CELEX: 51988PC0841(01)
Language: en
Date: 1989-01-02
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION ESTABLISHING THE LINGUA PROGRAMME TO PROMOTE TRAINING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

28. 2. 89                              Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 51/7
                          Article 2                                   — an insurance undertaking authorized for the class
                                                                          of suretyship insurance pursuant to Articles 6 and
            Amendment of existing legislation                             7 of Council Directive 73/239/EEC (2), or
                                                                      — any other natural or legal third person established
Article 27 (3) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 222/77
                                                                          in the Community and approved as guarantor by
of 13 December 1976 on Community transit (') is hereby
                                                                          the Member State in which the guarantee is
replaced by the following:
                                                                          provided.
    '3.    Subject to Article 33 (2), the guarantee shall
    consist of the joint and several guarantee of either:             (2) OJ No L 228, 16. 8. 1973, p. 23.'
    — a credit institution licensed pursuant to Article 3                                   Article 3
        of Council Directive 77/780/EEC (»), or                                         Entry into force
                                                                  This Regulation shall enter into force on . . . (the first
    0) OJ No L 322, 17. 12. 1977, p. 30.                          day of the month following the adoption).
                                                                  This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
(') OJ No L 38, 9. 2. 1977, p. 1.                                 directly applicable in all Member States.
              Proposal for a Council Decision establishing the Lingua programme to promote training in
                                        foreign languages in the European Community
                                                      COM(88) 841 final
                                      (Submitted by the Commission on 9 January 1989)
                                                         (89/C 51/07)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES;                          whose technical and teaching skills should be developed,
                                                                  shall be one of the basic factors of any effective voca-
                                                                  tional training policy; whereas its tenth principle
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European             provides that special measures may be taken in respect of
Economic Community, and in particular to Article 128              special problems concerning specific sectors of activity or
thereof,                                                          specific categories of persons;
Having regard to Council Decision 63/266/EEC of
2 April 1963 laying down general principles for                   Whereas the Treaty provides, in Article 52, for the
 implementing a common vocational training policy O ,             abolition of restrictions on the freedom of establishment,
and in particular the seventh principle thereof,                  and, in Article 59, for the abolition on restrictions on the
                                                                  freedom to provide services; whereas the Treaty also
                                                                  provides for the establishment of freedom of movement
                                                                  of workers, and requires the Council to adopt the
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,               measures necessary for its establishment; whereas an
                                                                  increase in the capacity to communicate in foreign
                                                                  languages will further facilitate the achievement of these
Having regard       to   the   opinion    of  the  European       objectives;
Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                  Whereas, by Directive 77/486/EEC (2), the Council has
 Social Committee,                                                laid down measures to be taken for the initial training
                                                                  and further training of teachers to facilitate the reception
                                                                  of children of migrant workers;
Whereas the seventh principle of Decision 63/266/EEC
provides that the suitable training of teachers and
instructors, whose numbers should be increased and
O OJ No 63, 20. 4. 1963, p. 1338/63.                              (2) OJ No L 199, 6. 8. 1977, p. 32.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 51/8                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                   28. 2. 89
Whereas the European Council has, at its meetings in             Foreign language training in the context of this Decision
Stuttgart (x), Fontainebleau (2) and Milan (3), stressed the    shall refer only to training in the official languages of the
importance which must be attached to foreign language            European Community.
teaching within the Community;
Whereas the establishment of the internal market would
be facilitated by the qualitative improvement of foreign                                    Article 3
language training within the Community to enable the            The principal objectives of the Lingua programme shall
Community's citizens to communicate with each other             be as follows:
and to overcome linguistic difficulties which impede the
free movement of persons, goods, services and capital;
                                                                 (a) to      promote    a    quantitative   and     qualitative
Whereas the Commission has decided to implement a
                                                                      improvement in foreign language training within the
strategy for the elimination of restrictions on grounds of
                                                                      European Community;
nationality to the free movement of workers from other
Member States to posts in certain particular parts of the
public sector; whereas teaching in State educational             (b) to ensure effective measures towards the provision,
establishments is considered as a priority area for action;           for the benefit of enterprises in the European
whereas, therefore, the Lingua programme could                        Community, of the necessary levels of foreign
contribute to the achievement of this objective;                      language expertise in the present and future
                                                                      workforce in order to enable those enterprises to
Whereas the different Community programmes, notably
                                                                      take full advantage of the internal market.
