Professional training, employment and language rights - the cornerstones of equal opportunities

DAHR’s Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Sógor Csaba, although not a member of this committee, had the opportunity to address a question to the commissioner-designate on behalf of the Employment Committee (EMPL). His inquiry referred to the implementation of the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLL). The MEP made reference to the fact that the LLL has a new form as of 2007 becoming a wider and more complex issue.

Mr. Sógor Csaba’s question was as follows:

- Does the commissioner-designate consider that the budget of the programme is sufficient to cover all sectorial programmes and to convey equal opportunities to all the 33 participating states?

Androulla Vassiliou provided a swift guarantee that the right of equal opportunity will be firmly upheld while admitting that the budget of the programme is not sufficient to fulfill the original goals. The Erasmus programme, for example, provides the opportunity of foreign study to less than the three million students originally planned. She admitted that the EC has the responsibility of maintaining the level of quality and excellence thus the universities taking part in the programme are regularly reviewed on the basis of the rules of the programme and the provisions of the European Quality Charter for Mobility.

The Hungarian MEP from Transylvania also submitted a written question to the commissioner designate:

- How will you ensure that the adequate quality monitoring mechanism is effective and the scale of participation of each member state is equitable? – What is the current standpoint on such legislation? This issue is relevant due to the recent issues with language rights in Slovakia. – What is the official position on the establishment of a statistical information-system that would examine the effectiveness of the new programme?