European Parliament resolution on options for developing the European Schools system (2004/2237(INI))
Date: 2005-09-08
Institutions: Committee on Culture and Education, European Parliament
Subjects: EU office or agency, European convention, European school, education policy, educational administration, enlargement of the Union, organisation of teaching

17.8.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 193 E/333

Thursday 8 September 2005

66.
Asks likewise that within the framework of the interservices consultations within the Commission,
the interests of the sector and the goals of sustainable tourism set out in the Commission's communication
be taken into account;

Calls on the Commission to consider setting up a network of tourism correspondents/ coordinators
67.
in all Commission Directorates whose remit affects tourism activities (Enterprises and Industry, Regional
Policy, Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Energy and Transport, Internal Market and Ser-
vices, and so on), which could be coordinated by the department in charge of tourism within the Enterprise
and Industry DG;

Tourism in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe

68. Welcomes the insertion of a specific section on tourism (Section 4, Article III-281) in the Treaty
establishing a Constitution for Europe; believes that this legal basis will make more consistent support
action possible, and that it will be given extra weight by the full involvement of the European Parliament
in the adoption of legislative measures;

Calls on the Commission to work together with its main institutional partners and the sector's
69.
representative bodies on the various avenues of action to encourage the development of an environment
more favourable to business competitiveness and coordination between Member States; calls on the Com-
mission to propose, from 2007, the implementation of a multiannual action plan (‘tourism package’) to
strengthen the consistency of Union action on tourism by bringing together the Member States and their
regional local authorities, in accordance with the principles of good governance;

70.
Calls on the Commission to include tourism among the principal guidelines and priorities for coop-
eration with partner countries in the context of European initiatives to promote neighbourly relations, for
example the Euro-Mediterranean partnership arrangements;

71.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.

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P6_TA(2005)0336

European Schools

European Parliament resolution on options for developing the European Schools system (2004/
2237(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parlia-

ment on options for developing the European Schools system (COM(2004)0519),

— having regard to the Convention defining the Statute of the European Schools (1),

— having regard to its resolution of 17 December 2002 on the financing of the European Schools (2),

— having regard to the annual report of the Secretary General of the European Schools to the Board of

Governors meeting in Brussels on 1-2 February 2005 (3),

— having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture and Education and the opinion of the Com-

mittee on Budgets (A6-0200/2005),

(1) OJ L 212, 17.08.1994, p. 3.
(2) OJ C 31 E, 5.2.2004, p. 91.
(3) Document 1612-D-2004-en-1; http://www.eursc.org/SE/htmlEn/IndexEn_home.html

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A. whereas the purpose of the Schools is to educate together children of the staff of the European Com-
munities; whereas besides the children covered by the Agreements provided for in Articles 28 and 29 of
the Statute of the European Schools, other children may attend the Schools within the limits set by the
Board of Governors; whereas the recruitment and retention of suitably qualified officials is necessary for
the smooth functioning of the European institutions, and whereas the provision of mother-tongue
education for the children of such officials, the recognition of the equal value of academic years suc-
cessfully completed in the Member States and at the European Schools, and the European Baccalaureate,
all contribute to this,

B. whereas the European Schools were established with this consideration in mind,

C. whereas the European Schools system fosters the concept of European citizenship; whereas keeping the
present Schools in existence on the one hand, and on the other setting up new schools and expanding
the system in other ways, could accordingly help to strengthen European integration;

D. whereas there are now thirteen European Schools, enrolling more than 19 000 pupils, and whereas one

more school will probably be established by 2010,

E. whereas pupil numbers at some Schools, especially in Brussels, have now risen beyond acceptable

levels, and teaching standards are consequently declining,

F. whereas average costs per pupil at the European Schools compare favourably with those at other
schools attended by the children of officials of cognate bodies; whereas, nevertheless, costs per pupil
vary widely between the individual schools and correlate strongly with school size,

G. whereas, while the European Community contributes well over half of the running costs of the Euro-
pean Schools, the Commission is the only European institution represented on the Board of Governors
of the European Schools; and whereas the Commission is the only member of the Board of Governors
with the right to vote both on the Board of Governors and on the Administrative Board of each school,

H. whereas the system of governance of the European Schools must combine a capacity for strategic
planning and oversight together with a reasonable degree of autonomy for the individual schools,

I. whereas the administration of the European Schools, including decisions about the admission of pupils
and the waiving of fees, should be as clear, consistent and transparent as possible throughout the entire
Schools system,

J. whereas the curriculum leading to the European Baccalaureate is academically demanding and may not
be suitable for academically weaker pupils; whereas the Schools at present offer no other school-leaving
certificate,

K. whereas, at present, educational provision for pupils with certified special educational needs varies from

one School to another,

L. whereas the maximum class size (32 pupils) is larger than would be permitted under the relevant
legislation in a number of Member States; whereas, moreover, many classes contain pupils whose
mother tongue is different from that of the language section to which they have been admitted, as
well as pupils with learning difficulties or special teaching needs,

