologies in European education and train-
ing systems, as an essential element of their adaptation to the
needs of the knowledge society and of the European model of
social cohesion.

The implementation period will be from 1 January

2.2.
2004 to 31 December 2006.

2.3.

The objectives will be pursued in the following areas:

— fighting the digital divide, which can affect people who
— owing to their geographical location, social situation
or special needs — are not able to access traditional
educational and training provisions;

— European virtual campuses, to encourage new organis-
ational models for universities, building on existing co-
operation frameworks;

As the Committee pointed out in its opinion on The
3.1.
European dimension of education:
its nature, content and
prospects (1), education is above all a process based primarily
on the values of humanism. Any education planning option
must be compatible with these values.

3.2.
The Committee welcomes the proposed Decision,
which has been referred for consultation. Notwithstanding the
comments and recommendations made in this opinion, we
consider this initiative to be extremely positive.

3.3.
In addition to the comments made in this document,
and with specific regard to the eLearning programme, the
Committee reiterates the comments and recommendations
made in its opinion on the Communication from the Com-
mission to the Council and the European Parliament entitled
The eLearning Action Plan — Designing tomorrow’s edu-
cation (2).

3.3.1.
The Committee considers the eLearning sector to be
particularly strategic in building the Europe of tomorrow.
Given the complementary nature of the new programme, and
its extremely limited budget, the Committee recommends that
other Community instruments should continue to be used in
this area.

3.3.2. Moreover, the Committee considers that the amounts
that have been allocated to help the programme meet its very
ambitious objectives are extremely insufficient. The Committee
therefore calls for a significant increase in funding for the
programme. It also recommends that it focus on two areas:

— e-twinning European schools, to strengthen and develop
schools networking that makes it possible for all Euro-
pean schools to build pedagogical partnerships with a
school elsewhere in Europe;

— fighting the digital divide,

— school twinning via the Internet.

— transversal actions, to promote e-learning in Europe and

foster public-private partnerships.

(1) See EESC opinion, OJ C 139, 11.5.2001, point 2.4.1.1.
(2) See EESC opinion, OJ C 36, 8.2.2002.

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3.4.
For education to have a truly European dimension,
account must be taken of the many different education systems
found in Europe. For this reason, we welcome the genuine
involvement of the EFTA states and candidate countries in the
programme. The many cultures and languages, as well as the
differences existing between the various countries, lend an
unsurpassable richness to the European education system as a
whole.

To meet the objectives of the eLearning programme,
3.5.
and before we can aspire to the general use of new Information
and Communication Technologies (hereinafter ICT), the bar-
riers that exist — or may exist — to ICT access need to be
overcome.

3.5.1.
Both in the area of infrastructures and equipment,
and the use of new products, services and content, existing
difficulties reinforce the barriers between those who can use
ICT, and those who lack the necessary means and resources to
do so.

3.5.2.
The European Union in general and the Member
States in particular must continue their efforts to ensure that
all EU citizens can access ICT under equal and fair conditions.

3.6.
The Committee welcomes the fact that the proposed
Decision presents a specific action plan with its own budget,
but stresses the need to prevent actions overlapping with
existing programmes. The coordination, cooperation and
information measures contained in the proposed Decision
must help meet this objective. Creating synergies between the
different programmes will help enhance the new actions
proposed under the eLearning programme.

In its opinion (1) on the Proposal for a European
3.6.1.
Parliament and Council Decision establishing the second phase
of the Community action programme in the field of education
‘Socrates’ (2), the Committee called for increased coordination
and cooperation between the different programmes to ensure
that measures and related resources are applied efficiently.

In its opinion on the Communication from the Com-
3.7.
mission: Review of reactions to the White Paper ‘Teaching and
the Committee
learning:
highlighted the need to use specifically European educational
multimedia, and train educators so that they can use them and

towards the learning society’ (3),

teach other people how to use them. Socrates was already a
step in this direction, which must be broadly reinforced and
fleshed out through the instruments made available to EU
citizens under the eLearning programme.

3.8.
This new programme must make a considerable effort
to foster any actions that help prevent discrimination against
groups who find it particularly difficult to use ICT. The
Committee therefore urges the Commission and the Member
States to do their utmost to prevent the exclusion of the
most underprivileged groups, in general, and the disabled, in
particular (4).

Promoting the use of ICT in education and training
3.9.
systems in Europe will not on its own necessarily guarantee
high-quality education, but must be accompanied by the
introduction of overall quality management systems based on
the quest for excellence. ICT are just another tool in the
process of ongoing quality improvement. If the quality of
teaching is unacceptable, the introduction of new technologies
will simply increase the dissemination of and access to low-
quality education.
ICT improve access to education and
training systems, but do not guarantee per se an improvement
in the quality of education and training.

3.10.
Access via ICT to new learning and training possibilit-
ies and methods may change the teaching models with which
we are familiar. Open and distance learning may improve and
become widespread through these initiatives. Any measure
that brings education and training closer to citizens must be
welcomed and backed by all EU institutions and the Member
States.

Strengthening the European dimension of education
3.11.
is an objective that affects all EU institutions. The fact that
such technology enables information to be received and
knowledge to be jointly acquired,
thereby facilitating its
transmission, is a key factor in reinforcing a European area of
education and training that, while recognising cultural diver-
sity, overcomes barriers and distances, and brings cultures and
languages together (5).

( 1) See EESC opinion, OJ C 410, 30.12.1998.
( 2) See OJ L 28, 3.2.2000.
( 3) See EESC opinion, OJ C 95, 30.3.1998.

(4) See EESC opinion, OJ C 94, 18.4.2002.
(5) See EESC opinion, OJ C 139, 11.5.2001, point 2.5.

