PURPOSE: to adopt a “European Quality Charter for Mobility”.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council (2006/961/EC) on transnational mobility within the Community for education and training purposes: European Quality Charter for Mobility.

CONTENT: mobility in education and training not only forms an integral part of the free movement of persons it is also one of the Community’s main objectives in the field of education and training. Increased mobility is seen as key to the success of achieving the Lisbon targets, namely making Europe the most innovative and competitive knowledge-based economies in the world by 2010.

The 2001 Recommendation on mobility within the Community for students, persons undergoing training, volunteers, teachers and trainers, has been successful in terms of facilitating Community mobility. However, experts agree that, at a European level, it is no longer enough to offer just mobility. Mobility must be accompanied by increased quality. Hence the adoption of the “European Quality Charter for Mobility”, which is the purpose of this Recommendation. The Charter should help to ensure that participants have a positive experience, both in the host country and in their country of origin once they return. This Recommendation, therefore, invites the Member States to adopt and promote the use of the Charter as a means to enhance personal and professional development.

In summary, the Charter offers guidance for mobility undertaken by individual young people or adults for the purpose of formal and non-formal learning and for their personal and professional development. It has been designed as a basic reference document. Its scope and content may be adapted to suit the duration of the mobility and the particularities of the various educational, training and youth activities as well as the needs of the participants. It is primarily addressed to mobility for learning purposes but it does also consider other types of mobility – such as mobility for work. The structure of the Charter is as follows:

Information and guidance: Potential candidates for mobility will be offered equal access to reliable sources of information and guidance.

Learning plan: The learning plan, to be drawn up by both the sending and hosting organisation and participants, should outline the objectives and expected learning outcomes, as well as how these should be achieved and implemented.

Personalisation: Mobility undertaken for education or training purposes should fit in, as much as possible, with the personal learning pathways, skills and motivation of the participants and should develop or supplement them.

General preparation: Prior preparation of the participants is advisable. It should be tailored to their specific needs and should include linguistic, pedagogical, administrative, legal, personal and cultural aspects. Financial aspects should also be included, if necessary.

Linguistic aspects : Participants, and their sending and hosting organisations, will be required to pay special attention to appropriate linguistic preparation. Attention should be given, whenever possible, to language assessments and linguistic support.

Logistical support : Where necessary, adequate logistical support should be provided to the participants – such as travel arrangements, insurance, residence or work permits, social security etc.

Mentoring: The host organisation should provide schemes such as mentoring to advise participants with their effective integration.

Recognition: If a study or placement period abroad is an integral part of a formal study or training programme, this fact should be stated in the learning plan and participants should be provided with assistance to facilitate recognition and certification. For other types of mobility (e.g. non-formal education and training) appropriate documents should be issued demonstrating his/her participation in a credible way.

Reintegration and evaluation: On return to the home country, particularly after long-term mobility, participants should be given guidance on how to make use of competences and skills acquired during their stay.

Commitments and responsibilities: The responsibilities arising from these quality criteria should be agreed by the sending and hosting organisations and the participants. They should preferable be confirmed in writing, so that responsibilities are clear to all concerned.

The Recommendation highlights that the Member States are recommended to:

report on their implementation of this Recommendation and any complementary measures they may choose to take in favour of mobility, particularly in relation to the quality aspects thereof, in their national contributions to the Education and Training 2010 work programme, as from the second year following the adoption of this Recommendation; continue to cooperate closely and coordinate their actions with a view to eliminating obstacles which directly or indirectly impede the mobility of EU citizens; provide appropriate support and suitable infrastructures for mobility for education and training purposes in order to enhance the education and training levels of their citizens; take any necessary steps to promote mobility, to ensure that all relevant information is easily understandable and accessible to all, for instance by means of an introductory guide to mobility or a list of supporting organisations, and to improve the conditions for mobility.

On the other hand, the Commission is invited to:

encourage the use of the Charter by national agencies and other organisations working in the field of education and training and mobility; continue to cooperate with the Member States and the social partners, so that useful information and experience concerning the implementation of the measures advocated in this Recommendation may be exchanged; improve or develop in close cooperation with the relevant authorities gender-specific statistical data on mobility for education and training purposes; consider the present Recommendation as forming a whole with Recommendation 2001/613/EC and therefore to include the biennial reports requested therein in the general reports of the Education and Training 2010 work programme.

03649/2/2006

SP(2006)4772

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the report by Christa PRETS (PES, DE) and following agreement on the text with the Council and the Commission. The three institutions confirmed that t he Charter, in the respective languages of the recipients, should be readily available to all students and persons undergoing training by the authorities, organisations and other stakeholders involved in mobility in countries of origin and host countries, and should be treated as a basic reference framework. Clear information should be provided on each of the points contained in the Mobility Charter, about the role and tasks of the sending and hosting organisations and about the various education and training systems. The Charter should also allow for the specific needs of people with disabilities and for disadvantaged groups. Attention should be paid to the issue of the portability of loans, grants and social security benefits.

