The Official Journal of the European Union published on October 22nd, 2008, Decision 1065/2008/EC, adopted jointly by the European Parliament and the Council, repealing Council Decision 85/368/EEC on the comparability of vocational training qualifications between the Member States of the European Community.

Community policies on better regulation stress the importance of the simplification of national and Community legislation as a crucial element in improving the competitiveness of undertakings and in achieving the objectives of the Lisbon Agenda.

The methods and approach used to describe and compare qualifications provided for in Decision 85/368/EEC, differ from those currently applied in education and training systems, and therefore its implementation has not been effective in achieving the comparability of vocational qualifications for the benefit of workers seeking employment in another Member State. Besides, a recent report from the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) highlighted the importance of vocational training and education in order to keep EU citizens in the workforce for as long as possible.

Subsequently, the European Parliament and the Council has decided to supersede this Decision by the adoption of the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) for lifelong learning.

EQF Recommendation, which was formally adopted on April 23rd, 2008, sets a target date of 2010 for countries to relate their qualifications systems to the EQF, which will make it easier to compare qualifications from different countries. The adoption of this recommendation was followed by a series of workshops for stakeholders to discuss how to put the system into practice, and make it easier for employers to read, understand and compare qualifications issued by institutions in different Member States.