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4. Specific comments

4.1.
The Committee fully shares the objectives of the
eLearning Programme, as a specific programme dedicated to
e-learning. However, it considers that both its meagre financial
resources and the dispersion of its actions over a wide area
will make it difficult to achieve these objectives.

4.1.1.
In a Europe that attracts an ever-greater number of
immigrants from very different cultures, it is essential that we
use all the means available to encourage closer relations and
understanding between different cultures. Accordingly, the
Committee calls on the EU as a whole and Member States in
particular to make the greatest possible effort to achieve this.

4.2.
Likewise, the Committee is convinced that ICT are
extremely useful in improving lifelong learning. In a world
that is undergoing rapid and constant change, new ways of
keeping people’s qualifications and training up to date need to
be found, so that they can maintain and improve the know-
ledge and skills required by the labour market. The Committee
believes that, by ensuring that their human assets are always
up to date, companies can become more competitive. It
therefore welcomes initiatives that are a step forward in
improving EU citizens’ access to ongoing training.

4.3.
Improvements to the quality of products, content and
services proposed by new ICT must be underpinned by an
environment that is favourable for European companies in the
sector. Steps must be taken to ensure that such products and
their content are designed with European needs in mind. In
addition to the potential benefits in terms of employment in
the EU, support for these companies should also lead to the
creation of products and services that take account of the
multifocal cultural reality in which we live.

4.5.
The virtual university could be seen as a more advanced
and interactive system of the open university. This model,
which is already being developed by a number of further
education establishments in Europe, must provide special
courses for those people who, owing to very different circum-
stances, are unable — or unwilling — to follow learning and
training through traditional systems.

4.5.1.
The Committee welcomes wholeheartedly this type
of initiative and stresses the need to improve and reduce the
cost of Internet access for EU citizens, so that the development
of this model of university organisation is not hindered. Such
developments also allow for very close cooperation between
further education establishments in the various Member States,
thereby making education in Europe more of a force for
integration.

4.5.2.
Activities developed as part of the Socrates/Erasmus
programme and its offshoot, Erasmus World (1), can be
carried out through these virtual campuses, thereby improving
cooperation between establishments and the virtual mobility
of teachers and pupils through the Internet.

4.5.3.
However, the Committee believes that the develop-
ment of these new organisational models for teaching must by
no means put an end to traditional forms of learning through
physical attendance, mobility and direct contact between
teachers and pupils. In particular, physical attendance can help
young people get more out of these new tools through contact
with their teachers. The virtual university must be seen as
additional support in certain circumstances and for certain
people, but must not become an independent form — or
indeed the only form — of teaching and learning.

4.6.
Inter-school cooperation via the Internet must be a key
element of knowledge and communication in coming years.
Facilitating such communication between school children in
Europe will in the medium term increase understanding of
customs and cultures in the EU. The younger people are
when they have such access, the easier it will be to foster
understanding between people later in life.

4.4.
The exclusion of certain groups — whether for geo-
graphical, social, gender-related, age-related or any other
reasons — is one of the greatest threats to the dissemination
and use of ICT. Any actions developed to prevent such
exclusion must be fostered and supported.

4.6.1.
In the Committee’s view, the best way to develop
closer relations and inter-school cooperation could be to use
these resources to improve school children’s access to and

4.4.1.
If nothing is done to put an end to the various
means of exclusion that exist, other developments relating to
eLearning may be affected. The Committee therefore believes
that the percentage of funds earmarked for ‘fighting the digital
divide’ should be significantly increased, as a strategy to offer
as many citizens as possible access to eLearning.

(1) See the Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision
establishing a programme for the enhancement of quality in
higher education and the promotion of intercultural understand-
ing through co-operation with third countries (Erasmus World)
(2004-2008); (COM(2002) 401 final), and the EESC opinion on
this subject.

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knowledge of the various languages in Europe. Language
courses run by native teachers could therefore be set up in
schools as a kind of exchange that would increase students’
knowledge of the language and culture of those participating
in school networks.

The Committee therefore recommends extending
4.7.
school twinning via the Internet to pre-secondary levels from
the outset, in the conviction that the younger the beneficiaries
of these initiatives are, the easier it will be for them to adapt.
A similar process occurs when language learning begins at an
early age.

The Committee calls for greater use to be made of the
4.8.
Internet
in disseminating Europe’s cultural and linguistic
diversity, and rejects the temptation to use only one vehicular
language to circulate information and knowledge.

4.9.
The Committee shares and welcomes the programme’s
objective of improving cooperation between the public and
private sectors. Companies can contribute their experience in
these developments and can in turn directly receive the
information they need to provide products and services
tailored to a changing situation.

4.10.
Internal communication and coordination between
the Commission’s own services is essential to ensuring that the

Brussels, 26 March 2003.

different committees for the various Community programmes
in the fields of education, training, research, social policy and
regional development have specific knowledge of the actions
undertaken, in order to prevent overlap or projects that are
presented and developed receiving support from two or more
programmes simultaneously.

The Committee urges the Commission to improve
4.10.1.
communication and coordination in order to develop this
programme more effectively and efficiently.

The Committee welcomes this specific Programme,
4.11.
but not its budget allocation. It therefore believes that greater
efforts should be made to boost the funding.

4.12.
The series of assessments planned — which correlate
with similar actions envisaged under other programmes with
similar objectives — should provide a basis for studying
whether to bring together under a single programme the
various lines of action designed to promote the dissemination
and use of ICT in the field of education and training in Europe.

4.12.1.
In order to use available resources more effectively
and more efficiently, the Committee believes it is necessary to
carry out such an analysis and then come up with a proposal
setting out a single programme, in order to maximise resources
and minimise the cost of distributing actions among the
various programmes.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH