(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament ,

–   having regard to the Commission proposal to the European Parliament and the Council (COM(2002) 751)(1) ,

–   having regard to Article 251(2), Article 149(4) and Article 150(4) of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C5-0630/2002),

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

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A5-0080/2003),

A.   whereas the financial statement of the Commission proposal, as modified and attached to the current report, is compatible with the ceiling of heading 3 of the Financial Perspective without restricting existing policies.

1.  Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

2.  Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it intends to amend the proposal substantially or replace it with another text;

3.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

(1) Not yet published in the Official Journal.

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 149(4) and Article 150(4) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1) ,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2) ,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee for the Regions(3) ,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(4) ,

Whereas:

(1)  The objectives of the education and training programmes Socrates(5) and Leonardo da Vinci(6) include the development of open and distance learning, and the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) .

(2)  The conclusions of the European Council meeting held in Lisbon on 23 and 24 March 2000 ("the Lisbon Council"), emphasised the need for adaptation of European education and training systems to the needs of the knowledge economy, and declared the promotion of new basic skills, in particular in information technologies, as one of the three main components of this new approach.

(3)  The conclusions of the Lisbon Council call for investment in people and stress the need to ensure that the emergence of this new economy does not compound existing social problems of unemployment, social exclusion and poverty. The conclusions call for the promotion of digital literacy throughout the Union.

(4)  The Action Plan eEurope 2002(7) , developing the Lisbon strategy, presented the eLearning initiative as its educational component, and fixed a series of ambitious targets, inter alia, for connecting schools to Internet and for providing the necessary training to a sufficient number of teachers. The Action Plan eEurope 2005(8) further identifies eLearning as an important policy measure.

(5)  The initiative "eLearning - Designing tomorrow's education"(9) , launched in May 2000 by the Commission in response to the Lisbon European Council was endorsed by the European Council at its meeting in Santa Maria da Feira in June 2000. At its meeting in Stockholm in March 2001, the European Council noted the positive results of the initiative.

(6)  The "eLearning Action Plan"(10) developed the four action lines of the eLearning initiative (infrastructures and equipment, training, European quality content and services and cooperation at all levels) in ten key actions, bringing together the various Community programmes and instruments, for increased coherence and synergy between them and for enhanced accessibility to users.

(7)  In its resolution of 15 May 2001 (11) on the abovementioned Commission communications on the eLearning initiative and action plan, the European Parliament recognised that the eLearning initiative is helping to strengthen the idea of a "single European educational area", which complements the European research area and the European single market, and calling for it to be developed independently under a new specific programme, with a clear legal basis, avoiding duplication with existing programmes and providing more visibility and added value to Community action.

(8)  The eLearning initiative was also the subject of positive opinions by the Economic and Social Committee(12) and the Committee of the Regions (13) .

(9)  The Council Resolution of 13 July 2001 on e-Learning (14) endorsed the measures referred to above, and called upon the Commission to continue and intensify its actions in this field.

(10)  The Commission adopted, on 21 November 2001, the Communication "Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality"(15) , signalling the potential of e-learning for enabling and managing new educational opportunities to this end.

(11)  The level of appropriations allocated to the preparatory action by the budgetary authority should be maintained in order to ensure the continuation of the action, in accordance with political priorities.

(12 )  There is a need to address the problem of social exclusion resulting from the inability of some individuals to take full advantage of the benefits offered by ICT and the Internet in the knowledge society, the so-called "digital divide", which often affects young people and social categories who are already victims of other forms of exclusion. E-learning has the potential to strengthen social cohesion and to avoid the risks of increased social exclusion, especially for disabled people and the elderly .

(13)  Close attention needs to be paid to the training of teachers so that they are able to use ICT and the Internet in the classroom in a critical and educationally responsible manner.

(14)  The spread of digital television and free access to what it has to offer are of crucial importance in opening up access to e-learning opportunities for all sections of the population irrespective of their social or geographical situation. To this end, interoperability should be guaranteed in accordance with Article 18 of European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/21/EC of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive) (16) .

(15 )  Close attention should be paid to gender differences in the use of e-learning and the promotion of equal opportunities in this field.

(16 )  E-learning has the potential to help the Union respond to the challenges of the knowledge society, to improve the quality of learning, to facilitate access to learning resources, to address specific needs, in particular for disabled people, and to bring about more effective and efficient learning and training at the workplace, in particular in small and medium-sized enterprises.

(17 )  The need for a European dimension in higher education was identified in the Bologna Declaration, signed by 29 European Ministers for Education on 19 June 1999, together with the importance of developing an e-learning dimension in this context, in particular with regard to the development of curricula, mutual recognition systems, quality assurance, mobility programmes, and integrated study, training and research programmes, for teachers, researchers and administrative staff.

