Conclusions by the Council of 21 February 2005 on Education and Training in the framework of the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy
Date: 2005-02-21
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: European Council, education policy, vocational training

7.4.2005

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(Information)

COUNCIL

CONCLUSIONS BY THE COUNCIL

of 21 February 2005

on Education and Training in the framework of the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

5.

(2005/C 85/01)

The Commission Communication to the Spring Euro-
pean Council 2005 (‘Working together for growth and
jobs — A new start for the Lisbon Strategy’) and the
need to identify areas where the European Council may
support further progress.

Having regard to:

1.

2.

3.

4.

The new strategic goal set for the European Union by
the Lisbon European Council of 23–24 March 2000 and
reaffirmed by the Stockholm European Council of 23
and 24 March 2001 to become ‘the most competitive
and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world
capable of sustainable economic growth, with more and
better jobs and greater social cohesion’.

substantial

contribution of Lifelong Learning,
The
covering all forms of learning and all levels and dimen-
sions of Education and Training, to all these objectives
and to the achievement of sustainable development, as
acknowledged by the Lisbon European Council itself.

The fact that some 33 million people in the European
Union are not in active employment; Europe's workforce
is ageing, and 32 % of the working age population (78
million) is low skilled. In contrast, over the next five
years, only 15 % of newly created jobs will be for people
with basic schooling, whereas 50 % of newly created
jobs will require highly skilled workers.

The progress made, in particular in the context of the
‘Education and Training 2010’ Work Programme at
national and European level.

STRESSES THAT:

6.

The knowledge society is key to the Lisbon Strategy. The
contribution of education and training is therefore essen-
tial, as they provide the indispensable skills base and
creative potential.

— The Lisbon goals of competitiveness and economic
growth can only be achieved if young people
are properly
coming onto the
equipped through quality education and training in
line with the evolution of society.

labour market

— More efficient investment in education and training
leads in general
the
to a significant
national product of a country and contribute to the
future income of the learners.

increase of

— Better quality of education and training as well as
better access and higher participation not only
enable an increasing number of people to achieve
personal development but also contribute to sustain-
able economic growth, social cohesion and more
and better jobs.

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— Increasing participation and completion rates

in
initial education and training will have a positive
effect on the quality of the labour force,
improve
people's employability and therefore reduce public
spending.

— The higher education sector is situated at the cross-
roads of research, education and innovation and is
therefore key to the competitiveness of the European
Union.

— No advanced economy can survive without contin-
uous upgrading of people's skills, regardless of their
age. Lifelong learning is therefore essential, and
needs to be encouraged in all the Member States. It
increases the overall skills levels of the workforce,
allowing people to adapt to the rapidly changing
needs of the labour market and to new technologies
and improving the conditions for occupational and
geographical mobility. In this regard, basic training
in ICT (digital literacy) for all is essential.

7.

As regards the issue of sustainable growth and ‘more
and better jobs’, education and training provide the
foundation on which better quality jobs can be created
and growth sustained. This is even more true in knowl-
edge-based societies and economies.

— More jobs can only result from a better and more
job-intensive economic growth; this in turn requires
that the labour force have the skills and competences
needed by entrepreneurs and companies.

— Better quality jobs imply a higher level of compe-
tence from the worker, which in turn implies greater
individual development at all levels of education and
training throughout life, in the light of demographic
change. Education and training, non-formal and
informal learning, are means to achieve this.

— Education and training raise young people's aware-
ness of the environmental dimension and help them
understand that a sustainable economic growth,
while addressing the needs of present generations,
must not put at risk those of future generations.

8.

As regards the question of
‘greater social cohesion’,
education and training promote understanding and toler-
ance. Moreover, they open a more equitable start in life
for all.

— Early education provides the best chance to develop
social skills in children, and to prepare them for the
increasingly multi-cultural world in which we live

and, in particular, to give children with fewer oppor-
tunities a better preparation for school.

— Citizenship education in its broadest sense, including
opportunities for participation in civil society,
is a
complementary means of combating cultural and
social exclusion and facilitating the integration of
young people as well as people with special needs in
society.

RECALLS THAT:

9.

10.

11.

12.

coherent

agreed on a

In accordance with the Lisbon conclusions, the Council
has
and integrated Work
Programme, now referred to as ‘Education and Training
in their Joint
2010’. The Council and Commission,
to the European Council adopted in
Interim Report
February 2004, underlined three priority areas
for
immediate further action:

— focus reform and investment on the key areas for the

knowledge-based society;

— make lifelong learning a reality;

— establish a European area of education and training.

Agreement has been reached on Europass, as well as on
other key issues, such as the identification and validation
of non-formal and informal learning, quality assurance
in Vocational Education and Training (VET)
and
guidance throughout life. Priority should now be given
to implementing these agreements at the national level.
The future priorities for reforms and investment in VET
are defined in the Council conclusions adopted on 15
November 2004, which formed the basis for the Maas-
tricht Communiqué adopted on 14 December 2004.

