Strengthen the capacity of quality assurance arrangements to handle current and future developments in education and training, such as all forms of online learning, and ensure that the scope of quality assurance bodies is sufficiently flexible in this respect.

Quality assurance mechanisms can play an important role in helping education and training institutions and policy makers to meet those challenges, ensuring that the quality of education and training systems and that of individual institutions are fit for purpose.

In conclusion, THE COUNCIL AND THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEMBER STATES' GOVERNMENTS: INVITE the Member States: 1. to foster the provision of education and training of quality, enabling all children to fulfil their potential and play a role in the community; 2. to enhance the flexibility of educational systems so that they can respond to complex situations and thus promote plurality in curricula; 3. to promote educational and curricular innovations which contribute to the development of concepts such as peace, democracy, respect and equality between cultures, tolerance, cooperat ...[+++]ion, etc. and encourage the preparation of educational materials designed to foster attitudes and values favourable to understanding and tolerance; 4. to encourage initiatives promoting cooperation between schools and their local communities; NOTE that in a communication, to be prepared by the Commission concerning action already completed under existing Community programmes, as well as the possibilities for future action relevant to the struggle against racism and xenophobia, there will be a section devoted to education and training; INVITE the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States: 1. to exploit fully and ensure coherence among all Community programmes which promote education and training aspects of the struggle against racism and xenophobia, in particular those which assist initiatives among the local community; 2. to exploit in particular the parts of the SOCRATES programme involved with the problems concerned, including schools partnerships, exchanges of experience on intercultural matters and teacher training; 3. to assist in the exchange of experience by collecting and disseminating information about the contribution of European educational systems in combating racism and xenophobia and the integration of people of different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds; 4. to ensure that in the field of education appropriate cooperation in combating racism and xenopho ...

As a follow-up to the relevant Council Resolutions it is necessary to: - support the definition and implementation by partner countries of more equitable and sustainable health policies particularly with regard to gender issues and to reaching disadvantaged and geographically distant populations; ensure better integration within health policy of action in the field of reproductive health; - increase support to the reform of health care systems and to the further expansion of primary health care services including sexual and reproductive health care and services, preventive activities, in particular the prevention of epidemics, and rehabilitation; develop access to medicines including vaccination and their rational use, especially for ver ...[+++]y poor and marginalised people; promote staff training, a rational and efficient use of human and financial resources allocated to health and an efficient distribution of roles between the public and private sectors; - increase the effectiveness of investment in water, sanitation, and housing, particularly in urban areas; promote measures of primary prevention (e.g. safety at work, road security, reduction in air and water pollution) and access to sufficient food of good quality at household level ; - secure the integration of all health concerns into other development policies with special emphasis on the socio- economic impact of the spread of HIV/AIDS. d) Education and training Education and training is also a major priority of development aid and of coordination between the Community and Member States.

As a follow-up to the relevant Council Resolution it is necessary to: - enable partner countries to define and implement their own education and training policies; to ensure continuity and sustainability, medium- and long-term commitment on the part of governments as well as donors is required; - support improvements in the effectiveness of education and training systems; improved access to education must be accompanied by minimum quality if pupils are to gain the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes; this requires promoting efficient management, quality, relevance and gender sensitivity of education and training structures; co ...[+++]st to parents for basic education should be such that they can afford to send their children to school; - in view of the above, support the balanced expansion of education and training capacities, giving priority to basic education and ensuring a significant acceleration in access by girls and equitable provision to disadvantaged groups.

CONSUMER EDUCATION AND INFORMATION - COUNCIL RESOLUTION [1] "THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community; Having regard to the Council Resolution of 9 June 1986 on "Consumer Education in primary and secondary schools"; Having regard to the Council Resolution of 23 June 1986 on "Future orientations of the policy of the European Economic Community for the protection and the promotion of the consumers' interests"; Whereas Article 3(s) of the Treaty stipulates that the activities of the Community shall include a contribution to the strengthening of consumer protection; Whereas, pursuant to Article 129a (1 ...[+++])(b) of the Treaty, the Community is to contribute to the attainment of a high level of consumer protection through specific action which supports and supplements the policy pursued by the Member States to protect the health, safety and economic interests of consumers and to provide adequate information to consumers; Whereas the Second Commission Three Year Action Plan "Placing the single market at the service of the European consumers" (1993-1995) emphasized that it is essential that the advent and the deepening of the large European market make itself felt in consumers' everyday life in the shape of tangible benefits; Whereas the Commission's Strategic Programme and its Communication on "Making the most of the Internal Market" emphasizes that the consumer has a critical role to play in the successful implementation of the Internal Market Programme since it will not operate properly without strong and effective consumer participation, and also that well-informed consumers exercising market choices can accelerate the positive economic effects of an integrated market; Whereas information measures designed to assist consumers to make soundly-based market choices will be more effective if consumers have the background knowledge and appropriate skills necessary to understand such information and to incorporate it ...