Subsidiarity monitoring in the area of education, vocational training and youth 

Under the Treaty of Lisbon, education, vocational training, youth and sport are all policy areas where the Union supports, complements or supplements the actions of the Member States (Article 6 TFEU). This excludes the harmonisation of national laws and regulations in this area (arts. 165 and 166 TFEU).

 

Each Member State assumes full responsibility for the organisation of its education and vocational training systems and the content of its teaching. The Union's role is to contribute to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation between the Member States and, where necessary, by supporting and supplementing their action, especially with a view to developing the European dimension within education, encouraging mobility and promoting cooperation among European schools and universities. It should be pointed out that whenever the Union uses its remit in this way, it must do so in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity.

 

In the area of vocational training, Union action aims to facilitate adaptation to industrial change, improve initial and ongoing training and to make it easier for people to access it. It also seeks to encourage the mobility of both instructors and trainees (particularly students), to stimulate cooperation in the area of training and to develop exchanges of good practice between the Member States.

 

To achieve these objectives, support measures are adopted in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (Article 294 TFEU) and following consultation with the Committee of the Regions. Lastly, the Council may also adopt recommendations in the area of education by qualified majority.

 

Under the Lisbon Treaty, Title XII of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union includes a specific new competence in the area of sport. This new competence is reflected in a legal basis allowing the adoption of recommendations and support measures which contribute to the development of the "European dimension in sport".

 

Finally, another addition worth noting in the Lisbon Treaty is the new provision in Article 165 TFEU which states that Union action should encourage the participation of young people in democratic life in Europe.

Further information on the CoR's work in this area

The CoR commission responsible for work in this area is the Commission for Education, Youth, Culture and Research (EDUC). Click here for comprehensive information about this commission, its work programme and its activities.

 

See also the website of the Committee of the Regions' Europe 2020 Monitoring Platform (click here), as the "Europe 2020 Strategy", which replaced the "Lisbon Strategy" in June 2010, covers a number of cross-cutting fields which have a direct impact on the areas on which the Committee of the Regions must be consulted.