RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND MINISTERS FOR EDUCATION, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL of 6 December 1990 concerning the Eurydice Education Information Network in the European Community (90/C 329/08)

THE COUNCIL AND THE MINISTERS FOR EDUCATION, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL, Referring to the resolution of the Council and of the Ministers for Education, meeting within the Council, of 9 February 1976 comprising an action programme in the field of education (1), and the general report of the Education Committee, which was approved in substance by the Council and the Ministers for Education meeting within the Council on 27 June 1980 and concerned the establishment of an education information network known as Eurydice, as well as, for an initial stage, the network's intended beneficiaries and its priority topics and operational structure; Referring to several resolutions of the European Parliament and in particular that of 11 March 1982 (2) on the implementation of the Eurydice network; Whereas the process of political, economic and social integration of the European Community is resulting in a quantitative and a qualitative increase in information requirements concerning education and training systems and specific questions relating to the development of education systems; whereas the Eurydice network forms part of a whole range of public and private sources of information on education in the Community; Whereas in their conclusions of 6 October 1989 (3) the Council and the Ministers for Education meeting within the Council, agreed to develop cooperation in education in the run-up to 1993; whereas they have recognized the value of the Eurydice network as an instrument of such cooperation, most recently in the conclusions of 31 May 1990 (4) on meetings of senior officials; Whereas the Council resolution of 22 January 1990 provides for the development of a programme to set up trans-European networks, of which the Eurydice network could be regarded as one of the elements; Welcoming the measures taken by the Commission to develop cooperation with appropriate international organizations, and especially with the Council of Europe for the coproduction of the European Education Thesaurus; Noting the Commission's report on 10 years of Eurydice activities, which points to the need for a better definition and a development of the education information network in the European Community, HEREBY ADOPT THIS RESOLUTION: 1. In order to intensify and improve cooperation in education between the Member States of the Community, and to assist the preparation of initiatives at national and Community level, it is necessary to reinforce and develop the Eurydice network as the chief instrument for providing information on national and Community structures, systems and developments in the field of education. The network consists of a European unit and units in the Member States. It is designed as a system permitting the mutual exchange of documentary information. 2.Development of the Eurydice network should help to: (a) improve, in the first place, the procedure of the question/answer system for the rapid provision of reliable information to the relevant national and Community authorities; (b)assist, in the second place, the drawing up of comparative analyses, reports and surveys on common priority topics determined inter alia in the Education Committee and at the regular meetings of senior officials; (c)also diversify the dissemination of the products available in the framework of the network, collaborating on this with public and private bodies. 3.Within constitutional and financial limits and in the framework of their own structures and policies, the Member States and the Commission are requested, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, to promote the following activities: (a) making the collection and documentary processing of information more systematic and more effective by using the new technologies to the full; (b)making the various specialized sources of information more accessible by fostering cooperation between the units of the network and the information structures and services concerning education and training at both national and Community level; (c)conducting a review of working methods with a view to securing improved efficiency and effectiveness. 4.The Member States' units should be capable of playing a dual role: on the one hand, providing the European network with information on the development of their own education systems; on the other hand, contributing to dissemination at national level with regard to the development of Member States' educational systems and policies and of Community activities concerning cooperation in education matters. 5.To ensure a more systematic provision of information on Community activities, the Member States' units should liaise with those responsible at national level for Community activities concerning education and training. 6.So that the Member States' units can perform their tasks within an active European network, national authorities should take adequate measures concerning staff and its training, as well as equipment. 7.The Commission is requested to strengthen the Eurydice European unit's vitalizing and coordinating role with regard to exchanges of information within the network, in particular by feeding the network's databanks and encouraging the preparation and dissemination of information. 8.The European unit, assisted by the Member States' units, should develop a computerized information system in the field of education and facilitate access by those units to the other Community databanks. 9.The European unit, assisted by the Member States' units, should contribute to the provision of information on Community education and training activities, in cooperation with, in particular, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) and the National Academic Recognition Information Centre (Naric). 10.The European unit, assisted by the Member States' units, should provide technical assistance in the preparation and follow-up of meetings of senior officials. 11.The Commission is requested to continue its cooperation with the international organizations active in this field, especially the Council of Europe and the OECD, and to involve the Eurydice network in such cooperation. 12.The Commission is requested to strengthen links with the existing scheme of study visits for educational specialists (Arion), which is also concerned with the exchange of information between education systems, and to involve Eurydice in the preparation of visits and the utilization of information generated by such visits. 13.The Commission is invited to submit to the Council a progress report in particular covering the activities set out in paragraph 3 concerning the exchange of information on education. (1) OJ No C 38, 19. 2. 1976.

(2) OJ No C 87, 5. 4. 1982.

(3) OJ No C 277, 31. 10. 1989.

(4) OJ No C 162, 31. 5. 1990.