Erasmus (4), Comett (5), 'Youth for Europe' (6) and the
third joint programme for the exchange of young
workers (7)> will not fully achieve their stated objectives
without accompanying measures to promote training in             In particular, the Lingua programme shall be designed to
foreign languages and need to be complemented by such           provide a complementary and catalytic contribution to
measures in the field of vocational training;                   the policies undertaken within Member States to:
Whereas the Council has provided, by Decision . . . , for
complementary principles and measures to promote the               (i) increase opportunities for the teaching and learning
teaching and learning of foreign languages in schools;                 of foreign languages in the Community in voca-
                                                                       tional training programmes, and in particular to
Whereas the estimated amount required to finance the                   encourage the teaching and learning of the less
Community contribution to the Lingua programme in                      widely used languages of the Community,
the five-year period 1990 to 1994 is ECU 250 million,
HAS ADOPTED THE PRESENT DECISION:                                 (ii) raise the quality and standards of provision in this
                                                                       field, by improving the initial and in-service training
                          Article 1                                    of foreign language teachers and trainers, including
                                                                       appropriate preparation abroad,
The European Community action scheme for the the
promotion of training in foreign languages is hereby
established. It will be known as 'the Lingua programme'.         (iii) promote innovation in methods of foreign language
The Lingua programme shall be implemented with effect                  training, and in the exploitation of communications
from 1 January 1990, with an initial phase of five years,              technologies for this purpose.
lasting until 31 December 1994.
                          Article 2
                                                                                            Article 4
In the context of the Lingua programme, the term
                                                                The Lingua programme shall comprise:
'university' shall be used to cover all types of post-
secondary education and training establishments,
including establishments involved in the training of             (a) a common framework of principles for                   the
teachers, which offer, where appropriate, within the                  promotion of foreign language training in             the
framework of advanced training, qualifications and                    European Community, as set out in Article 5;
diplomas of that level, whatever such establishments may
be called in the Member States.
                                                                 (b) a series of measures to be implemented at
                                                                      Community level, as set out in the Annex to this
(') 19 June 1983.                                                     Decision, and as such designed to provide added
O   23 and 24 June 1984.                                              value to measures taken by and within Member
C)  28 and 29 June 1985.                                              States;
(4) OJ No L 166, 25. 6. 1987, p. 20.
O   OJ No L 222, 8. 8. 1986, p. 17.
(*) OJ No L 158, 25. 6. 1988, p. 42.                            (c) the further principles and measures to be undertaken
O   OJ No L 331, 19. 12. 1984, p. 36.                                 in accordance with Council Decision . . .
 ---pagebreak--- 28. 2. 89                                Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 51/9
                             Article 5                              2.     In performing this task, the Commission shall be
                                                                    assisted by a committee of an advisory nature. The
The measures forming part of the Lingua programme to                committee shall be composed of two representatives from
be implemented by the Commission under Article 6 of                 each Member State, appointed by the Commission on
this Decision should support and complement those acti-             the basis of proposals from the Member State concerned,
vities of Member States which comply with the general               one of whom shall be drawn from the educational
principles for implementing a common vocational                     community. Members of the committee may be assisted
training policy and which are intended, in particular, to:          by experts or advisers. The committee shall be chaired by
                                                                    a representative of the Commission. The secretariat of
   (i) encourage young people to acquire a working                  the committee shall be provided by the Commission.
       knowledge of two Community languages in
       addition to their mother tongue(s) as a component
       of their initial vocational education and training and       3.     The Commission may consult the committee on all
       in their preparation for working life,                       questions concerning the implementation of the
                                                                    programme. The Commission shall consult the
                                                                    committee on the general approach concerning the
  (ii) promote the provision of opportunities for university
                                                                    measures provided for by the Lingua programme, and in
       students who so wish to combine foreign language
                                                                    particular on the balanced development of the
       studies with the pursuit of their main discipline(s),
                                                                    programme as a whole, taking into account the need to
       as an integral and recognized component of their
                                                                    promote the use of all Community languages. The
       degree, diploma or other qualification,
                                                                    committee shall also be consulted on the evaluation of
                                                                    the programme and serve as the platform for reviewing
(iii) encourage arrangements which permit intending
                                                                    the development of national policies and practices in this
       foreign language teachers to spend a recognized
                                                                    field.
       period of study and preparation during their initial
       training of at least six months duration in a country
       whose language(s) they intend to teach,                      4.     The representative of the Commission shall submit
                                                                    to the committee a draft of the measures to be taken.
