During the Dutch presidency, the following Councils will meet to discuss this policy area:

- 12-07-2004 t/m 14-07-2004 - Rotterdam - The Netherlands
- 15-11-2004 t/m 16-11-2004 - Brussels - Belgium
Click here for a full list of upcoming meetings

In the field of education, the EU, including the EYC Council, promotes the European dimension. In the field of youth, the aim is to develop a true youth policy and to devote more thought to the youth dimension in sectoral policy. In the field of culture, efforts are directed at the flowering of the cultures of the Member States while respecting their national and regional diversity and at the same time bringing the common cultural heritage to the fore.

Education
Promoting the development of the European dimension in education is one of the EYC Council’s key tasks. Since education is principally a national responsibility in Europe, the Council concentrates on policy fields in which the European Union can generate added value.

One important initiative in the field of education is the detailed work programme for education and training systems in Europe. This document is designed to help European education systems meet the main Lisbon objective for 2010 (making the EU the best knowledge-based economy in the world).

With the adoption of this work programme, the Barcelona Council (2002) made the method of open policy coordination applicable to education in Europe. The three main objectives are:
1) to improve the quality and effectiveness of EU education and training systems;
2) to ensure that they are more accessible to all;
3) to open up education and training to the wider world.

The European education ministers quantified these objectives in 2003 by setting five benchmarks in areas such as increasing the number of science and technology graduates, reducing the number of people leaving school prematurely and lifelong learning.

In the European context, a series of education incentive programmes are being used to increase the added value of European cooperation in education. These programmes are directed at issues such as student mobility, cooperation between education institutions, the exchange of information, the development of exchange programmes for pupils, students and teachers and the encouragement of distance learning.

The higher education programme is known as Erasmus and the vocational education programme as Leonardo da Vinci. The budget for the education programmes for 2000-2006 is more than €3.5 billion.

The Tempus programme was established to promote the development of higher education systems in third countries (non-EEA) and in the past focused mainly on the then candidate countries.

In addition, the Erasmus Mundus programme was launched in 2003 to strengthen international ties in higher education by enabling students from all over the world to take part in master’s programmes at selected European universities and to encourage the mobility of European students.

For the period after 2007, a new action programme will be drawn up integrating all these activities, including a Tempus programme for cooperation with third countries, into a single programme for lifelong learning. Negotiations on this new programme in the EYC Council will continue during the Dutch presidency.
 
Youth
The EU launched the “Youth for Europe” programme in 1988 to support exchange activities between young people. Eight years later, in 1996, the Commission proposed a Community action programme for a European Voluntary Service for young people. Both programmes are included in the Youth for Europe programme for 2000-2006. This programme also promotes dialogue between Member States aimed at the development of a true youth policy.

The White Paper on Youth was published following extensive consultation at national and European level. In an enlarged EU with 75 million young people aged between 15 and 25, the White Paper addresses the fact that many young people have rejected traditional forms of participation in public life. It calls for the active involvement of the EU’s young citizens. Active citizenship is possible only if the institutional framework recognises the needs of young people, is capable of meeting their expectations and provides them with the resources they need to express their ideas and become more involved in society. To help the Member States and regions of Europe carry out actions for the young people of Europe, the White Paper proposes a new framework for cooperation consisting of two parts: stronger cooperation between the Member States and greater emphasis on the youth dimension in sectoral policy measures.

Since the inclusion of a declaration on the social importance of sport in the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997), the EU has developed an active role in the field of sport. It provides more support, for example, for the integration of young people through sports activities, the fight against doping in sport and an information campaign for schools on the ethical values of sport. The European Union has declared 2004 the European Year of Education through Sport in order to promote the educational role of sport and the European dimension in sport.

Culture and audiovisual policy
The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 declared that the European Union would promote the flowering of the cultures of the Member States and at the same time bring the common cultural heritage to the fore. The Treaty provides for measures in support of this effort but rules out any form of harmonisation. The Community is also required to take account of cultural factors in the activities it conducts pursuant to other provisions of the Treaty; in particular, it must respect and promote cultural diversity. In the audiovisual field, the protocol to the Treaty on public broadcasting is of particular importance.

Against this background, the EYC Council is involved in the natural interplay between cultural interests on the one hand and the importance of establishing and maintaining a single, well-functioning internal market on the other. Since the culture sector, and especially the audiovisual sector (film and television), is partly a market sector, European legislation and policy have a direct impact on national policy. This explains why striking the right balance between cultural and economic interests is at the heart of the Council’s agenda.

The prohibition on cultural harmonisation explains why there is relatively little legislation in this area. Existing European legislation issued by the Council (and the European Parliament) is concerned largely with the operation of the internal market. The Television Without Frontiers Directive established the legal framework for the free movement of television broadcasting services within the EU. European legislation on cultural objects regulates how Member States can protect their own cultural heritage.

In addition to legislation, the Council, as colegislator, has established three support programmes:
-Culture 2000, which provides grants for such purposes as the European Capital of Culture and projects that encourage the organisation of cultural events, promote the reading of books or help to preserve cultural heritage;
-Media Plus and Media Training, which promote audiovisual education and the development, production and distribution of European audiovisual products.