CELEX: 51985PC0431
Language: en
Date: 1985-08-01
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION ADOPTING AN ACTION PROGRAMME OF THE COMMUNITY IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR TECHNOLOGY - COMETT (1986-1992)

13.9.85                                Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 234/3
                                                               II
                                                       (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Decision adopting an action programme of the Community in education
                                     and training for technology — Comett (1986-1992)
                                                      COM(85) 431 final
                                (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 6 August 1985)
                                                        (85/C 234/03)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES:                           Whereas the Council in its conclusions on technological
                                                                   change and social adjustment of 7 June 1984 (4) has
                                                                   requested the Commission to develop, and where
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European              necessary to initiate, work with the purpose of
Economic Community, and in particular Article 128                  strengthening cooperation between industry and training
thereof,                                                           institutions, in particular in advanced training institutions
                                                                   so as to improve the provision of initial training and the
                                                                   transmission of new skills to those whose employment is
Having regard to Council Decision 63/266/EEC of 2
                                                                   affected by technological innovations;
April 1963 laying down general principles for
implementing a common vocational training policy (')
and in particular the second, sixth, seventh, ninth and
tenth principles thereof,                                          Whereas the Council has adopted measures with a view
                                                                   to     strengthening     technological    cooperation      at
                                                                   Community level, notably with its Decisions 85/141/
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                 EEC (*), 85/195/EEC (6), 85/196/EEC (7) and 85/197/
                                                                   EEC (8) concerning ESPRIT, Biotechnology, Brite and
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia-               the plan to stimulate European scientific and technical
ment,                                                              cooperation and interchange;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                   Whereas the European Council, at its meeting in March
Social Committee,                                                  1985, reiterated the importance of strengthening the
                                                                   technological base and competitiveness of industry and,
Whereas the fundamental objectives of the common                   in that context, emphasized the necessity to make better
vocational training policy set down in the second                  use of human resources, in particular by means of
principle of Decision 63/266/EEC refer in particular to            increased cooperation between higher education and
broadening vocational training on the basis of a general           industry (');
education to meet requirements arising from technical
progress and relating closely the different forms of
vocational training to the various sectors of the                  Whereas the Council (Education) at its meeting on 3
economy;                                                           June 1985 indicated guidelines on the principal objectives
                                                                   for joint action in this field;
Whereas the Council has already agreed to Community
action in this direction through its resolution on
vocational training and new information technologies of            Whereas the European Parliament on 24 May 1983
2 June 1983 (2) as well as through the Council resolution          adopted a resolution on the competitiveness of
and Ministers of Education meeting within the Council              Community Industry (10) in which it called for greater
on the introduction of new information technologies in
education of 19 September 1983 (J);                                 (4) OJ No C 184, 11. 7. 1984, p. 1.
                                                                    (») OJ No L 55, 23. 2. 1985, p. 1.
                                                                    (•) OJ No L 83, 25. 3. 1985, p. 1.
                                                                    (0  OJ No L 83, 25. 3. 1985, p. 9.
0) OJ No 63, 20. 4. 1963, p. 1338.                                  (*) OJ No L 83, 25. 3. 1985, p. 13.
(2) OJ No C 166, 25. 6. 1983, p. 1.                                 O   Bull. EC 3-1985.
(») OJ No C 256, 24. 9. 1984, p. 1.                                O    OJ No C 135, 24. 5. 1983.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 234/4                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                   13.9.85
efforts to be made in vocational training and training for          embrace all types of economic activity in the private or
managers of undertakings; whereas that resolution                   public sector, particularly those which involve the use of
complements the resolution on vocational training and               new equipment and/or new production processes,
new information technologies (*) and other resolutions,             whether in industry, agriculture or the services sector. It
notably those relating to higher education and the                  covers small and medium-sized firms and agencies, as
development of cooperation between higher education                 well as large companies.