(iv) encourage arrangements which permit practising                 The committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft,
       foreign language teachers to spend, on a regular             within a limit which the chairman may lay down
       basis, recognized periods of further education and           according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by
       training or professional experience in the Member            taking a vote. The opinion shall be recorded in the
       State(s), the language or languages of which they            minutes. In addition, each Member State shall have the
       teach,                                                       right to ask to have its position recorded in the minutes.
  (v) encourage employers to make appropriate provision              5.    The Commission shall take the utmost account of
       for language learning in training programmes at the          the opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform
       work place.                                                  the committee of the manner in which its opinion has
                                                                    been taken into account.
The Member States shall provide a report on their
 activities in this field in the implementation of these prin-      6.     The committee's deliberations shall be confidential.
 ciples and measures not later than 31 December 1992,               The committee shall adopt its own rules of procedures.
 and again not later than 31 December 1994.
                                                                                              Article 8
                              Article 6
                                                                    The annual credits necessary to cover the Community
To give a significant Community impetus to the efforts               contribution to the actions provided for in the
 of Member States to raise the quality and standards of              programme will be established in the annual budgetary
foreign language training, and in particular the initial            procedure, taking into account the results of the
and in-service training of foreign language teachers and            programme as well as any new needs which may emerge
trainers, the Commission shall implement a series of                 during its operation.
supporting measures as set out in the Annex. In
 implementing these measures, account shall be taken by
the Commission of the need to meet the differing needs                                        Article 9
 and situations of all Member States, with particular               The Commission shall see to it that there is consistency
regard to less widely taught and less widely used                    and complementarity between the Community actions to
 languages in the Community.                                         be developed under the Lingua programme and other
                                                                     Comunity programmes involving vocational training and
                                                                     the mobility and exchange of persons, in particular the
                              Article 7
                                                                     Erasmus, Comett and 'Youth for Europe' programmes
 1.     The Commission shall implement the Lingua                    and the third joint programme for the exchange of
 programme pursuant to this Decision and the Annex                  young workers. The Commission shall maintain contact
 thereto, and take account also of the principles and                as appropriate with international organisations active in
 measures established by Council Decision . . .                      this field.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 51/10                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                       28. 2. 89
                           Article 10                                   its operation, as well as, if appropriate, a proposal to
                                                                        adapt it. This report shall incorporate reports from each
An annual report on the functioning of the Lingua                       Member State on the measures taken to implement the
programme shall be submitted by the Commission to the                   objectives of Article 3, and in particular on those relating
Council, the European Parliament and the Economic                       to the common principles set out in Article 5. The
and Social Committee.                                                   Council shall decide on such a proposal not later than
                           Article 11                                   30 June 1994.
The Commission shall submit a progress report on the
                                                                                                   Article 12
implementation of the Lingua programme to the Council
and the European Parliament during the fourth year of                   This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
                                                                 ANNEX
                                                               ACTION I
                               Measures to promote the continuing training of foreign language teachers
             1. Financial aid will be provided through the body or bodies in each Member State designated in
                accordance with Article 6 of Council Decision . . ., to support the expansion of in-service training for
                foreign language teachers and for those involved in teacher-training, or the organization of foreign
                language teaching, as well as supporting their role in creating appropriate frameworks for the exchange
                of young people within the Community. The aim shall be to enable the participation in in-service
                training projects, including those in other Member States, of not less than 10 % of the foreign language
                teachers and teacher-trainers within the European Community during the first phase of the Lingua
                programme. Aid shall be provided specifically to offset the costs incurred by individual foreign language
                teachers engaged in activities to improve the quality of their teaching and the learning opportunities
                they can offer to their students.
            2. In calculating the annual block grant to be allocated to each Member State for this purpose, quantitative
                objectives will be assigned in relation to the number of language teachers involved, the size of the youth
                population aged 21 years and under, and the geographical distance between Member States. The
                maximum grant per beneficiary will be of ECU 1 500.
            3. In the allocation of grants, priority will be given to in-service training activities for foreign language
                teachers and trainers which enable them:
                — to improve their skills of communication in the language and their knowledge of the culture of the
                    host Member State,
                — to establish and develop educational exchanges as referred to in paragraph B below, by setting up on
                    behalf of their own vocational education and training institutions cooperative arrangements with
                    institutions in other Member States designed to improve the quality of foreign language teaching
                    (for example, in the preparation of materials, arrangements for individual placements for students,
                    provision for teacher exchange, computer links, joint projects with partner institutions abroad, etc.).