M. whereas, with the exception of the Brussels I school, the schools in Brussels and in Luxembourg are
overcrowded; and whereas, while decisions have been taken on the establishment of two more schools,
the buildings will not be ready for use until 2010, with serious implications for the education provided
at these schools,

N. whereas the educational philosophy of the European Schools and the curriculum leading to the Euro-
pean Baccalaureate serve as models of multilingual and multicultural education which the Member
States may wish to imitate,

O. whereas the people of Europe agreed in the EC Treaty (Article 149) that Community action shall be
aimed at developing the European dimension in education, particularly through the teaching and dis-
semination of the languages of the Member States,

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The Convention defining the Statute of the European Schools and the Commission Communication

1. Welcomes the Commission's launch, through its above-mentioned Communication, of a consultative
exercise about the future development of the system of European Schools, taking into account the enlarge-
ment of the European Union, the interests of the new Member States, the creation of additional EU agencies
outside Brussels and Luxembourg and the urgent need to revise and evaluate and, if necessary, to reform a
system which was established 50 years ago and which originally catered for only four languages;

Recalls that the Convention defining the Statute of the European Schools stipulates that the role of the
2.
European Schools is to provide for the joint education of the children of the staff of the European Com-
munities as a way of ensuring the proper operation of the Community institutions, and also stipulates that
other children may attend the Schools within the limits set by the Board of Governors;

The decentralised agencies and the new Member States

3.
Believes that a solution to the question of all workplaces of decentralized agencies must be found as a
matter of urgency; regrets that such solution had not been found at the time when the workplaces of these
agencies were decided, with the exception of the European Food Safety Authority in Parma;

4.
Believes that Member States hosting one of the new decentralised agencies must take greater financial
responsibility for the education of the children of staff, and that appropriate solutions must be found for
each of the new places of work; believes that, in these cases, cooperation between the European Schools and
regional or local schools able to deliver the curriculum leading to the European Baccalaureate is an option;
believes that such cooperation should aim to promote high-quality education and European integration,
maintain linguistic diversity and facilitate labour mobility;

Insists that, where the necessary criteria are met,

5.
language sections for the languages of the new
Member States be established as a matter of urgency and that all pupils should be receiving mother-tongue
teaching;

Calls on the Commission to examine the possibility of establishing European schools in the new

6.
Member States;

The future financing of the European Schools system, Category III pupils and the smaller schools

7.
Believes that the balancing contribution from the Communities must not develop into an open-ended
commitment; considers it self-evident that the European Schools system should operate effectively in terms
of budgetary planning and control and should offer demonstrable value for money; endorses the view that
the annual projected budget allocation for each school should take account of the size and needs of the
individual schools and of evidence of efforts to spend the budget allocation as effectively as possible;

8.
Underlines, however, that the nature of the Communities' contribution to the schools' budgets is set
out clearly in Article 25.2 of the Convention defining the Statute of the European Schools; rejects, therefore,
the imposition by the Commission of a ceiling on the Communities' contribution to the European Schools
budget before the Board of Governors has presented its estimate of the revenue and expenditure of the
Schools for the following financial year;

9.
Considers that the current arrangement, whereby Member States' contributions are directly linked to
the number of teachers they second to the European Schools and to the premises they provide for the
European Schools, is not equitable and that alternative systems of financing should be explored;

10.
Believes nevertheless that the present system, whereby teachers are appointed and paid their national
salaries by Member States, ensures access for the European Schools to the teaching expertise of these States
and is the means by which the financial contribution of the Member States is secured;

Notes that the level of fees payable by the parents of Category III pupils has risen substantially in real
11.
terms since 2002 and that this has resulted in increased revenue for the Schools and a smaller increase in
the contribution from the Communities' budget than would otherwise have been the case; further notes that
such fees do not meet the full cost of educating these pupils; believes, however, that the parents of Category
III pupils should not face excessive fee increases during the remainder of their education in the European
Schools system;

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12.
Calls on the Commission, through its representative on the Board of Governors, to press for the
adoption and publication of clear, detailed, and publicly available criteria for the admission of Category III
pupils; urges the Administrative Board of each school admitting Category III pupils to report on the appli-
cation of such criteria in its annual report;

13.
Reiterates its call for the Board of Governors to revise the criteria it has adopted for establishing,
maintaining and closing individual language sections in individual schools so as to rule out any discrimi-
nation against an official language of the European Union;

Calls upon the Commission to publish, as soon as practicable, the external study commissioned by it

14.
into the long-term future of the four schools in Bergen, Culham, Karlsruhe and Mol);

