Ceemet wonders if there is truly a need for an European Qualifications Framework (EQF) for lifelong learning. For companies, it is the transparency and the comparability of occupational qualifications of employees which are more important.

• The Commission derives its mandate for the EQF initiative in particular from a request of the EU Heads of States and Governments in March 2005. In line with the limited mandate of the Community to the Commission rightly highlights the voluntary nature of the EQF which shall not entail any legal obligations.
• Even though the EQF initiative shall not result in a binding regulation, the underlying principles of the “better regulation” initiative should apply also here. As is stressed in the Consultation document, the EQF, given its voluntary nature, can only function properly and achieve its goals if there is a true commitment from all parties involved.
• Therefore, a real need for setting up an EQF is a precondition for the success of this reading tool. In this latter respect, the Commission Consultation paper might be interpreted in a different way, when it says “In particular, the stakeholders must be convinced that a European meta-framework is needed …..“.