Brussels, 20/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - CDU MEP Doris Pack has welcomed the adoption by the European Parliament in second reading of the Europass, the single EU dossier for transparency of skills and qualifications (see Europe of 18 December., p.16, on the adoption of the Novak report). The single dossier will allow Europeans to be better placed in applying for work and study in all EU Member States, facilitating comparisons and hence the mobility of students and workers in the EU. 'This measure will bring us a further step closer to increasing Europe's competitiveness in the field of knowledge. Without such measures, the Lisbon Strategy or the Bologna Process would remain void of any content,' commented Pack. European Parliament rapporteur on the Socrates programme and the new generation of life-long learning programmes, Doris Pack stressed that the human factor had to be taken into account in the creation of a European area of knowledge. She said that any initiative in this direction had to take account of the needs of European citizens, and Europass was evidence of such a policy. In her recommendation for the European Parliament's second reading, rapporteur Ljudmila Novak (EPP, Slovenia) said the Council had accepted virtually all the amendments made by the European Parliament in first reading. Both institutions wanted to ensure that new documents can be added to the Europass in the future (there are five at present), for example documents concerning IT. The Europass decision comes into force on 1 January 2005 and the Europass itself will be officially launched at a special conference on 31 January and 1 February, under the Luxembourg Presidency.