institutions (*) and on the Community research and
development programme in the field of information
technologies (J) and on a plan to stimulate European
cooperation and scientific and technical interchange ( 4 );                                    Article 3
                                                                    The objectives of the Comett programme shall be as
                                                                    follows:
Whereas the exploitation of technological developments
throughout industry will depend on the versatility, skills
and enterprise of the workforce; whereas, in this context,
there is an urgent need to develop, at Community level,               (i) to promote a European dimension in cooperation
a human resources strategy as a vital complement to the                   between universities and industry in advanced level
overall Community strategy for industrial, R & D and                      training relating to innovation and the development
innovation policies;                                                      and application of new technologies;
                                                                     ii) to promote the exchange of experience, the pooling
Whereas cooperation between university and industry to
                                                                          of resources and the realization of economies of
improve training policies should be developed both
                                                                          scale through the joint development of advanced
within Member States, particularly at local and regional
                                                                          training programmes;
level and across the Community;
                                                                    (iii) to strengthen and diversify provision for advanced
Whereas the Advisory Committee for Vocational                             training at local and regional level and contribute to
Training has given an opinion on this matter,                             the balanced economic development of the
                                                                          Community;
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
                                                                    (iv) to identify progressively gaps and new priorities in
                                                                          existing training provision which could be filled by
                                                                          supplementary action both within Member States
                               Article 1                                  and at Community level.
A programme to stimulate, within the European
Community, cooperation between universities and
industry in advanced training, known hereafter as                                              Article 4
Comett (Community Programme in Education and
Training for Technology), and as set out in the Annex, is           The estimate of the amounts needed to implement the
hereby adopted for a seven-year period commencing on                first phase of Comett in the period 1986-1989 inclusive is
1 January 1986. The programme shall consist of two                  80 million ECU. This estimated funding will include
phases. The first phase will last until 31 December 1989,           finance for the different incentive and complementary
and include a mid-term review as provided for in Article            measures set out in the Annex. The financial estimates
6. The second phase will start from 1 January 1990 and              for the period 1990-1992 shall be assessed in the mid-
end on 31 December 1992.                                            term review provided for in Article 6.
                               Article 2                                                       Article 5
In the context of this programme, 'university' is used as           The Commission shall implement Comett on the basis of
the general term covering all types of post-secondary               the measures set out in the Annex to this Decision. The
education and training institutions which offer degree-             Commission shall be assisted by a high-level panel of
level qualifications of diplomas. 'Industry' is used to             experts — drawn from universities and from industry —
                                                                    as well as by consultants. The panel shall be established
C)  OJ No C 161, 20. 6. 1983.                                       in 1986 with the task of advising the Commission on the
O   OJ No C 104, 16! 4. 1984.                                       implementation of the measures set out in the Annex. An
(») OJ No C 13, 17. 1. 1983.                                        annual report regarding the implementation of Comett
(4) O J N o C 3 1 5 , 26. 11. 1984.                                 shall be presented by the Commission to the Advisory
 ---pagebreak--- 13.9.85                                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                     N o C 234/5
Committee for Vocational Training set up under                                                        Article 6
Decision N o 63/266/EEC (') and also made widely
available to other Community groups or committees
active in the field of industrial innovation and research                 A n interim         reviewing the progress achieved during
policies. The Commission shall see to it that there is                    ^    fim    hase (1986.1989)5 together with     guidelines for
consistency and complementarity between this action                       ^      implementation    of   the    second phase of the
programme and programmed Community Research and                           pr0gramme       (1990-1992), shall be submitted by the
Development activities.                                                   Commission to the Council and Parliament by 31
                                                                          December 1988.
0) OJ No 63, 20. 4. 1963, p. 1338/63.
                                                                   ANNEX
              to the draft Decision on the Community Programme in Education and Training for Technology (Comett)
             1. Comett is designed as a range of incentive and complementary measures to stimulate cooperation in the
                advanced training field between universities and industry. These measures are directed at students and
                staff in universities; managers and engineers; scientific, technical and commercial staff in industry, high-
                level technicians, the social partners and trainers.
             2. In the areas in which Community support will be granted, projects to receive Community assistance
                shall be chosen on the basis of their quality, the extent to which they contribute to building up a strong
                sense of European identity, their innovative aspects, and their value in terms of breaking down barriers
                between higher education and industry in relation to advanced training, and their potential scale of
                impact.
