Council Resolution of 17 December 1999 on 'Into the new millennium': developing new working procedures for European cooperation in the field of education and training
C 8/6 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 12. 1. 2000 COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 17 December 1999 on Into the new millenniumí: developing new working procedures for European cooperation in the field of education and training (2000/C 8/04) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Commission - and agrees, if appropriate, how to take forward individual themes, (1) NOTING that, according to the Treaty establishing the European Community, the Community is to contribute to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation between Member States and, if necessary, by supporting and supplementing their activities, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity and the responsi- bility of Member States for the content and organisation of their own education systems. At the same time, the Commission has initiative in the fields falling under Community competence; the right of (2) NOTING that both the Treaty of Amsterdam and the EU’s Agenda 2000 document have resulted in an increase in the and importance placed on education in skill information-related those which contribute to economic competitiveness and employment in the European Union; that the development of a Europe of knowledge and the promotion of lifelong learning have become shared overall objectives; including policies, (3) AWARE that the Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci programmes remain the most important instruments of cooperation in education and training within Europe; it has however become clear that political coop- that eration at European level needs to be reinforced. In order to achieve this, new working procedures for the Council must be developed in the field of education and training so that the effectiveness of the Council’s work can be further improved; (4) STRESSES the need for a coherent approach to action to in the field of education and training Community level and believes that cooperation in these fields could be reinforced by creating a structured framework for political discussions and activities over the coming years; (5) CONSIDERS that future work in the field of education and training could be organised around a árolling agendaí, based on priority themes which would be included on intervals and which the Council’s agenda at could therefore extend over several Presidencies. These priority themes would be discussed according to a cyclical model made up of a number of flexible steps: regular - the Member are States invited to inform the Commission of and relevant political examples of best practice at national level in relation to the agreed priority themes, initiatives - the Commission provides a summary analysis of the information supplied by Member States to the Council. This should also cover relevant Community action, - the Council considers the Commission’s analysis and, where appropriate, decides on future initiatives; (6) STRESSES that the principal objective in developing such a framework would be to enable greater continuity, effi- the ciency and effectiveness and a strengthening of political impact of Community cooperation in the field of education and training. The new framework for coop- eration would enable a more effective exchange of it could information and good practice. contribute to increased synergies between European coop- eration in the field of education and training and other relevant policy fields; In addition, (7) EMPHASISES the central role of the Presidency in the implementation of in particular by the rolling agenda, ensuring continuity and by maintaining the momentum of the process; (8) STRESSES that this basic model and its components should be implemented whilst fully respecting the prerogatives of the Commission. It would need to be operated flexibly, taking into account new political developments as appro- priate; (9) UNDERLINES the importance of the European Parliament being regularly informed about the discussions and the progress achieved in the framework of the árolling agendaí; (10) CONSIDERS that the new framework of cooperation should be implemented from the beginning of 2000, especially where the basic elements of a árolling agendaí already exist as set out in the Annex; - the Council discusses priority themes of common interest - submitted either by Member States or the (11) INVITES the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, to work up more detailed measures for taking the árolling agendaí forward. 12. 1. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 8/7 INDICATIVE THEMES TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE ROLLING AGENDA ANNEX Within the overall context of instance, be established in particular in the following fields: lifelong learning the abovementioned framework for cooperation could, in the first - role of education and training in employment policies, - develompent of quality education and training at all levels, - promotion of mobility, including recognition of qualifications and periods of study. Other areas for cooperation will be explored on a regular basis taking into account relevant political developments in future years. COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS of 17 December 1999 on the strengthening of cooperation for modernising and improving social protection (2000/C 8/05) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, (1) NOTES with satisfaction the views expressed by the Commission in its communication A concerted strategy for modernising social protectioní and regards it as a good basis for further discussion on European social protection; (2) EMPHASISES that the aim of the European Union should be to ensure a link between economic and social devel- opment, RECALLS the competence of the Member States for the organisation and financing of social protection, that decisions in matters covered by the and STRESSES Community competence should complement and not weaken the conditions under which national social policy is conducted; of and exchange follow-up (3) UNDERLINES the need for cooperation in modernising social protection, based on a structured and permanent dialogue, information, experience and good practice between the Member States, concerning social protection, since they are faced with the same type of challenges in its development; ACKNOWLEDGES the need to discuss the future of social in the new context as protection at a European level outlined in the Commission’s communication. This kind of cooperation should cover all forms of social protection and should help the Member States, where necessary, to improve and strengthen their social protection systems in accordance with their national priorities; (4) CONSIDERS it particularly important that this new coop- eration towards social protection should be a coherent action, parallel to and interactive with the European employment strategy as well as to the macroeconomic dialogue; and modernising improving (5) UNDERLINES the role of the social partners in the modern- isation of the social protection process; (6) ENDORSES the four broad objectives as identified by the Commission as follows: - to make work pay and to provide secure income, - to make pensions safe and pensions systems sustainable, - to promote social inclusion, - to ensure high quality and sustainable health care, and WELCOMES the Commission’s analysis of each of them as a basis for further work by a new high-level group. Public health issues should be handled separately in the appropriate bodies of the Council;