(1)

Improved transparency of qualifications and competences will facilitate mobility throughout Europe for lifelong learning purposes, therefore contributing to the development of quality education and training, and will facilitate mobility for occupational purposes, between countries as well as across sectors.

(2)

The Action Plan on mobility (4) endorsed by the European Council held in Nice on 7 to 9 December 2000 and 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 (5), recommended the generalisation of the use of documents for the transparency of qualifications and competences, with a view to creating a European area of qualifications. The Commission's Action Plan for skills and mobility called for instruments supporting the transparency and transferability of qualifications to be developed and strengthened to facilitate mobility within and between sectors. Further action to introduce instruments improving the transparency of diplomas and qualifications was also demanded by the European Council held in Barcelona on 15 and 16 March 2002. The Council's Resolutions of 3 June 2002 on skills and mobility (6) and of 27 June 2002 on lifelong learning (7) call for increased cooperation, with a view inter alia to creating a framework for transparency and recognition based on the existing instruments.

(3)

The Council Resolution of 19 December 2002 on the promotion of enhanced European cooperation in vocational education and training (8) called for action to increase transparency in vocational education and training, through the implementation and rationalisation of information tools and networks, including the integration of existing instruments into one single framework. This framework should consist in a portfolio of documents with a common brand name and a common logo, supported by adequate information systems and promoted through sustained promotional action at European and national level.

(4)

A number of instruments have been developed in recent years, both at Community and at international level, to help European citizens to communicate better their qualifications and competences when looking for a job or for admission to a learning scheme. These include the common European format for curricula vitae (CVs) proposed by Commission Recommendation 2002/236/EC of 11 March 2002 (9), the Diploma Supplement recommended by the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region, adopted at Lisbon on 11 April 1997, the Europass Training established by Council Decision 1999/51/EC of 21 December 1998 on the promotion of European pathways in work-linked training, including apprenticeship (10), the Certificate Supplement and the European Language Portfolio developed by the Council of Europe. The single framework should include these instruments.

(5)

The single framework should be open to the future inclusion of other documents consistent with its purpose, once the implementation structure and procedures have been established and are operational. In particular, the single framework could be widened subsequently to include an instrument aimed at recording its holders' competences in the field of information technology.

(6)

Provision of good quality information and guidance is an important factor in achieving improved transparency of qualifications and competences. The existing services and networks already play a valuable role that could be enhanced through closer cooperation in order to reinforce the added value of Community action.

(7)

It is therefore necessary to ensure coherence and complementarity between the actions implemented in pursuance of this Decision and other relevant policies, instruments and actions. The last-mentioned include, at Community level, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 337/75 (11), the European Training Foundation established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1360/90 (12) and the European Employment Services network (EURES) established by Commission Decision 2003/8/EC of 23 December 2002 implementing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 as regards the clearance of vacancies and applications for employment (13). Likewise, at the international level, there is the European Network of National Information Centres on Academic Recognition (ENIC), established by the Council of Europe and Unesco.

(8)

The Europass training document, established by Decision 1999/51/EC, should therefore be replaced by a similar document with a wider scope, serving to record all periods of transnational mobility for learning purposes, at whatever level and for whatever target, achieved throughout Europe, which satisfy appropriate quality criteria.

(9)

Europass should be implemented through national bodies in compliance with Article 54(2)(c) and (3) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (14).

(10)

Participation should be open to acceding States, to non-Community countries of the European Economic Area and to the candidate countries for accession to the European Union, in accordance with the relevant provisions in the instruments governing relations between the Community and those countries. Third country nationals resident in the European Union should also be able to benefit from the system.

(11)

Social partners play an important role in relation to this Decision, and should be involved in its implementation. The Advisory Committee for Vocational Training set up by Council Decision 63/266/EEC of 2 April 1963 laying down general principles for implementing a common vocational training policy (15), composed of representatives of the social partners and of the national authorities of Member States, should be regularly informed on the implementation of this Decision. The social partners at European level and other relevant stakeholders, including education and training bodies, will have a particular role in terms of transparency initiatives that could be incorporated into Europass in due course.

(12)

Since the objective of this Decision, namely the establishment of a single Community framework for the transparency of qualifications and competences cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(13)

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (16).

(14)

Decision 1999/51/EC should be repealed,

(a)

the Europass-curriculum vitae (hereafter ‘the Europass-CV’) referred to in Article 5;

(b)

the documents referred to in Articles 6 to 9;

(c)

any other documents approved as Europass documents by the Commission, in accordance with the criteria laid out in Annex I, and the procedure referred to in Article 4(2).

(a)

ensure that adequate promotion and information activities are carried out at Community and national level, covering inter alia citizens, education and training providers and social partners and enterprises including SMEs, supporting and integrating as necessary the action of the NECs;

(b)

ensure adequate cooperation, at the appropriate level, with relevant services, in particular the EURES service and other Community services;

(c)

take steps to facilitate equal opportunities, in particular by raising awareness among all relevant actors;

(d)

ensure that all relevant stakeholders, including education and training bodies and social partners, are involved in the implementation of this Decision;

(e)

ensure that in all activities related to the implementation of this Decision the relevant Community and national provisions concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy are fully respected.