(18)  The European Union should pay close attention to the effective, early establishment of virtual higher education campuses with a view to offering quality European curricula as part of mobility programmes already in place or in the pipeline, such as Erasmus Mundus.

(19 )  The conclusions of the Barcelona European Council of 15 and 16 March 2002 called for a European-wide school-twinning action, and were followed by the Commission Report on school twinnings via Internet(17) , presented to the Seville European Council .

(20 )  There is a need for European quality services and content for education and training which are multilingual, multicultural and affordable for education and training systems. It is also necessary to develop a vibrant private and public European marketplace(18)  and to facilitate public access to multimedia for learning purposes.

(21 )  In order to reinforce the added value of Community action it is necessary to ensure coherence and complementarity between the actions implemented in the framework of this Decision and other relevant Community policies, instruments and actions, in particular the Information Society Technologies thematic priority of the sixth framework programme for research(19) .

(22 )  The candidate countries for accession to the European Union and EFTA-EEA states should be able to participate in the programme. Experts and educational institutions from other third countries should be able to participate in the exchange of experience in the framework of existing cooperation with these third countries.

(23 )  This programme should be regularly monitored and evaluated in cooperation between the Commission and the Member States in order to allow for readjustments, particularly in the priorities for implementing the measures. The evaluation should include an external evaluation to be conducted by independent, impartial bodies.

(24 )  Since the objective of the proposed action, namely the promotion of European cooperation to improve the quality of and accessibility to education and training by an effective use of e-learning, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States because of the transnational dimension of the actions and measures necessary, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

(25 )  This Decision lays down, for the entire duration of the programme, a financial framework constituting the prime reference within the meaning of point 33 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure(20) , for the budgetary authority during the annual budgetary procedure .

(26 )  The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(21) ,

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Establishment of the programme

1.  This Decision establishes the eLearning Programme, a multi-annual programme for the improvement of the quality and accessibility of European education and training systems through the effective use of information and communication technologies (ICT) , hereafter referred to as "the programme"

2.  This programme shall be implemented over a period starting on 1 January 2004 and ending on 31 December 2006 on the same financial and administrative basis as the one set up for the preparatory action, in accordance with the joint statement of 20 July 2000 on financial programming (22) .

Article 2

Objectives of the programme

1.  The overall objective of the programme is to promote and facilitate the effective use of ICT in European education and training systems, as a contribution to a quality education and an essential element of their adaptation to the needs of the knowledge society and of the European model of social cohesion.

2.  The specific objectives of the programme are:

Article 3

Areas of intervention of the Programme

1.  The objectives of the programme shall be pursued in the following areas of intervention, in accordance with the action lines described in the Annex:

2.  These actions shall be realised in accordance with the procedures set out in the Annex, and through the following approaches, which may be combined where appropriate:

Article 4

Implementation of the programme and cooperation with the Member States

1.  The Commission shall:

2.  The Member States shall:

Article 5

Implementing measures

1.  The following measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision shall be adopted in accordance with the management procedure referred to in Article 6(2):

2.  All other measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 6(3).

Article 6

Committee

1.  The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by the representative of the Commission.

2.  Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at two months.

3.  Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 3 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

4.  The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.

Article 7

Cooperation with other programme committees and information on other Community initiatives

1.  To ensure the consistency of this programme with other measures referred to in Article 8, the Commission shall keep the Committee regularly informed about Community initiatives taken in the fields of education, training and youth, including cooperation with international organisations.

2.  The Commission shall ensure that information concerning the execution of the programme is regularly communicated to other related programme committees.

Article 8

Consistency and complementarity

1.  The Commission shall, in cooperation with the Member States, ensure overall consistency and complementarity of the programme with other relevant Community policies, instruments and actions, in particular with the education and training programmes Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci and Youth.

2.  The Commission shall ensure efficient linkage and, where appropriate, coordinated actions, between this programme and the programmes and actions in the area of new technologies for education and training, in particular with the relevant actions for research, technological development and demonstration activities under the sixth framework programme for research .

Article 9

Funding

1.  The financial framework for the implementation of the programme for the period specified in Article 1 is hereby set at EUR 54 million .

2.  The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective.

Article 10

Distribution of funds

Article 11

Participation of EFTA-EEA States, and candidate countries for accession to the European Union

The conditions and modalities for the participation of EFTA States which are members of the EEA and countries candidate for accession to the European Union in this programme shall be established in accordance with the relevant provisions of the instruments governing the relations between the European Community and these countries.

Article 12

Cooperation with third countries

On the initiative of the Commission, experts from third countries other than those referred to in Article 11 may be invited to participate in conferences and meetings with the exception of meetings of the Committee.

The funds allocated for the reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses, under the applicable Commission regulations, shall not exceed 0.5% of the programme's total budget.

