Brussels, 25/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - Rectors and experts from more than 200 European universities met in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday 24-25 January for a forum organised by the European Commission (DG for Education and Culture) and the European Universities' Continuing Education Network (EUCEN). They discussed the challenges that higher education faces in the new millennium, with a view to identifying best practice and solutions to some of the issues affecting universities today: new "clients" and new services, lifelong learning and quality of teaching, employability and new technologies, local partnerships and international cooperation. Employability is a key for universities in the future and will be one of the leitmotivs of the Socrates II programme (2000-2006) in which more than 2,000 higher education institutions are expected to participate. The conclusions of this forum will contribute to the present debate on the future of higher education in Europe, which will be a central topic at the conference of EU Education Ministers in Lisbon on 17-18 March.