European Commission, DG Education and Culture
The European Commission fulfils two central tasks. Firstly, it works on proposals for new European legal regulations, which it presents to the European Parliament and Council. Moreover, the EC is the executive organ of the EU, i. e. it is responsible for the implementation of the conclusions of the parliament and the council. It is therefore responsible for the daily business of the European Union: the implementation of policies and programmes and the administration of funds.
The EC employees work in units which are described as DG and Services. The DG Education and Culture (Directorate General for Education and Culture) is, among other things, responsible for VET.
From the EC’s point of view as the main stakeholder in the area of VET at European level, the increasing global competition, the high number of low-skilled employees and the continuous ageing of the European population are the main challenges for the future of Europe. For the Commission, a strong VET sector is decisive for the future competitiveness and innovation of Europe, since it provides the necessary skills, knowledge, and competences for the labour market.
The basis for European cooperation in initial and continuing VET is the Declaration of Copenhagen which was adopted in November 2002 by the education ministers of 31 European countries and by the social partners and the EC, and which initiated the Copenhagen process. For more information click here >>
A core part of the process of European cooperation in the area of VET is the development of common European frameworks and tools in order to enhance transparency, recognition, and the quality of competences and qualifications, whereby the mobility of learners and employees should be facilitated. Among these tools are the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), Europass, the European Credit System for VET (ECVET) and the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework (EQARF). The Copenhagen process is monitored every two years. The first monitoring took place in December 2004 in Maastricht, the second one in December 2006 in Helsinki. On 26 November 2008 the responsible ministers of the participating European countries met in Bordeaux and adopted the Bordeaux Communiqué.
The EU programme Leonardo da Vinci – embedded into the EU programme for Lifelong Learning – looks to the link between policy and practice in the area of VET and provides funding for transnational mobility initiatives, cooperation projects for the development and dissemination of innovations (transfer of innovation), and thematic networks. The range spans from projects which offer individuals the opportunity to improve their competences, knowledge and skills (for example through a stay abroad) to European cooperation projects between educational institutions.
Innovation projects have been at the core of the Leonardo da Vinci programme since the beginning. They aim at a qualitative improvement of VET systems through the development and transfer of innovative policies, strategies, materials, methods and procedures.
http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc60_en.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/doc82_en.htm
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