Recommandation of the European Parliament and of The Council on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning
The Lisbon European Council in March 2000 recognised that Europe faces challenges in adapting to globalisation and the shift to knowledge-based economies. It stressed that « Every citizen must be equipped with the skills needed to live and work in this new information society » and that « a European framework should define the new basic skills1 to be provided through lifelong learning: IT skills, foreign languages, technological culture, entrepreneurship and social skills ». The recognition that people are Europe’s most important asset for growth and employment was clear in 2000, and has been regularly restated, most recently in the relaunched Lisbon Strategy and at the European Council of March 2005, which called for increased investment in education and skills.
