European People’s Party – Economic and Social Policy
Committee Conference on the future of the Lisbon Strategy
Brussels, 25 November 2004

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we approach the half-way stage to 2010 many questions are being asked about the future of the Lisbon strategy is it still valid, is it still achievable and so on. These questions will be addressed in the mid-term review, which is already underway for the Spring European Council.

These questions have also been addressed recently by the High Level Group chaired by Mr Kok. The Kok Report provides a realistic, but worrying assessment of progress. It confirms that the Lisbon agenda provides the right diagnosis and prescribes the right cure, but shows that we must act now to make up for lost time.

However, I am not going to outline the Commission’s reaction to the Kok Report or to go into any details on the Commission’s approach to the mid-term Review. I shall leave that to President Barroso. But I will not surprise any of you if I say that, in the new Commission’s view, whilst the Lisbon goals are still within reach, much more needs to be done to implement the reforms requested at Lisbon. This is no less true in the field of education and training, which is where I want to concentrate my remarks today.

Education and Training

Let us recall that Lisbon did not set the Union the goal of becoming the most dynamic and competitive economy in the world: the Lisbon conclusions refer to the most competitive dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy. In today’s world, competitiveness and dynamism are based on knowledge – the acquisition of knowledge, the dissemination of knowledge, and the use of knowledge, by which I mean innovation. Expressed differently, if the mid-term Review is to set out the road we must take to get to Lisbon, knowledge is the fuel we must put in the vehicle that takes us there.

When I speak of knowledge, I am thinking of a concept that goes beyond what we normally call to mind when we think of education and training: I am speaking of a concept that goes beyond those institutions schools, colleges, universities – that we normally associate with the production and dissemination of knowledge. I am thinking of a concept of knowledge that embraces society as a whole, a concept that includes many more actors.

The creation of a knowledge based-economy is not the responsibility of school, colleges and universities alone, though they obviously form the foundation. The creation of a knowledge-based economy goes beyond education and training policy and beyond research too: it involves enterprise policy, it involves the use of information technology and the media, it involves employment policy, to give just some examples.

Beyond schools and universities, other groups and institutions have responsibilities: employers and employees have a vital role to play. Governments must go beyond modernising their education and training systems and create the legal and social conditions which facilitate innovation. Citizens too must take responsibility.

To be a little more concrete, I would like to refer to a forthcoming report by CEDEFOP– the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training in Thessaloniki. The Report, which will be published in the next few days, is entitled “Vocational Education and Training key to the Future”. It is concerned with how Vocational Education and Training can make a contribution to the Lisbon goals. It clearly identifies a lacuna in the Lisbon Strategy, which is the following:

Between 1995 and 2000 in the EU, 1.5 million jobs were created in the high-tech sector and 5.5 million in high education sectors. This is not a bad record, but the point is that highly-skilled occupations accounted for over 60% of jobs created. The problem is that at present 80 million EU citizens are low-skilled. It is estimated that, of the new jobs to be created between now and 2010, only 15% of them will be for citizens with only basic schooling. This is another way of saying that those with only basic skills have little hope for the future. And, let us recall, Lisbon is about creating an inclusive society: this will not be achieved if nearly 80 million citizens are progressively excluded.

Returning now to the Kok report, I regret to say that it does not, in my view, adequately reflect the importance of education and training. The Kok report puts the emphasis on the production of knowledge (through R&D) This is of course absolutely vital. But it is far too narrow a concept of knowledge and its role. There will be no knowledge society if there is no dissemination of knowledge, if people do not acquire the necessary key competencies. Dissemination of knowledge is precisely the core mission of education and training.

What is missing, I believe, from the Kok Report, is an appreciation of the stark fact that insufficient progress has been made towards modernising education and training systems to the requirements of the knowledge-based economy. In too many respects we lag behind our main competitors, be it in terms of overall investment in human resources, the number of higher education graduates, or attracting qualified professionals to live and work here.

Moreover, there are still too few citizens participating in lifelong learning and too many pupils leaving school early without the qualifications and even the basic skills they need. Vocational education and training in Europe are simply not attractive enough and skills gaps increasingly act as a brake on the European labour market. Higher-education institutions still need to do more to play their full role in the Europe of knowledge.

Education and Training – what to do next

Consequently, the next few years should be focused on ensuring that:

• public and private investment in human resources is both increased and deployed more efficiently;
• coherent and comprehensive strategies for lifelong learning are in place in all Member States by 2006;
• a true European area of education and training is created, where free movement of knowledge and skills will contribute to the creation of a genuine European labour market;
• the role of Universities within the Lisbon strategy is reinforced;
• and in particular here, I believe we need to look at doctoral and post-doctoral training, where we are lagging seriously behind.

Member States must involve all relevant stakeholders – social partners and civil society included – in order to meet their commitments. [As an example of this in a different but closely related field, I welcome the recent initiative on the part of France, Germany, Spain and Sweden calling for the elaboration of a “European Pact for Youth”.]

But I wish to end on a positive note! In the Context of the so-called “Education and Training 2010” process, which integrates all actions in the fields of education and training at European level, Member States have now agreed to report back to the Commission every two years on progress made in implementing education and training reforms. In this way the Union can monitor its progress and identify best practices. I regard this as a great step forward and a real sign of commitment to the Lisbon Strategy.

In addition, the new lifelong learning programme will encourage education and training institutions to work together in international projects and networks.

It is crucial that education and training continue to take a central role in the Lisbon strategy if the 2010 goals are to be reached. Now, more than ever, Europe’s future growth, productivity and competitiveness as well as the cohesiveness of its society, rely on ensuring that we are a well-educated, highly skilled population.