Article 13

Monitoring and evaluation

1.  The Commission shall regularly monitor the programme in cooperation with the Member States. The results of the monitoring and evaluation process shall be utilised when implementing the programme.

This monitoring shall include the report referred to in paragraph 3 and specific activities.

2.  The Commission shall ensure external evaluation of the programme, both mid-term and at the moment of its completion. This evaluation is intended to assess the relevance, effectiveness and impact of the various actions, and it shall also consider the overall impact of the programme. Special attention shall be paid to issues of social cohesion and equal opportunities .

This evaluation shall also examine the complementarity between action under the programme and that pursued under other relevant Community policies, instruments and actions.

3.  The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions an ex-post evaluation report by 31 December 2007.

Article 14

Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at,

For the European Parliament For the Council

The President The President

(1) OJ C ... (2) OJ C ... (3) OJ C ... (4) Position of the European Parliament of 8 April 2003. (5) European Parliament and Council Decision No 253/2000/EC of 24 January 2000, establishing the second phase of the Community action programme in the field of education 'Socrates' (OJ L 28, 3.2.2000, p. 1 ). (6) Council Decision 1999/382/EC of 26 April 1999 establishing the second phase of the Community vocational training action programme 'Leonardo da Vinci' , (OJ L 146, 11.6.1999, p. 33 ). (7) eEurope 2002 - An Information society for all - Draft Action Plan prepared by the European Commission for the European Council in Feira - 19-20 June 2000 (COM(2000) 330 ). (8) Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - eEurope 2005: An information society for all - An Action Plan to be presented in view of the Sevilla European Council, 21/22 June 2002 (COM(2002) 263 ). (9) Communication from the Commission on e-Learning - Designing tomorrow's education (COM(2000) 318 ). (10) Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the eLearning Action Plan - Designing tomorrow's education (COM(2001) 172 ). (11) OJ C 34 E, 7.2.2002, p. 153. (12) OJ C 36, 8.2.2002, p. 63 . (13) OJ C 144, 16.5.2001, p. 34 . (14) OJ C 204, 20.7.2001, p. 3 . (15) COM(2001) 678 . (16) OJ L 108, 24.4.2002, p. 33. (17) COM(2002) 283 . (18) Council Decision 2001/48/EC of 22 December 2000 adopting a multiannual Community programme to stimulate the development and use of European digital content on the global networks and to promote the linguistic diversity in the information society (OJ L 14, 18.1.2001, p.32). (19) Decision No 1513/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 concerning the sixth framework programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities, contribution to the creation of the European Research Area and to innovation (2002 to 2006) (OJ L 232, 29.8.2002, p. 1). (20) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1. (21) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. (22) OJ C 197, 12.7.2001, p. 355.

The action lines are a means to implement the general objective of the programme: to foster the development and appropriate use of e-learning in Europe, and to accompany Member State efforts in this field. They are structured according to the four areas of intervention of the programme.

1.1.  Action Line 1"e-learning for fighting the digital divide"

This action covers the use of e-learning to address problems associated with the digital divide, which is a new or additional form of social exclusion resulting from the inability of some individuals (notably immigrants) to take full advantage of the benefits offered by ICT and the Internet in the knowledge society. Action in this field must cover both conceptual and practical issues, from the understanding of digital literacy to identification of remedial actions for specific target groups.

(a)  Understanding digital literacy. Digital literacy is one of the essential skills and competencies needed to take an active part in the knowledge society and the new media culture. Digital literacy also relates to media literacy and social skills , as they have in common objectives such as active citizenship and the responsible use of ICT . This action should foster awareness and understanding of these essential skills and competencies, and of how ICT can aid their acquisition in a lifelong learning context. This reflection should address the different ways and levels that ICT may be used for learning, working, citizenship and personal fulfilment. It will work via the:

(b)  Identification and dissemination of good practice in the use of e-learning to fight the digital divide. This action should provide relevant information on the use of different e-learning models, via assessment and documentation of good case studies with particular emphasis on:

(c)  Awareness and information actions via European networks in this field. This line will support actions against the digital divide carried out by European networks, associations, public authorities, public-private partnerships, or any other form of cooperation . It will support contacts and exchange of good practice between them, including whenever appropriate support for the creation of new networks, for example, of European projects under the various Community programmes.

1.2.  Action Line 2: "European virtual Campuses"

This action line aims at providing an "e-learning dimension" to European initiatives in the field of higher education . It will contribute to the creation of a European Area of Higher Education, and will , in particular, build on the Bologna Process.

(a)  Support of the Bologna process. This action aims at developing the "e-learning aspects" of the various components of the Bologna process, and in particular those concerning:

These projects should be based on institutional agreements, whenever possible extending or complementing existing cooperation agreements in the context of the Erasmus or Erasmus Mundus programmes.

