Council conclusions of 25 November 2003 on the "Development of human capital for social cohesion and competitiveness in the knowledge society"
Date: 2003-11-25
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: competitiveness, continuing education, economic and social cohesion, employment policy, information society

5.12.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 295/9

COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS

of 25 November 2003

on the ‘Development of human capital for social cohesion and competitiveness in the knowledge
society’

(2003/C 295/05)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

AWARE that

— from 2000 to the present,

the European Council has
concluded that cooperation on education and training is a
prerequisite for building a competitive knowledge-based
economy,

— the Resolution on social and human capital building in the
knowledge society adopted in July 2003 by the Council
emphasises
and
human capital and the need to develop their interaction
in the areas of learning, work and social cohesion,

strategic value of

capital

social

the

— the Conclusions of the October 2003 European Council
confirm that
in particular
investing in human capital,
through increasing financing in education and a better inte-
for
gration with labour and social policies,
Europe's growth potential,

is crucial

— the constant socio-demographic and economic changes in
Europe, particularly in the context of enlargement, demand
that strategies be redirected to enhance the pursuit of
investments in
common objectives and to ensure that
education and training systems are effective and efficient,

STRESSES that

— human capital is a strategic resource for the overall devel-
opment of Europe, and the education and training policies
of States should be directed towards the lifelong personal
development of each individual and at increasing citizens'
participation in social cohesion and economic development,

— in 2002 the Council of

the European Union and the
European Commission adopted a work programme to
achieve certain common objectives, approved and shared,
to be achieved in the short and medium term. The work
programme was accepted by the Barcelona European
Council of 2002,

— in the Commission communication of November 2002 on
strengthening the
coordination of budgetary policies,
attention was drawn to the positive effect that investments
in human capital and knowledge can have on growth and
employment levels,

— the conclusions of

the March 2003 European Council
emphasise the importance of investment in human capital
as a prerequisite for the promotion of European competi-
tiveness, the achievement of high growth and employment
rates and the transition to a knowledge-based economy,

— the 2003 Commission communication ‘Investing efficiently
in education and training: an imperative for Europe’,
analysing the relevance and contribution of education to
core elements of the Lisbon strategy, points out that the
EU suffers from under-investment in human resources and
that the efficiency of both public and private investments
needs
to be maximised through the coordination of
education and training policies with employment policies,
taking account of the process connected with the work
programme on follow-up to the common objectives and
the lifelong learning strategy,

— it

is the Community's duty to contribute to the devel-
opment of quality education and implement a vocational
training policy whilst fully respecting the responsibilities of
the Member States as well as to work together with the
Member States with the aim of building a competitive
knowledge-based economy,

— the objectives set in education and training policy should,
whilst taking into account the harmonious development of
young people into self-reliant, responsible and cultivated
citizens as one of its main aims, increasingly complement
those of economic and labour policy in order to combine
social cohesion and competitiveness,

— the effectiveness and efficiency of investments in education
and training systems, in line with objective 1.5 on making
the best use of resources, must be enhanced for a greater
development of human capital,

— [. . .] the role of education and training is a fundamental
factor in social and economic development; it is possible to
consider [. . .] financial interventions in these fields as an
investment rather than a cost and to envisage innovative
ways of developing research and innovation; [. . .] human
capital is in fact a lever for social cohesion and economic
growth,

AGREES that

— reaching the Lisbon targets will mean strengthening
structured cooperation in support of the development of
human capital and ensuring a regular monitoring process
for the results as part of the work programme on the
follow-up of
the objectives of education and training
systems in Europe; the Council will draw the attention of
the European Council to progress in this field as part of its
regular reporting on the Objectives process,

C 295/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

5.12.2003

— the necessary resources for human capital development
should be made available, from public or private national
the
and European sources including, where appropriate,
Structural
in
programmes
the Community
education and training and the EIB; making the best use
of resources is a strategic factor for the overall development
of Europe,

Funds,

— actions, research and analysis on the contribution of human
and social capital to economic development in Europe by
European bodies, such as EIB and others, are important
tools for effective education and labour policies,

— coherence

and

complementarity

further
promoted between education and training policies and
social and labour policies,
to make lifelong learning a
reality,

should

be

— the Member States and the Community should aim to
develop a specific European angle on such complemen-
strengthening the link between the ‘Objectives
tarity,
process’,
and the Broad
Economic Policy Guidelines.

the Employment Guidelines