Better governance and administration

Believes that, given the growth in the number of European Schools and in the number of pupils they
15.
teach, the tasks of the Board of Governors should essentially be those of setting strategic goals, of oversight
and of review; believes that detailed management questions specific to individual schools should, in the first
instance, be addressed by the Administrative Boards of the individual schools, and that each school should
be considered an autonomous entity as regards operational and financial matters;

16.
Believes that, given the above, the Administrative Boards of the individual schools should be given
control over the financial and operational aspects of the individual schools within the strategic goals laid
down by the Board of Governors;

17.
Notes that the Community currently pays a balancing contribution equivalent to some 57 % of the
annual cost of the European Schools system, whereas the Member States contribute 22 %; believes, therefore,
that the Commission, as representative of the Communities, should have voting rights on the Board of
Governors more in line with the Communities' contribution to the budget, and that the Commission must
report to the European Parliament following each meeting of the Board of Governors;

Calls on the Commission to press the Board of Governors to draw up a Code of Good Adminis-

18.
trative Conduct and to clarify the remit of the Complaints Board;

Notes the Commission's suggestion that two new bodies might be established, one ‘to administer the
19.
financial and operational aspects of all the Schools’, the other to superintend the curriculum, the examin-
ation system and the assessment of teachers; believes that a single governing body, with the authority to
take decisions affecting the Schools system as a whole and willing to accept responsibility for balancing
sometimes conflicting financial and educational imperatives, must be maintained;

Calls for adequate representation of parents and other stakeholders, for example staff and pupils, on

20.
both the Board of Governors and the Administrative Boards of individual schools;

Curriculum and educational issues

(a) Class sizes

21.
Believes that nursery, primary and secondary school classes, taught by a single qualified teacher,
should not be larger than 30 pupil equivalents; believes also that from 2008 there should be a progressive
introduction of a maximum class size in nursery and primary classes of no more than 25 pupil equivalents;
calls on the Board of Governors to endorse this principle;

22.
Calls on the Commission to encourage the development of coefficients in respect of children with
certified special educational needs and of pupils whose mother tongue is different from the language in
which they receive most of their instruction (Language I), and to ensure that these coefficients are applied
when class sizes are calculated;

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23.
Urges the Commission, working together with the Member States concerned, to find solutions as a
matter of urgency in order to deal with the excessively high pupil numbers at some Schools, which are
undermining teaching standards; urges the Board of Governors to take action without delay to combat the
overcrowding of the schools in Brussels and Luxembourg; points to the need for proper planning at the
right time to develop the infrastructure and facilities required in order for the European Schools to operate;

(b) Special Educational Needs provision

24.
Calls on the Commission to produce reliable statistics about the extent of the requirements for
special needs provision in all the European Schools and further urges the Board of Governors to carry out
a survey of provision at each of the European Schools for pupils with special educational needs (SEN),
including children with physical and/or intellectual disabilities; asks the Board of Governors to draw up a
set of minimum standards relating to educational provision, to undertake an accessibility audit of the Euro-
pean Schools so as to ensure that the fabric and design of the buildings are accessible for children with
physical disabilities and to take any other steps deemed necessary in order to support all pupils with special
educational needs;

25.
Calls on the Commission and the Board of Governors of the European Schools to enhance the
allocation of resources in terms of finance, staff and expertise with a view to providing first-class education
for SEN children and to fully promote the concept of inclusive education, as is the case in other schools
across Europe; further calls on the Board of Governors to examine constructive alternatives for those
children who are unable to cope with integration in mainstream classes;

Believes that, if SEN pupils are to benefit from their education at the European Schools, specialist
26.
multidisciplinary teams (such as educational psychologists and speech and language therapists) must be set
up in Schools to provide support and advice for the teachers, pupils and parents concerned;

Calls for one of the larger European Schools to launch a pilot project for an SEN resource centre,
27.
comprising qualified personnel with relevant experience and appropriate teaching materials (books, com-
puter software), the role of which would be to provide expert advice and materials for teachers involved in
the education of SEN children in the school; calls for financing to be set aside for this project in the 2006
budget;

(c) The European Baccalaureate

28.
Calls on the Commission to do all in its power to ensure that the Board introduces, by the beginning
of the school year 2007-2008, an alternative leaving certificate in parallel with the European Baccalaureate,
for pupils who choose to follow a more vocational education;

29.
Reiterates its conviction that the increasing exchange of students between European universities, the
globalisation of the word economy and the high intrinsic value of the European Baccalaureate justify its
wider spread and its full recognition without discrimination by universities in Member States and in third
countries;

Therefore invites the responsible authorities in the Member States to consider the merits of making
30.
the European Baccalaureate more widely available as a school
leaving certificate outside the European
Schools, on the understanding, however, that the necessary guarantees would have to be in place so as to
meet the quality standards on which the Baccalaureate is based;

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31.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Audi-
tors, the Court of Justice, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the
Board of Governors of the European Schools and the governments of the Member States.