(b)  Trans-national virtual campuses. The programme could support a limited number of strategic projects to be proposed by higher education establishments from, at least, three Member States. Cooperation models for e-learning should be developed in the following areas:

(c)  European e-learning models for higher education . These projects should develop new models for cooperation between European higher education institutions, in particular addressing:

(d)  Initiatives for the networking of virtual campuses . This action will support the creation and dynamisation of networks of virtual campuses, fostering exchange of good practice and discussion of new models, challenges and risks.

1.3.  Action Line 3: " Twinning of primary and secondary schools "

This action line will facilitate school twinnings via the Internet, helping European schools to build pedagogical partnerships with schools elsewhere in Europe, fostering language learning and intercultural dialogue. The action will encompass both primary and secondary schools .

(a)  Identification and analysis of existing initiatives. This action should analyse existing practices, with a view to drawing the relevant conclusions for the organisation of the new action. It will conclude in a series of reports on:

(b)  Creation of a support network in cooperation with Member States. This network would be made up of teachers or educators with experience in the area of European cooperation . It will provide pedagogical support and guidance, tools and services for finding partners and guidelines and methods for exchange of experience;

(c)  Creation of an Internet platform as a hub of the twinning action. This action consists in the building of a multilingual website, as a platform for cooperation and communication between participants, and for showcasing good practice;

(d)  Promotion and communication actions. The success of the initiative depends on a dynamic communication action, anchored in the website, and including, inter alia, the design of an attractive visual image, publications, press releases, preparation of fact-sheets on school projects, launching and closing events, competitions and awards.

1.4.  Action Line 4: Transversal actions and monitoring of e-learning

In addition, funding will be given to transversal actions, such as:

(a)  Support for active monitoring of the eLearning Action Plan. This action would provide increased coherence and visibility to EU actions on e-learning, via the:

(b)  Maintenance of an e-learning portal , providing easy , one-stop access to European activities in the field of e-learning and to existing information sources, directories, data bases or knowledge repositories and facilitating user-friendly access to EU programmes, projects, studies, reports and working groups;

(c)  Organisation of an e-learning annual conference, as a meeting point for assessment of progress and presentation of good projects demonstrating the added value of e-learning for different users and needs;

(d)  Awareness and information actions via European networks. This action would support European networks in the field of e-learning, and relevant activities such as focussed conferences, seminars, or workshops on key e-learning themes such as quality assurance, as well as any other mechanisms for fostering European debate and exchange of good practice in this field;

(e)  Design of projects for the development of new technologies related to translating and interpreting languages, for use in disseminating knowledge and training;

(f )  Participation in international projects related to good and effective use of ICT for education and training, such as, for example, those under way at the OECD (PISA), the IEA (TIMSS, SITES), or UNESCO (digital literacy)(1) , focusing in particular on best practice in Australia, New Zealand and Canada;

(g )  Design and development of monitoring, analysis and forecasting tools for e-learning in Europe, including the funding of specific surveys, studies and intelligence-gathering activities on the real use of e-learning in the different educational contexts; this would form the basis of a virtual structure for providing meaningful and timely information on e-learning in Europe, for academia , industry and policy-making needs in cooperation with Eurostat, the European Investment Bank and international organisations (e.g. OECD).

1.5.  Technical support actions

In addition, the programme will be supported by actions aiming at the dissemination of results (eg publications, Internet referencing, showcasing projects and events), and, if necessary, by strategic studies addressing emerging problems or opportunities, or any other key issues for the development of e-learning in Europe. The programme will also support continuing feedback by users and participants, and its final external evaluation.

2.   methods of implementation and arrangements for budget intervention

Funding will be granted following a call for tenders and calls for proposals.

There will be a 100% financing for purchased services (such as studies, publications or experts) and possibly for the contribution to a future Executive Agency, which is under study.

The delivery mechanisms provided for in the proposal follow broadly the usual Community approach to grants and co-funding on the basis of a detailed financial request. There will also be parts that are fully financed by the Community, such as the support network and the central web site for the school twinning action. Funding will be granted following calls for proposals and a call for tenders.

The programme will be managed at central level by the Commission, with possible assistance from a future Executive Agency, the creation of which is currently being studied . The appropriation is intended to cover expenditure for studies, meetings of experts, information, conferences and publications directly linked to the objective of the programme, plus any other expenditure on technical and administrative assistance not involving public authority tasks.

Some co-financed actions (eg action 3) could be carried out with specific networks (EUN, EUA) having a de facto monopoly. EUN is a network of ministries of education in all the Member States and in several applicant countries. EUA is the European Association of Universities, bringing together over 500 universities.

(1) PISA: Programme for International Student Assessment; TIMSS: Third International Mathematics and Science Study; SITES: Second Information Technologies in Education Study; and IEA: International association for the evaluation of educational achievement.