The Lisbon European Council in March 2000 recognised the important role of education as an instrument for strengthening Europe's competitive power worldwide ("to become the world's most dynamic knowledge-based economy"). The development of high quality vocational education and training is a crucial and integral part of this strategy.
The European Council in Stockholm, on the basis of the report on the "Concrete future objectives of Education and Training systems" (February 2001), has identified a number of common priorities for the future and the contribution which Education and Training systems must make to achieve the goals of the Lisbon strategy.
The Barcelona European Council in March 2002 endorsed the work programme on the follow up of the February 2001 report, calling for:
And finally, the Declaration of the European Ministers of Vocational education and Training of 31 countries and the European Commission in Copenhagen on 29 and 30 November 2002 on enhanced European cooperation in vocational education and training: the "Copenhagen Declaration".