Brussels, 23/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - Follow-up to the Stockholm Summit, e-Learning, and the White Paper on Youth Policy will be among the main topics that Education and Youth Ministers will deal with at the 28 May Council in Brussels. The session will be chaired by the Swedish Ministers of Education, Thomas Ostros and Youth, Britta Lejon. Viviane Reding will represent the Commission. Here is the detailed agenda:
A. Education Council:
1. Stockholm follow-up. Ministers will have a debate of the follow-up to the Stockholm Summit regarding education and training. They should adopt conclusions on the follow-up to the report on "Concrete Future Objectives of Education and training Systems", which was presented in Stockholm. The draft conclusions call on the Council to set three priorities: 1) basic knowledge; 2) information and communications technologies; 3) mathematics, sciences and technology. This test also recalls the important events between now and the Spring Summit to be held in Barcelona in 2002, which are: 1) adoption of a working programme on the methodology to work out; 2) adoption of a joint Commission/Council report with a detailed working programme on the follow-up to objectives regarding education and training; 3) action timetable up to 2010.
2. Role of education and training in employment related policies: the Council should adopt a resolution on this subject. The drat conclusions, notably urge the Commission and Member states to: 1) ensure that the Education Council takes an active part in examining the draft guidelines for employment presented by the Commission and in the definition of useful indicators for education, training and lifelong learning; 2) step-up exchange of experiences and examples of good practice on the ground;
3. Mobility for students, persons undergoing training, young volunteers, teachers and trainers in the EU: the Council should reach a political agreement on this draft recommendation, if the amendments voted in by the EP are accepted by the Council. Formal adoption may come at a later session of the Council;
4. e-learning: the Commission will present its action plan, and the Council could adopt a resolution. The drat resolution urges Member states to: 1) pursue their efforts aimed at integrating information and communications technologies (ICTs) as element of the adaptation process for education and training systems; 2) take advantage of the potential of the Internet, multimedia and virtual learning environments; 3) promote provision of ICT learning opportunities by accelerating the revision of school and higher education curricula; 4) continue in their efforts on training teachers and trainers in the education use of ICT; 5) accelerate the provision of quality equipment and infrastructures for education and training. As for the Commission, it is urged to assist all trans-national technological activities and to report to the Council on the results of all these activities by December 2002 at the latest.
Then, the Presidency will brief ministers on the results of the meeting of European Ministers of Higher Education in Prague (18 and 19 May of this year), and on the agenda of the meeting of Education Ministers to be held in Riga from 28 to 30 June. The Commission will provide information on its forthcoming communication on "Education and Training Cooperation with third countries" (which the College should adopt on 30 May), the state of work on the European Year of Languages 2001 and the forthcoming recommendation on a common European model of Curriculum Vitae.
B. Youth Council:
1) White Paper on European Youth Policy: the Commission will brief ministers of the state of progress of work and tell them of its firm intention to publish the document in the last months of 2001. A Presidency paper will serve as basis for discussions. It is based on the work of the conference of Umea of 16 and 17 March, for which the key topics were: employment, vocational training and social integration, a person's autonomy, European values, mobility, etc.. The Presidency wants ministers to focus on the priorities that should appear in the White Paper.
2) Combating racism and xenophobia on the Internet by intensifying work with the young: the Council should adopt a declaration placing emphasis on the need to encourage Internet services providers, the police and legal authorities of Member States to cooperate to combat the spread of material of a racist or xenophobic nature on the Internet;
3) From exclusion to empowerment: the Council adopt a resolution urging the EU to encourage a sense of initiative, entrepreneurship and creativity among the young.