The Commission and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in their joint communication of 25 May 2011 entitled 'A new response to a changing Neighbourhood', outlined, inter alia, the aim of further facilitating neighbourhood countries' participation in Union mobility and capacity-building actions in higher education and the opening of the future education programme to the neighbourhood countries.

58. States that the present education and training systems are not sufficient to prevent a high drop-out rate of people with disabilities without additional public policies offering specific learning support, since the figure relating to the Europe2020 objective represents a reduction to less than 10%; stresses that this leads to significant social and employment disadvantages, and resulting poverty, among people with disabilities, especially during the present economic crisis; stresses, given the high drop-out rate of persons with disabilities and in the light of the Council Conclusions of 11 May 2010 on the social dimension of education and training, the need to invest in and promote effective (including alternative) educational and (vo ...[+++]cational) training programmes that are tailored to the needs, attributes and abilities of persons with disabilities, and notes that this calls for the availability of an adequate number of qualified and motivated professionals with sound and suitable programmes, as well as the availability of such programmes in the curricula of all vocational education and training and higher education establishments, including in extra-curricular programmes for people with disabilities, in order to combat negative attitudes towards children with disabilities and for them to obtain adequate qualifications for the modern and open labour market; calls on the Member States and the Commission to enable persons with disabilities to have better access to information about existing mobility and education programmes as well as equal access to Lifelong Learning programmes; notes, this being the case, that mainstreaming of anti-discrimination in Europe2020 and its flagship initiatives is needed in order to fulfil Article 24 of the UN CRPD;

58. States that the present education and training systems are not sufficient to prevent a high drop-out rate of people with disabilities without additional public policies offering specific learning support, since the figure relating to the Europe2020 objective represents a reduction to less than 10%; stresses that this leads to significant social and employment disadvantages, and resulting poverty, among people with disabilities, especially during the present economic crisis; stresses, given the high drop-out rate of persons with disabilities and in the light of the Council Conclusions of 11 May 2010 on the social dimension of education and training, the need to invest in and promote effective (including alternative) educational and (vo ...[+++]cational) training programmes that are tailored to the needs, attributes and abilities of persons with disabilities, and notes that this calls for the availability of an adequate number of qualified and motivated professionals with sound and suitable programmes, as well as the availability of such programmes in the curricula of all vocational education and training and higher education establishments, including in extra-curricular programmes for people with disabilities, in order to combat negative attitudes towards children with disabilities and for them to obtain adequate qualifications for the modern and open labour market; calls on the Member States and the Commission to enable persons with disabilities to have better access to information about existing mobility and education programmes as well as equal access to Lifelong Learning programmes; notes, this being the case, that mainstreaming of anti-discrimination in Europe2020 and its flagship initiatives is needed in order to fulfil Article 24 of the UN CRPD;

1. Emphasises that the European education programmes bring clear and demonstrated European added value, enhance mobility and are vital for the Europe 2020 strategy to succeed; regrets that the Commission draft budget does not propose any additional funding for education and training, beyond the financial programming; encourages the Commission, and all other relevant actors, to place the humanities on an equal footing with the natural sciences in the implementation of European education programmes; calls for greater visibility to be afforded to the humanities in the Education programmes to be proposed under the next multiannual financi ...[+++]al framework; calls for a significant increase in appropriations for the Lifelong Learning Programme in the 2012 budget and for a doubling of the funds for education in the next MFF;

30. Recommends that the Member States develop more flexible adult education and lifelong learning programmes so that working women and mothers are able to continue their education in programmes that fit in with their schedules, thus allowing women to have increased access to education and the opportunity to participate in alternative educational programmes so that they may become more independent and are able to participate meaningfully in society, further promoting gender equality;

29. Recommends that the Member States develop more flexible adult education and lifelong learning programmes so that working women and mothers are able to continue their education in programmes that fit in with their schedules, thus allowing women to have increased access to education and the opportunity to participate in alternative educational programmes so that they may become more independent and are able to participate meaningfully in society, further promoting gender equality;