Brussels, 14/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - The second meeting of the Vision Group, held in Brussels this week within the framework of the French Council Presidency under the chairmanship of the Mayor of Tours, Professor Jean Germain (entrusted with this mission by European Affairs Minister Pierre Moscovici and Education Minister Jack Lang), allowed considerable progress to be made on the content of the draft action plan relating to mobility in Europe, among students and teaching staff (see EUROPE of 21 July, p.14 and 28 July, p.9). Participants insisted on the need for this action plan to be "a tool box presenting a list of ideas and proposals that are not binding in order to lift the obstacles to mobility, from which each member country will take what interests it", said the Presidency spokesman. As an example of the proposals, he cited linguistic preparation and the training of operators, the setting in place of a system of loans to mobility and the establishment of a mechanism for the exchange of good practices.
This project must at present be approved by the ministers who meet in seminar on 30 September in Paris on the theme of mobility. The French Presidency hopes they will take on board at least some of the suggestions proposed in the draft action plan. If this is the case, the formal Council of EU Education Ministers, which is to meet on 9 November, could give its formal agreement to the action plan which would then be included in the conclusions of the Nice Summit, in December, specified the spokesperson. The Heads of State and Government requested during their summit in March, in Lisbon, that the obstacles to the mobility of students and teachers be removed.