Under the impulse of the Bologna process, progress has
been made in stimulating curricular reform in higher
the Erasmus
education across Europe.
Mundus programme was adopted in December 2003 to
promote the EU as a centre of excellence in learning
around the world. However, more action and support
from the EU would enable higher education institutions
to fulfil their key role in achieving the Lisbon objectives.

In addition,

to monitor progress under

the Work
In order
the Council has adopted a number of
Programme,
benchmarks for the EU as a whole in May 2003. They
are all-important for the Lisbon Strategy and should
therefore be achieved by 2010.

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13.

At national
level, the modernisation of education and
training systems is underway, but much remains to be
done to implement the necessary reforms.

RECOMMENDS THAT:

14.

In preparation for the next joint report of the Council
and Commission to the European Council
in 2006,
further action be taken at European and national level,
having regard to the Lisbon Mid-Term Review according
to the priority levers of ‘Education and Training 2010’,
as they were stated in the 2004 Joint Interim Report, in
particular with reference to actions for the development
of human capital:

— Focus reform and investment on the key areas for

the knowledge-based society:

— Realise the Lisbon objective of a substantial
increase in, and efficient use of public and
private investment in education and training.

— Develop a culture of excellence as well as evalua-
tion systems to ensure that EU education and
training systems become a world quality refer-
ence.

— Improve governance at national

level by invol-
ving all relevant stakeholders, including the social
partners, and by improving coordination among
the public authorities concerned.

— Strengthen

synergies

complementarity
between education and other policy areas such as
employment,
and
macroeconomic policy.

research and

innovation,

and

— Making lifelong learning a reality:

National strategies for lifelong learning should aim to
ensure that all citizens, acquire the key competences
they need in a knowledge society and that open,
attractive and accessible learning environments are
created. The following measures, among others, can
contribute to achieving these goals:

— Multiply opportunities of

for
example by means of distance-learning especially
through the use of ICT.

lifelong learning,

— Stimulate

lifelong learning demand through

measures to reconcile work and family life.

— Identify cost
training
service).

sharing models of

(employers,

employees

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continuing
and public

— Develop national strategies, aiming inter alia at
filling the current gap in terms of access to life-
long learning opportunities between large and
small companies, and between high and low
skilled people.

— Adopt the future integrated action programme in

the field of lifelong learning.

— Establish a European area of Education and Training:

— Strengthen the open method of coordination, for

example by:

— working in ‘peer learning’ clusters, allowing
Member States to focus on their priority
areas;

— improving the scope, precision and reliability

of education and training statistics;

— identifying indicators

in new fields

Interim Report,

and
making them operational, as envisaged in the
Joint
including the foreign
language competence indicator requested by
the Barcelona European Council,
in March
2002.

— Adopt common reference points at European
level in fields such as key competences and the
training of teachers and trainers.

— Strengthen the role of higher education institu-
tions in the Lisbon Strategy and improve the
quality of higher education in order to enhance
its international attractiveness and the mobility of
the students and staff.

— Enhance the synergy and the complementarity
between Higher Education and Research to
stimulate innovation and employment through
the mobility of young researchers and the
networking of centres of excellence.

— Develop by the end of 2006 a European Qualifi-
cations Framework as a common reference
covering both VET and general
education
(secondary and higher), based on competences
and learning outcomes.

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INVITES THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL:

15.

To reaffirm that lifelong learning is and will remain a
In this
sine qua non for achieving the Lisbon goals.
context, the successful implementation of the ‘Education
and Training 2010’ Work Programme is essential
in
order both to develop knowledge and innovation and to
create more and better jobs.

16.

To seize the momentum of the Mid-Term-Review, by
giving priority to:

— the putting in place of coherent and comprehensive
lifelong learning strategies in the Member States by
levels and dimensions of
2006 encompassing all
education and training to develop the skills and
competences needed, with the involvement of all
stakeholders concerned;

— the promotion of excellence at all levels of Education
and Training systems in support of jobs and growth,
as well as social cohesion;

— the implementation in the Member States of

the
‘Education and Training 2010’ Work Programme,
including the necessary increase in and more efficient
use of investment in education and training;

17.

18.

— enhanced European cooperation in education and
training in order to stimulate and support reform,
particularly through

— peer learning, made more relevant to Member

States' needs;

— improving the quality of

the monitoring of

progress;

— enhancing the

contribution of VET, higher

Education and Research to the Lisbon strategy.

(Education/Youth/Culture)

To call on the Council
to
contribute to the monitoring of those aspects coming
with its competence i.e. education and training, in the
framework of the reporting mechanisms of the Lisbon
Strategy.

To include the initiative of a European Pact for Youth, in
the framework of the Mid-Term Review of the Lisbon
strategy,
in order to promote a generation of young
Europeans with quality jobs, a higher level of education
and undergoing training to improve their adaptability
and to define orientations for concrete measures for this
purpose in the framework of ‘Education and Training
2010’ and of existing programmes.