                                                               ACTION II
            Development of the network for university cooperation to incorporate specific measures to promote the
            learning of foreign languages in universities, and to develop the initial training and preparation of foreign
                                                            language teachers
            1. The Community will develop the European network for university cooperation, established under the
                terms of the Erasmus programme, so as to stimulate Community-wide mobility of students specializing
                in foreign language studies or taking foreign languages in conjunction with another discipline, and in
                particular to promote the initial training of foreign language teachers in accordance with the guideline
                set out in Article 5 (iv) of the Decision. This action, which will be coherent with the Erasmus
                programme and be administered on a coordinated basis with it, will consist of the following measures:
 ---pagebreak--- 28. 2. 89                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 51/11
              (a) inter-university cooperation programmes;
              (b) student grants;
              (c) grants for mobility and exchange of teachers and trainers.
          Inter-university cooperation programmes
          2. Each inter-university cooperation programme to be supported under the Lingua programme will be
             designed to give the students concerned the opportunity to undertake a recognized period of study in at
             least one other Member State, as an integral part of their diploma and/or academic qualification. In
             support of each agreement, the participating institutions will each be able to receive support up to an
             annual ceiling amount of ECU 25 000, normally for an estimated period of three years; the amount
             granted will be calculated on the basis of an assessment of the detailed estimate submitted by the
             institutions concerned.
          Student grants
          3. The Community will provide funds for the direct financial support of students in foreign language
             studies at universities, including especially those preparing to serve as foreign language teachers, to
             enable them to carry out a period of study in another Member State within the framework of the
             European network as defined in paragraph 1 of this action.
          4. In determining a fair balance of grants to be made available, the Community will have regard to the
             number of students to be exchanged within the European network as it develops and will assume an
             average grant of ECU 3 000 per year. A basic minimum number of 150 grants will normally be provided
             each year to each Member State and, having regard to the development of the European network,
             additional grants will be provided to each Member State on the basis of the application of the following:
             total number of students studying foreign languages at universities as defined in Article 2 of the
             Decision as well as the total number of 18 to 25 years old in each Member State. Member States will
             ensure that the distribution of grants encourages the diversification of foreign languages studied.
          5. The Community grants to students will be administered through the competent authorities in Member
             States, already designated by Member States in the framework of the Erasmus programme. The
             competent authorities in Member States will issue grants up to a maximum of ECU 6 000 to each
             student, on the basis of a stay abroad of one academic year, subject to the following conditions:
             (a) the grants will contribute to the additional costs of mobility {including travel costs);
             (b) priority will be given to students on courses which are part of the European network, and who
                 . intend to qualify as foreign language teachers, but grants may also be provided within the
                   framework of the network for students of foreign languages who may intend to pursue other
                   careers;
             (c) grants will be awarded only in cases where the period of study to be spent in another Member State
                   will be granted full recognition by the student's home university;
             (d) no tuition fees will be charged by the host university and, where appropriate, grant holders will
                   continue to pay tuition fees at their home university;
             (e) grants will normally be awarded for periods of study in another Member State of not less than six
                   months' duration. They will not be awarded for the first year of university study;
             (f) maintenance grants and loans available to students in their home Member State will continue to be
                   paid in full to students during their period of study abroad at the host university.
          Grants for mobility and exchange of teachers and trainers in higher education
          6. The Community will provide support for teaching staff and trainers concerned within the teaching of
             foreign languages to visit other Member States:
 ---pagebreak--- No C 51/12                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                     28. 2. 89
              — to enable them to plan and prepare inter-university cooperation programmes with partners in other
                  Member States,
              — to prepare in particular the conditions necessary for the exchange of students and for the recognition
                  of the periods of study accomplished abroad,
              — to exchange experience on the latest developments with regard to the methodology of foreign
                  language teaching,
              — to gain European experience in the organisation of the initial training of foreign language teachers.
           7. Support will also be provided by the Community to encourage greater mobility of teaching staff
              concerned with foreign languages in the Community so as to assist in the development of integrated
              courses and to enable teachers and/or trainers to teach for a period in the universities of the different
              Member States, within the framework of the European network.
                                                           ACTION III
               Measures to promote the development of foreign language teaching and learning in economic life
                                                                 A
          The Community will provide support for the development and dissemination of 'foreign language 1992
           audits', designed to enable enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, to specify the
           extent of their foreign language needs and training requirements. This support will initially take the form
           of a survey of such techniques current in the Member States, followed by developmental activities involving
           a reasonable sample of companies.
