The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Articles 149 and 150 of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to the Commission Communication of 12 November 2007 entitled 'Delivering lifelong learning for knowledge, creativity and innovation: Draft 2008 joint progress report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the Education and Training 2010 work programme' (COM(2007)0703), as well as to the accompanying Commission Staff Working Document (SEC(2007)1484),

–   having regard to the detailed work programme on the follow-up of the objectives of Education and training systems in Europe(1) and to the subsequent joint interim reports on progress towards its implementation,

–   having regard to the Council Resolution of 15 November 2007 on education and training as a key driver of the Lisbon Strategy(2),

–   having regard to Decision No 1720/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2006 establishing an action programme in the field of lifelong learning(3),

–   having regard to the Council Resolution of 15 November 2007 on the new skills for new jobs(4),

–   having regard to the Commission Staff Working Document of 28 August 2007 entitled 'Towards more knowledge-based policy and practice in education and training' (SEC(2007) 1098),

–   having regard to the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning(5),

–   having regard to the Recommendation 2006/143/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 February 2006 on further European cooperation in quality assurance in higher education(6),

–   having regard to the European Quality Charter for Mobility(7),

–   having regard to its resolution of 13 November 2007 on the role of sport in education(8),

–   having regard to the Recommendation 2006/962/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning(9),

–   having regard to its resolution of 16 January 2008 on adult learning: "It is never too late to learn"(10),

–   having regard to its resolution of 23 September 2008 on the Bologna Process and student mobility(11),

–   having regard to its resolution of 23 September 2008 on improving the quality of teacher education(12),

–   having regard to the Presidency Conclusions of the European Council of 13-14 March 2008,

–   having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture and Education and the opinion of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (A6-0455/2008),

A.   whereas European Union is seeking, by 2010, become a world leader in the quality of education and training systems, such systems being crucial to further progress in the Lisbon Process,

B.   whereas progress has been made in increasing the autonomy and the accountability of universities and whereas there is a need to strengthen the support offered to them within this process,

C.   whereas education and training systems should provide equal opportunities for women and men,

D.   whereas incorporating the gender equality dimension into education and training policies is crucial to the success of the Lisbon Strategy, one objective of which is to tackle inequalities between women and men in European labour markets, inter alia by achieving a 60% rate of employment among women by 2010,

E.   whereas Member States must, by working together and exchanging good practice, drive forward reform of their national education and training systems,

F.   whereas coherent and comprehensive lifelong learning strategies and tools agreed by Parliament and the Council should be implemented consistently in order to achieve the Lisbon Strategy objectives and to strengthen the knowledge triangle,

G.   whereas Europe needs higher skill levels, and whereas creativity and innovation ought to be promoted at all stages of education and training,

H.   whereas provision has to be made for future skills needs in the areas of the environment and society, for example by making climate change and other environmental issues cross-cutting subjects in all forms of learning,

I.   whereas curricula should contribute to students' personal development by including the teaching of human rights and European values,

J.   whereas the quality and effectiveness of education and training systems, and their accessibility to citizens, must be seen as major policy goals at European level,

K.   whereas education and training must always have regard to local and regional possibilities, characteristics and needs,

1.  Welcomes the above-mentioned Commission Communication of 12 November 2007 and the improvements which it details;

2.  Notes that action in the field of education and training should be consistently supported with complementary measures of a socio-economic nature to improve the overall standard of living of European citizens;

3.  Stresses the need to integrate migrants and minorities (especially Roma people), and to work on the inclusion of groups with special needs (primarily women and disabled and elderly people) at all levels and in all areas of education; considers that additional support should be provided to migrants, while ethnic minorities and Roma people should be assisted by trained staff who belong to the same minority or at least speak their native language;

4.  Underlines the importance of sport in education and training and the need to give sport particular consideration, for example by enhancing the provision of physical education and sport throughout all forms of education, from pre-primary to university, and calls for at least three teaching periods per week to be set aside for sport in the curriculum and for support to be made available for schools to go beyond this prescribed minimum where possible;

5.  Emphasises the crucial role of families and the social environment in every aspect of education and training;

6.  Notes that education is essential for the social and personal development of both women and men; underlines, therefore, the importance of reinforcing education and training as a fundamental aspect of promoting equality between women and men;