The Commission was invited to encourage the use of the Charter by the National Agencies and other organisations working in the field of education and training and mobility. It should also to improve or develop gender specific statistical data on mobility for education and training purposes.

Parliament amendments also emphasised the following:

- a learning plan is particularly important in the case of long-term mobility and may also be useful in that of short-term mobility. Any significant modification of the learning plan should be agreed by all parties. When drawing up the learning plan, the issues of reintegration into the home country and evaluation should be borne in mind. In the learning plan the sending organisation should undertake to recognise successful periods of mobility;

- logistical support should include information on the portability of government grants and loans from the country of origin to the host country;

- in order to enable the participant to demonstrate active participation and learning outcomes , the use of the "Europass" should be encouraged.

T6-0364/2006

Debate in Parliament

A6-0255/2006

A6-0255/2006

The committee adopted the report by Christa PRETS (PES, DE) broadly approving the proposed European Quality Charter on Mobility, subject to a number of amendments tabled under the 1st reading of the codecision procedure:

- the Mobility Charter should also allow for the specific needs of people with disabilities and disadvantaged groups;

- potential candidates for mobility, including people with disabilities and disadvantaged groups, should have equal access, at national and regional level, to reliable information, including the entire set of guidelines contained in the Mobility Charter, the role and tasks of the sending and hosting organisations and about the various education and training systems;

- under the charter, a learning plan should be drawn up in advance with particular emphasis on linguistic preparation;

- in order to encourage mobility, it should also be possible to transfer government grants and loans from the country of origin to the host country.

PE374.357

PE367.961

Pending European Parliament’s first reading on the proposed Recommendation on transnational mobility within the Community for education and training: “European Quality Charter for Mobility”, the Council agreed upon a general approach to the draft Recommendation.

To recall, the proposal builds on the “Education and training 2010” work programme, establishing a common set of principles aimed at increasing efficiency in all organised mobility for learning purposes.

Under the Erasmus programme over 1 million young people have studied in another Member State as part of their studies, thereby helping to increase an understanding of cultural and linguistic diversity as well as to create a European area of education and training in accordance with the objectives of the Lisbon strategy. This kind of mobility ensures that the Erasmus programme is one of the most visible and most recognised by EU citizens.

The proposed Charter consists of ten practical and easily accessible guidelines covering the period from departure, stay and return. The ten guidelines refer to: information and guidance; learning plan; personalisation; general preparation; linguistic aspects; logistical support; and mentoring.

2729

PE370.094

CDR0034/2006

CES0235/2006

PURPOSE : proposal to adopt a European Quality Charter for Mobility , laying down a set of principles in the field of mobility for education and training purposes.

PROPOSED ACT : Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT : Mobility in education and training is an integral part of the freedom of movement of persons and one of the main objectives of the EU’s action in the field of education and vocational training. It is an essential tool for creating a European area of education and training and for developing European awareness. Mobility issues have been incorporated within the general “Education and Training 2010” work programme which is the education and training strand of the Lisbon Strategy. Under this programme, Member States and the Commission cooperate on policy issues related to education and training.

The objectives of this proposal are, in essence:

-to lay down a common statement of principles whose use will lead to greater efficiency and effectiveness in all types of organised mobility for learning purposes;

-more specifically, to provide a reference point for all stakeholders within the integrated lifelong learning programme proposed by the Commission for the period 2007 to 2013.

The Recommendation consists of ten guidelines, addressed mainly to the sending and receiving organisations responsible for mobility. These may be summarised as follows:

Before departure: Ensure that participants have access to reliable sources of guidance and information on opportunities and conditions for mobility; draw up a learning plan, which will provide a framework for mobility; ensure prior preparation of the participant, in particular linguistic preparation, and ensure that the mobility experience contributes to personal and professional development.

During the stay in the host country: Provide linguistic and logistical support for participants, including information and/or assistance on travel, insurance, residence requirements, social security, social services, tax issues, lodging, etc; appoint a mentor to provide support and advice to help the participant integrate properly.

After the period of mobility: Ensure the recognition or certification of diplomas obtained or periods of

studies/training carried out; assist participants back into their social, educational or professional environments, in particular after long-term mobility; assess the outcome of the mobility and advise participants, on return, how best to use the competences acquired abroad.

Generally: Be clear about who is responsible for acting upon the various parts of the Recommendation.

The Charter should be regarded as "universal" in the sense that it covers all the possible types of educational mobility: formal and non-formal learning; short and long periods; school, university and on-the-job learning; young and adult learners, etc. This means that its text is inevitably generic; it is not possible, within such a short text, to cover all possible cases. Its principles will thus have to be adapted to circumstances, and in specific cases, some of its points will be more or less appropriate. The principles contained in the Charter provide a European reference to be tailored to particular cases.

Finally, the proposed Recommendation complements Recommendation 2001/613/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 July 2001 on mobility within the Community for students, persons undergoing training, volunteers, teachers and trainers.

COM(2005)0450
EUR-Lex