                                                                 B
           1. The Community will also provide support on a pilot basis for the development of specific foreign
              language training materials for different sectors of economic life, such as the commercial and legal
              sectors, in the various languages of the Community. Priority will be given in the first instance to a
              survey of economic sectors likely to develop greater foreign language needs in view of the establishment
              of the internal market by 1992. Experience of other Community programmes, such as Eurotra, will be
              taken into account.
           2. Support will be made available for the development of such teaching materials. Priority will be given to
              sectors of economic life in which:
              — demand for foreign language training is expected to increase heavily,
              — small and medium sized enterprises are strongly represented,
              — the new or advanced technologies are involved.
           3. Joint applications for support will be invited from institutions in at least two Member States and must
              show clear evidence of user involvement and the potential of their proposal for wider use. In an initial
              phase, work on not more than three economic sectors will commence in each year. This activity will
              commence in 1991.
                                                                 C
           1. In collaboration with representatives of the relevant profession or economic sector, support will be given
              to institutions responsible for curriculum development and certification in Member States, for the devel-
              opment of foreign language qualifications specific to that profession or sector, and of the courses and
              materials leading to those qualifications.
          2. Joint applications from the bodies mentioned in point 1 above will be invited for support, building on
              the work carried out under paragraph B of this action. Activities under this paragraph will commence in
              1992, and not more than four new sectors will be supported in each Community language in each year.
 ---pagebreak--- 28. 2. 89                                         Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n Communities                              N o C 51/13
                                                                                   D
                    In collaboration with representatives from the economic sector, the Commission will provide support for
                    the setting up of an exchange and mobility scheme for representatives of small and medium sized enter-
                    prises and for those involved in language training in economic life in order to support the learning of
                    foreign languages in companies.
                                                                                   E
                    1. Grants will be made available by the Commission to projects involving at least two Member States
                       which demonstrate the potential of open learning methods for foreign language teaching (including the
                        use of satellites, broadcasting, new methods of multimedia communication, etc.), with particular
                       reference to:
                        (a) the development of materials to accelerate the linguistic induction of visiting students not special-
                            ising in foreign languages into the host country;
                        (b) the development of new approaches to the use of the new information technologies and the media
                            for the teaching and learning of foreign languages so as to facilitate the possibilities for individu-
                            alised instruction on an intensive basis.
                    2. The projects to be supported by the Community, whether they are submitted through the academies or
                       directly by the promoter, will be expected to demonstrate the added value of the cooperation proposed
                        and the innovative potential the achieve higher standards of communication in this field. Preference will
                        also be given to projects that can demonstrate their multiplier potential, not only in their own Member
                        State, but also across national frontiers. Community support will not normally exceed 50 % of the costs
                       of projects approved. In this context account will be taken by the Commission of potential linkages with
                       other programmes, such as Delta, Media and Comett.
                                                                                   F
                    The activities to be supported under this Action will be carried out in collaboration with the academies.
                                                                              ACTION IV
                                                                    Complementary measures
                    The necessary technical assistance will be provided at Community level to underpin the activities
                    undertaken under the Lingua programme as a whole, taking into account the need to promote a balanced
                    development which encourages the teaching of all Community languages. Furthermore, specific provision
                    will be made by the Commission for the animation and continuing evaluation of the Lingua programme
                    and for the dissemination through all the Community languages of experience arising from it.
                    Draft Council Decision for the p r o m o t i o n of the teaching and learning of foreign languages in
                                          the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t y as p a r t of the Lingua p r o g r a m m e
                                                                      COM(88)         841      final
                                                (Submitted       by the Commission             on 9 January       1989)
                                                                            (89/C 51/08)
T H E COUNCIL OF T H E EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                                              H a v i n g regard        to  the opinion of the   European
                                                                                          Parliament,
H a v i n g regard to the T r e a t y establishing the E u r o p e a n
                                                                                          H a v i n g regard to the opinion of the E c o n o m i c  and
E c o n o m i c C o m m u n i t y , and in particular to Article 235
                                                                                          Social C o m m i t t e e ,
thereof,
                                                                                          Whereas the principles established by Article 2 of the
H a v i n g r e g a r d to the proposal from the Commission,                              T r e a t y of R o m e include the task for the C o m m u n i t y