7.  Deplores the fact that educational systems discourage women from entering traditionally male-dominated fields of employment and vocational training, but welcomes measures promoting gender equality and urges Member States to launch programmes aimed at giving women the most diversified professional guidance possible and subsequent assistance in the employment market;

8.  Stresses that the existing inequality of opportunity between women and men as regards high-quality lifelong learning and education are all the more marked in island regions and geographically and socially disadvantaged regions; calls therefore for greater promotion of educational initiatives within the framework of regional policy;

9.  Notes the chronic under-representation of women in certain fields of study, at all levels, as well as in the research sector; encourages therefore practical, positive actions to be taken to remedy the situation;

10.  Observes that students with interrupted study patterns, especially young mothers, can suffer discrimination, and calls for the adoption of more flexible approaches in order to facilitate the resumption of studies or training after the birth of a child and the combining of studies with professional and family life;

11.  Observes that the quality of curricula and teaching must be improved across the board, that teachers" social security must be improved, and that more attention must be paid to their continuing training and mobility;

12.  Emphasises the fact that media literacy and ICT knowledge should be strongly promoted and recommends both that media education should form an integral part of the curriculum at all levels of schooling and that media teaching modules should be offered for teachers and elderly people;

13.  Points out that the transition between different education and training systems and between formal, non-formal and informal learning must be facilitated;

14.  Urges the Council to monitor the practical implementation of European education and learning policies by every Member State; considers that national governments should set national goals in this field in a transparent manner, and should introduce appropriate legislation and relevant measures to ensure the achievement of European standards and, in particular, to ensure that tools adopted at EU level, such as the above-mentioned recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning, the European Qualifications Framework and Europass(13), are implemented;

Pre-primary education

15.  Stresses the need for increased resources for improving material and space conditions and for ongoing staff training to raise the quality of pre-primary education and provide increased resources for investment; universal access to high-quality pre-primary education is an effective way to open up access to lifelong learning for all children, but particularly children from deprived backgrounds and ethnic minorities;

16.  Insists on the importance of children's developing basic skills, learning their mother tongue or the language of their country of residence, and acquiring reading and writing skills as early as possible;

17.  Believes that the learning of a second language should begin at this early stage, but young children's contact with languages must be organised through play and without pressure;

18.  Calls on all Member States to make pre-primary education compulsory;

Primary and secondary education

19.  Emphasises the need to pay special attention to individuals who might otherwise drop out of education at a later stage; believes that special programmes and measures should be adopted to reduce the drop-out rate and that, in cases where dropping out is inevitable and continues to occur, the individuals concerned should be supported and given opportunities to be reintegrated into society and offered appropriate forms of education;

20.  Stresses that primary and secondary education should equip children for autonomous, creative and innovative thinking and make them into media-critical and self-reflecting citizens;

21.  Underlines the importance of the school curricula of each Member State, which should contain courses aimed at fostering and developing creativity and the innovative spirit in children;

22.  Considers that curricula, and their content, must be continually updated in order to remain relevant, enhancing the important role of entrepreneurial skills and volunteering in order to support personal development, and stresses that all Member States must attach greater importance to teacher training and provide more resources for it if they are to make significant progress in achieving the Lisbon Strategy targets in the work programme 'Education and training 2010' and promote lifelong learning within the European Union;

23.  Is convinced that children should learn a second foreign language as early as possible;

24.  Strongly encourages the learning of foreign languages from an early age and the inclusion of foreign-language teaching in all primary school curricula; stresses that, if this goal is to be achieved, sufficient resources must be made available to recruit and train foreign-language teachers;

25.  Considers that the development of personal talents, specific capacities and natural abilities of students has to be a major goal at this stage of education; points out that these capacities may provide the basis for work and employment later on;

26.  Stresses that special attention ought to be paid to those students who have not acquired or are not acquiring basic skills, as well as to exceptionally talented students so that they can maximise the development of their above-average abilities and talents;

27.  Recommends that Member States substantially improve the quality of teachers' academic and professional qualifications, and their training and lifelong learning;

28.  Strongly supports the promotion of continuous and coherent professional development for teachers throughout their careers; takes the view that all teachers should have regular opportunities to improve and update their skills and qualifications, as well as their pedagogical knowledge;

29.  Proposes that Union citizenship programmes that will educate a new generation in the spirit of Union values in areas such as human rights, multiculturalism, tolerance, the environment, climate change should be introduced into curricula as soon as possible;

Vocational education and training (VET)

