Brussels, 20/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - The Education Council of Friday 20 May reached a political agreement on a recommendation concerning the promotion of youth mobility for the purposes of education and training, as part of the new European Commission initiative, “Youth in Movement”. Education Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou welcomed the commitment taken by member states to lift the obstacles to training abroad. She said they must work together to remove any obstacles and to improve the recognition of training received abroad.
Mobility with a view to education and training is one of the best ways for people, especially young people, to improve their employability and their self-achievement. The European Union supports this mobility through various programmes and initiatives such as the Erasmus programme, Europass, ECTS and ECVET, systems for transferring and accumulating credits for higher education, and also for education and vocational training. Nonetheless, these instruments are not fully used and many obstacles persist. Recommendations encourage member states to take appropriate measures to lift the barriers to mobility, especially administrative and institutional barriers, which prevent progress being made in this field, in order to keep in line with national legislation and European rules. (I.L./transl.jl)