8 European benchmarks in education
and training
| (24033)
14797/02
COM(02) 629
| Commission Communication — European benchmarks in education and training: follow-up to the Lisbon European Council.
|
| Legal base | — |
| Department | Education and Skills
|
| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 10 April 2003
|
| Previous Committee Report | HC 63-xi (2002-03), paragraph 3 (5 February 2003)
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| To be discussed in Council | 5 May 2003
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared, but further information requested
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Background
This Communication proposes five European benchmarks in education
and training for the Council to adopt. When we last considered
the document (in February), we agreed with the Minister of State
for Lifelong Learning and Higher Education, Department for Education
and Skills (Margaret Hodge) that it overstepped the bounds of
subsidiarity. We considered that the problem was exacerbated
by the way in which the Commission equated "benchmarks"
with "targets". We decided to keep the document under
scrutiny until a related Council instrument was deposited, or
until the Minister wrote to us with information about the planned
next steps.
The Minister's letter
The Minister has now written to tell us about the progress of
this initiative. She reports that the Communication was discussed
at the Education Council on 6 February. Several Ministers shared
the UK's concerns about the potential impact on national policy
and the lack of coherence between the proposed "benchmarks"
and the Lisbon agenda. Since then, officials have explored the
feasibility of the proposed "benchmarks", and have emphasised
the importance of clear definitions and consistent terminology.
There has been widespread recognition among Member States that,
although national initiatives would contribute to the achievement
of EU-level "benchmarks", no agreed "benchmarks"
could define national targets or prescribe policy decisions to
be taken by national governments.
The Minister hopes that the current Greek Presidency
will take account of these views in drafting the Council conclusions
which are to be tabled on 5 May. She then tells us:
"It has become clear in the course of negotiations
that, were the UK to oppose such 'benchmarks', not only would
we be isolated at the Council, but these benchmarks would be agreed
through alternative means, such as the adoption of a Recommendation
agreed by Qualified Majority Voting. For that reason, I hope to
be in a position to be positive about the draft conclusions on
5 May, providing that our key concerns are addressed. These are:
· that
any 'benchmarks' should be at EU level and should not define national
targets nor policy decisions to be taken by national [parliaments];
· that
the 'benchmarks' proposed are clearly defined, technically feasible
and based on comparable data; and
· that
the 'benchmarks' are consistent with [the] Lisbon agenda."
Conclusions
We thank the Minister for her helpful letter. It is
encouraging that other Member States share her key concerns, and
we trust that she will support the draft Council conclusions only
if they address the concerns satisfactorily. We also hope that
she will continue to press for consistent definitions of the terms
"benchmarks", "indicators" and "targets".
We now clear the document, but we ask
to see a copy of the relevant Council conclusions.
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