Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty concerning the common position of the Council on the adoption of a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing an action programme in the field of lifelong learning
Date: 2006-08-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, action programme, adult education, continuing vocational training, education, higher education, secondary education

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 28.8.2006 
COM(2006) 467 final 

2004/0153 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning the 

common position of the Council on the adoption of a Decision of the European 
Parliament and of the Council establishing an action programme in the field of lifelong 
learning 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
 
2004/0153 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty 

concerning the 

common position of the Council on the adoption of a Decision of the European 
Parliament and of the Council establishing an action programme in the field of lifelong 
learning 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the EP and the Council 
(document COM(2004)474 final): 

14 July 2004 

Date of the opinion of the European Economic and Social 
Committee: 

10 February 2005 

Date of the opinion of the Committee of the Regions: 

23 February 2005 

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament, first reading: 

25 October 2005 

Date of the revised proposal of the Commission 
(document COM(2006)236 final): 

Date of political agreement in Council: 

Date of adoption of the common position: 

24 May 2006 

27 June 2006 

24 July 2006 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL 

2.1. 

2.2. 

Based  on  Articles  149  and  150  of  the  Treaty,  the  proposal  was  to  establish  a  new 
integrated Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013, to replace the existing Socrates, 
Leonardo da Vinci, eLearning, and related programmes, which expire at the end of 
2006.  

The  Lifelong  Learning  Programme  will  comprise  four  specific  programmes: 
Comenius,  for  general  education  activities  concerning  schools  up  to  and  including 
upper  secondary  level;  Erasmus,  for  education  and  advanced  training  activities  at 
higher  education  level;  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  for  all  other  aspects  of  vocational 
education and training; and Grundtvig for adult education. In addition, the proposal 
incorporates  a  “transversal”  programme  incorporating  four  key  activities,  to  cover 
the  policy  issues  outlined  above,  and  to  make  specific  provision  for  language 
learning  and  ICT-related  activity  where  these  fall  outside  the  specific  programmes; 
and for a more substantial dissemination activity; and a Jean Monnet programme to 
support  action  related  to  European  integration  and  European  institutions  and 
associations in education and training.  

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
 
 
2.3. 

3. 

3.1 

3.2 

3.3 

4. 

4.1 

The proposal addresses important needs concerning the modernisation and adaptation 
of  Member  State  education  and  training  systems,  particularly  in  the  context  of  the 
strategic  Lisbon  goals,  and  brings  European  added  value  directly  to  individual 
citizens participating in its mobility and other cooperation actions.  

COMMENTS ON THE COMMON POSITION 

The  Council  adopted  the  common  position  on  24  July  2006  by  unanimity.  The 
Commission can endorse the text, as it can be considered an appropriate compromise 
which is very largely based on the revised Commission proposal.  

In relation to the revised Commission proposal, two changes of substance have been 
made in the common position, with the prior agreement of the Parliament: 

a) 
reverting  to  the  Commission’s  original  proposal  for  the  administration  of 
multilateral  projects  in  the  Comenius,  Erasmus,  Leonardo  da  Vinci  and  Grundtvig 
sub-programmes;  

b) 
adding  the  International  Centre  for  European  Training  (CIFE)  in  Nice  to  the 
list of institutions designated to be able to receive operating grants without the need 
for a call for proposals.  

The first change simply restores the text from the Commission’s original proposal, so 
requires  no  comment.  As  regards  the  second  change,  the  Commission  stated  in  the 
Parliament’s  plenary  debate  on  24  October  that  it  would  not  oppose  an  agreement 
reached between the Parliament and the Council on the institutions to be designated 
under Article 37 of this Decision. The inclusion of CIFE is therefore accepted by the 
Commission. 

The  Commission  notes  that  the  equivalent  of  the  financial  envelope  of  EUR  6,200 
million in 2004 prices referred to in the common position (Article 14) is EUR 6,970 
million in current prices.  

CONCLUSION 

The Commission considers that the common position adopted by the Council on 24 
July 2006 by unanimity is appropriate. It notes that the Chairman of the Committee 
on Culture and Education of the European Parliament has indicated in a letter to the 
Council  Presidency  that  if  the  common  position  was  adopted  as  such  he  would 
recommend  to  the  Committee  to  approve  the  common  position  in  second  reading. 
The  Commission  can  therefore  support  the  common  position  which  reflects  the 
agreement reached between the three institutions.  

EN 

3 

   EN