             3. During the first phase of Comett (1986-1989), the following measures shall be implemented:
                A. Support for the creation and running of a European network of University—Industry Training Part-
                    nerships (UITPs) which:
                      (i) involve an agreement designed to meet specific needs for highly qualified human resources,
                          drawing university and industry together, on a structured and coordinated basis, together with
                          relevant public bodies and agencies;
                     (ii) provide some or all of the cooperative measures to be carried out: work placements for students
                          and academic staff in industry; secondment of industrial staff to universities; joint development
                          and production of teaching materials; collaboration on the delivery of specially designed
                          retraining and updating programmes for training instructors, managers and industrial staff,
                          especially mid-career staff, and those in small and medium-sized firms;
                    (iii) include a commitment to liaise with counterpart initiatives in other Member States, to receive
                          students, academic and industrial personnel from elsewhere within the Community, to develop
                          cross-national cooperative projects, and to take an active role in a Community-wide network
                          providing technical assistance, monitoring and evaluation.
                B. Specific incentives to encourage the transnational exchange of students and industrial and academic
                    personnel through:
                      (i) a grant scheme for student placement in firms in another Member State;
                     (ii) fellowships for academic staff on detachment to specialized areas of industry;
                    (iii) fellowships for industrial staff on detachment to universities.
                C. Support for the design, development and testing at European level of joint training projects by high
                    technology firms in liaison with relevant university departments in those areas where key skill
                    shortages are identified.
                    Support for advanced training courses for the rapid dissemination of results of research and
                    development in high technology among university staff and students and industry.
                D. Support for multilateral initiatives on distance learning systems using new technologies with
                    particular emphasis on the training of trainers and managers.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 234/6                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                     13.9.85
                E. Complementary measures carried out by the Commission to encourage university—industry
                   cooperation including:
                     (i) setting up of a data base; dissemination of information and exchange of experience;
                    (ii) networking arrangements for University—Industry Training Partnerships;
                   (iii) monitoring and analysis at Community level of the supply and demand of skilled manpower,
                         and the comparative analysis of trends and issues such as the fiscal environment, obstacles to
                         cooperation, the development of credit transfers;
                   (iv) sponsorship of Round Tables for university and industry managers to examine ways of
                         strengthening cooperation and eliminating obstacles to it.
             4. The second phase of Comett (1990-1992) shall serve to consolidate and develop measures launched
                during the first phase. It will in particular:
                A. Strengthen the European dimension of the UITPs by increasing substantially the number of
                   cooperative projects carried out between UITPs in different Member States; include in the network
                   new initiatives in other parts of the Community; encourage the transfer of experience gained into the
                   mainstream of the different systems in each Member State.
                B. Provide for the adaptation and expansion of Comett Community exchange schemes in the light of
                   experience during the first phase and the links developed with research activities at Community level,
                   broadening out as appropriate to encourage the mobility of other categories of students, trainers
                   academic or industrial staff within the framework of university — industry cooperation.
                C. Promote further joint training projects between European industry using prototypes and incentives
                   modified, as appropriate, in the light of experience during the first phase.
                D. Extend the use of open learning systems to improve the quality and delivery of training programmes,
                   and strengthen cooperation involving the training of trainers and managers.
                E. Extend arrangements for the extensive exchange of experience in this field.
             Amended proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 1418/76 on the
                                            common organization of the market in rice
                                                            COM(85) 344 final
                                 (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 13 August 1985)
                                                               (85/C 234/04)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                                 production refunds for broken rice used for the manu-
                                                                         facture of starch and for brewing, with the aim of
                                                                         ensuring that industry has access to such basic products
                                                                         at lower prices than would result from applying
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                    Community levies and common prices;
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 (2)
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                       Whereas the present arrangements regarding production
                                                                         refunds have proved inappropriate to developments in
                                                                         the starch sector; whereas it appears advisable to restrict
                                                                         production refunds for rice starch to starch intended for
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-                        the manufacture of products covered by import
liament,                                                                 arrangements which do not involve agricultural products
                                                                         subject to a common organization of the market;
                                                                        whereas Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 1418/76
                                                                         should be amended accordingly;
Whereas Article 9 of Council Regulation (EEC) No
1418/76 C), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No
1025/84 (2), makes provision for the granting of
0) OJ No L 166, 25. 6. 1976, p. 1.                                      Whereas, to minimize the problems created for those
(2) OJ No L 107, 19. 4. 1984, p. 13.                                     sectors of starch production which will not be eligible for