Parliamentary question - O-000038/2017Parliamentary question
O-000038/2017

European Qualification Framework for lifelong learning

Question for oral answer O-000038/2017
to the Commission
Rule 128
Thomas Händel, on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs

Procedure : 2016/2798(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
O-000038/2017
Texts tabled :
O-000038/2017 (B8-0218/2017)
Votes :
Texts adopted :

Qualifications differ across the European Union, and that make it difficult to assess the knowledge and capabilities of workers and learners.

In 2008, Parliament and the Council adopted a Recommendation on the establishment of a European Qualifications Framework (EQF) for lifelong learning with the aim of improving the transparency, comparability and transferability of qualifications in Europe. The EQF’s objectives have not yet been fully achieved. As part of its New Skills Agenda, therefore, the Commission is proposing to revise the system through a new Council Recommendation.

1. How will the proposed Recommendation facilitate equal opportunities in the knowledge- based society and a better permeability between the education and training system. How will it help to match the supply and demand of skills in the labour market?

2. Why would the revised EQF work better? Why did the Commission deem a revision necessary, despite the current framework being only partially implemented and Member States’ calls to focus on this?

3. How is the framework contributing to the swift validation of informal and non-formal learning? How is the new relationship between ECTS and ECVET expected to work?

4. How will the Commission support a consistent implementation of the EQF across the Member States, its use and involvement by all the relevant stakeholders, as well as its better visibility?

5. By using the EQF as a meta-framework, how will the Commission ensure that the specific features of national training and education systems can be recognised and understood in other Member States?

6. The growing migration flows to and from the EU highlight the need for a better understanding of qualifications awarded outside the EU and of their recognition in order to help migrants and refugees integrate into EU labour markets. How does the Commission intend to support the development and application of mechanisms to enable the comparison and recognition of third countries’ qualifications?