30.  Notes that both the quality and attractiveness of VET must be enhanced;

31.  Points out that VET ought to be better linked and more coherently integrated into both European and national economies in order to tailor better the educational process to the labour market;

32.  Insists that mobility (not only geographical but also mobility between VET and higher education) of students and teachers be significantly enhanced;

Higher education

33.  Considers that university curricula should be modernised in order to meet current and future socio-economic needs;

34.  Recommends that higher education institutions should, as a matter of priority, develop interdisciplinary programmes on the borders between sciences in order to train specialists capable of solving the most complex problems facing the world today;

35.  Emphasises that students" and pupils" interest in content and study programmes dealing with technology, natural sciences and environmental protection should be increased;

36.  Calls on Member States effectively to boost partnerships between universities and businesses and, in addition, between universities and the many other national, regional and local stakeholders;

37.  Notes that cooperation between European higher education institutions must be significantly enhanced and that, furthermore, qualifications should be made as easily transferable as possible;

38.  Points out that the work of teachers and lecturers in higher education needs to be continually updated as do the programmes used, their contents and work methods;

39.  Suggests that the European Institute for Innovation and Technology be linked to the Bologna Process and taken into account within the framework of the reform of European higher education;

40.  Strongly recommends that Member States improve students' and teachers' mobility, including mobility between countries, programmes and disciplines; stresses, in this context, the importance of implementing the above-mentioned European Quality Charter for Mobility in order to create a genuine European area for lifelong education and training and promote economic, social and regional cooperation;

Lifelong learning

41.  Considers that employers should be encouraged consistently to arrange education and training for their employees, as well as being provided with incentives to enable low-skilled workers to take part in lifelong learning programmes;

42.  Notes that long-term unemployed people from a disadvantaged social background, people with special needs, young people who have been in re-education institutions and former prisoners should especially be taken into consideration;

43.  Stresses that women in particular should be encouraged to take part in training and further training, and special programmes to promote lifelong learning for women must also be provided and promoted in this context;

44.  Stresses that low-skilled and older workers ought to be particularly encouraged and incentives should be provided for them to take part in lifelong learning programmes;

45.  Calls for adult education and lifelong learning programmes to take particular account of those groups of people who are most disadvantaged in the labour market, in particular young persons, women, especially those in rural situations, and the elderly;

46.  Calls for account to be taken of the fact that training in parenting skills for women and men is crucial to people's welfare, to fighting poverty and to social cohesion; against this background, wishes for multi-purpose lifelong learning programmes and training of parenting skills trainers to be set up within the framework of education and learning;

47.  Emphasises that knowledge and qualifications acquired through lifelong learning should be much broader and easily recognised, and to that end considers that the implementation of the above-mentioned European Qualifications Framework and Europass as instruments for the promotion of lifelong learning must also be stepped up;

48.  Considers that more funding for measures to promote mobility should be provided by both European and national authorities at all stages of lifelong learning;

49.  Calls for the advantages of the above-mentioned European Quality Charter for Mobility to be recognised and exploited and for them to be put into practice by the Member States, and for the Commission to carry out a review of implementation in the Member States;

50.  Insists that as many social services and supporting facilities (e.g. childcare) as possible ought to be guaranteed to all students and workers with families;

51.  Believes that voluntary services should be integrated and acknowledged when implementing the Education and Training 2010 work programme;

52.  Is convinced that exchanges of views and mutual teaching and learning among different age groups should be enhanced;

53.  Stresses that lifelong learning programmes must support entrepreneurship, enabling citizens to establish SMEs and to meet the needs of both society and the economy;

54.  Draws attention to the fact that lifelong learning guidance services and information to learners of all age groups ought to be put into place in order to support the above objectives;

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55.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

(1) OJ C 142, 14.6.2002, p. 1. (2) OJ C 300, 12.12.2007, p. 1. (3) OJ L 327, 24.11.2006, p. 45. (4) OJ C 290, 4.12.2007, p. 1. (5) OJ C 111, 6.5.2008, p. 1. (6) OJ L 64, 4.3.2006, p. 60. (7) OJ L 394, 30.12.2006, p 8. (8) OJ C 282 E, 6.11.2008, p 131. (9) OJ L 394, 30.12.2006, p. 10. (10) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2008)0013. (11) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2008)0423. (12) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2008)0422. (13) Decision No 2241/2004/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on a single Community framework for the transparency of qualifications and competences (Europass) (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 6).