Brussels, 15/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - With a view to the Education Council to be held on 8 June in Luxembourg, Mrs Viviane Reding, European Commisioner with responsibility for education policy, was in Paris last week for a meeting with Jack Lang, the new French Minister for Education, to review coordination of the education activities of the Commission and the French Council Presidency. Mr Lang informed the Commissioner of the three priorities of the French Presidency, which correspond to the Commission's.
1. Follow-up of the Lisbon Summit. In line with the conclusions of this summit, there is a need to develop the role of education and the coordination of education policies in Europe, which entails two aspects: a) the entry of schools into the digital age. This corresponds to the e-learning initiative, to be addressed at the Commission on 24 May; b) Education Ministers' participation in the Luxembourg process (employment).
2. Promotion of the mobility of young people, notably students. French President Jacques Chirac has already announced that this subject will be at the top of the agenda of the Education Council on 8 June. In addition to the EP/Council proposal for a recommendation on removing obstacles to mobility (still being debated) and on the Socrates II programme, Minister Jack Lang wishes to see "more done for mobility" and is proposing detailed reflection upon the practical means of encouraging it. The French aspiration, said Jack Lang, is to multiply the "European universities", develop virtual campuses (cooperation between universities on Internet) and facilitate access to financing for students who wish to take advantage of mobility (this idea of mobility-savings is already in practice in certain Member States, e.g. Germany).
3. Development of language learning. French President Jacques Chirac has endorsed the idea (already developed by Mrs Reding as the basis for the European Year of Languages) of knowledge of the "mother tongue plus two" (other languages). The French Council Presidency is firmly determined to take things forward in this area. The Commissioner stressed the importance of promoting teacher exchanges between Member States, with the purpose of improving the knowledge of languages.