Brussels, 19 June 2002
Opening a meeting between education ministers from the EU, the European economic area (EEA), the candidate countries and south eastern European countries in Bratislava on 17 June, EU Commissioner for Education and Culture Viviane Reding called for coherence between education, research, innovation and employment.
Europe should establish coherence between these different policy areas, when appropriate, so as to create a common vision on the challenges ahead, said the Commissioner.
'In effect, these different policies all have their own roots, their own public targets and their own means of achieving them - and one should recognise that they don't always integrate for the better. On the other hand, they represent natural synergies that must be better exploited,' said Ms Reding.
Both the Lisbon Council of 2000 and the Barcelona Council of March 2002 have confirmed the importance of education in creating a knowledge-based society, and the Commission has been very active in the area. The Commission has just published a communication on cooperation with third countries in the field of education, and in November 2001 released the communication 'Realising a European education and life long learning area'.
For further information on the Commission's activities in the field of education, please consult the following web address:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/ind ex_en.html