Press Release: ‘Lifelong learning’: a new education and training programme to build the Knowledge Society

The Commission welcomes the final step in the legislation process to adopt the ‘Lifelong Learning Programme’: on 25 October, the European Parliament adopted the Commission’s ambitious proposals for this new action programme in the field of education and training. For the first time, a single programme will cover learning opportunities from childhood to old age. The Lifelong Learning Programme will cover the period 2007-2013, and is the successor to the current Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci and eLearning programmes. It has a budget of € 7 bn to support projects and activities that foster interchange, cooperation and mobility between education and training systems within the EU, so that they become a world quality reference.