The Working Group's main priorities are EFTA participation in the Lifelong Learning Programme (2007-2013) and the Youth in Action Programme (2007-2013).

The Lifelong Learning Programme is the successor of the earlier Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci and eLearning Programmes. All the EEA EFTA States participated in these earlier programmes and will also participate in the new programme. Its objectives are first to support the development of quality lifelong learning and then to help Member States develop their own education and training schemes.

The Youth in Action Programme was incorporated into the EEA Agreement on 16 June 2007. It aims to promote active citizenship by encouraging young people to participate in the democratic life of Europe and by fostering mobility, intercultural learning, initiative, enterprise and creativity within the framework of non-formal (out of school) learning.

The Working Group also followed the development of a European Qualification Framework (EQF), which is a translation tool for comparing and transferring qualifications across the EEA. In 2007 the Working Group prepared for EFTA participation in a new legal framework for educational statistics, the recommendation for key competences for lifelong learning and the European Quality Charter for Mobility. Other key issues towards 2008 were EFTA participation in the upcoming European Institute of Technology, the "Rights of the Child" initiative and other initiatives in the area of education training and youth.

See also:

European Commission - Education and Training

European Commission - Youth