The aim of the new programme is to contribute through lifelong learning to the development of the Community as an advanced knowledge society, with sustainable economic development, more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. The programme aims to foster interaction, cooperation and mobility between education and training systems within the Community, so that they become a world quality reference.
 
The transversal programme constitutes one of the major innovations in the Lifelong Learning Programme. It provides the Community with a more effective instrument for pursuing activity that cuts across two or more "traditional" fields of activity, notably across the sector-based programmes. The transversal programme is divided into four Key Activities, one of which concerns ICT. Key Activity 3 focuses on experimentation with the generalisation of innovative approaches to teaching and learning (e-learning) with respect to new pedagogy, services, technology and content.
 
Moreover, Unit A4 is currently preparing a Communication from the Commission to the Council and to the European Parliament on the use of ICT to support innovation and lifelong learning for all.
 
The fundamental improvement of the new programme is the mainstreaming of ICT. It should be remembered that the full title of the eLearning Programme is "a multi-annual programme for the effective integration of Information and Communication Technologies in education and training systems in Europe". Effective integration is a short and good definition of mainstreaming. On the other hand, in the new programme, eTwinning should continue as a simple and user-friendly school co-operation tool, virtual campuses should become a fundamental part of the European Space of Education infrastructure and digital literacy and digital competences should develop as a basic literacy at all levels. Under the transversal sub-programme, core concerns should continue to be addressed. For example, issues related to digital content production, interoperability and distribution, as well as support to evaluation, documentation and exchange of good practices and policies.
 
DG Education and Culture is also preparing a Communication on Adult Education and another one on efficiency and Equity in European Training Systems. A common aspect of our policy work is the importance given to human capital, particularly in the context of the re-launch of the Lisbon Strategy. In fact, reaching the economic objectives in a knowledge-based economy is a matter of human capital, which can only be built and nurtured with quality education and training. For both the Commission and Member States there is no fundamental trade-off between economic and social development.
 
Under the Education and Training 2010 work programme, the Commission has recently published the 2006 edition of its annual report on progress towards the Lisbon objectives in the field of education and training. While noting positive trends in certain areas, the overall progress of Europe's education and training systems towards the goals set in the Lisbon strategy is insufficient. Member States have successfully increased the number of tertiary-level maths, science and technology graduates. However, progress was only moderate in increasing participation in lifelong learning and in reducing the number of early school leavers. And little or no progress has so far been achieved in expanding the share of young people who finish upper-secondary school, and reducing the number of 15-year-olds with poor reading skills.  In what concerns ICT, the main messages of the report were the following:

• ICT penetration in schools is continuously increasing. In 2003 inmost EU countries more than 70% of the available school computers were connected to the Internet.
• Despite considerable progress since 2000, in 2003 there were, however, still many countries within the EU with a high number of pupils to each computer.
• There is a positive correlation between the availability of computers at school and average learning outcomes.
• However, as regards ICT usage, more is not always better. Data from PISA 2003 on frequency of ICT usage and pupils performance in mathematics and reading imply that there is an optimum level of ICT usage. Beyond this level quality is more important than quantity.

The Commission will continue to work with Member States in the context of the Education and Training 2010 work programme in order to reach a more effective and efficient implementation of the process, making best use of the open method of coordination, rationalising methods and enhancing synergy, and allowing small groups of countries to work together on issues of common interest. ICT is one of the themes around which a cluster of countries was set up and the privileged working method is through peer learning activities, which have proved to be very successful. This work is expected to continue in 2007.