(Ordinary legislative procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Council position at first reading (14148/1/2020 – C9‑0135/2021),

–  having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 17 October 2018(1),

–  having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 6 February 2019(2),

–  having regard to its position at first reading(3) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2018)0367),

–  having regard to Article 294(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

–  having regard to the provisional agreement approved by the committee responsible under Rule 74(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Culture and Education (A9-0159/2021),

1.  Approves the Council position at first reading;

2.  Takes note of the Commission statement annexed to this resolution, which will be published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union;

3.  Notes that the act is adopted in accordance with the Council position;

4.  Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council, in accordance with Article 297(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

5.  Instructs its Secretary-General to sign the act, once it has been verified that all the procedures have been duly completed, and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council, to arrange for its publication, together with the Commission statement thereon, in the Official Journal of the European Union;

6.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

(1) OJ C 62, 15.2.2019, p. 194. (2) OJ C 168, 16.5.2019, p. 49. (3) OJ C 108, 26.3.2021, p. 965.

Statement by the European Commission on the specific allocations for the platforms of Centres of vocational excellence

Without prejudice to the powers of the legislative and budgetary authority, the Commission commits to allocating an indicative amount of EUR 400 million in current prices to support platforms of Centres for vocational excellence over the whole duration of the programme, provided that the interim evaluation of the programme confirms a positive assessment of the results of the action.