Attachment

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY,

on the one part, and

THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA,

on the other part,

hereinafter collectively referred to as ‘"the Parties’",

NOTING that the Declaration on European Community-Canada Relations adopted by the European Community and its Member States and the Government of Canada on 22 November 1990 makes specific reference to strengthening mutual cooperation in various fields which directly affect the present and future well-being of their citizens, such as exchanges and joint projects in education and culture, including academic and youth exchanges;

NOTING that the Canada-EU Joint Political Declaration and Action Plan adopted on 17 December 1996 states that in order to renew their ties based on shared cultures and values, the Parties will encourage contacts between their citizens at every level, especially among their youth; and that the Joint Action Plan attached to the Declaration encourages the Parties to further strengthen their cooperation through the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Canada Establishing a Cooperation Programme in Higher Education and Training ratified in 1996;

NOTING that the EU-Canada Partnership Agenda adopted on 18 March 2004 at the EU-Canada Summit refers to the need to seek new ways to foster links between our respective peoples, notably by broadening the scope of Canadian and European Community exchange programmes for young people and by exploring avenues to reinforce and broaden the scope of EC-Canada cooperation when renewing the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Canada Renewing a Cooperation Programme in Higher Education and Training ratified in March 2001;

NOTING that the Joint Declaration adopted at the EU-Canada Summit on 19 June 2005 further refers to the EU and Canadian leaders' intention to renew, reinforce and broaden the scope of the Agreement Renewing a Cooperation Programme in Higher Education and Training, ratified in 2001, notably through the addition of cooperation on youth, to strengthen academic cooperation and transatlantic exchange between our citizens;

CONSIDERING the full respect for the responsibilities of the Member States of the European Community and for the legislative powers of the provinces and territories of Canada in the fields of education and training, and the autonomy of the higher education and training institutions;

CONSIDERING that the adoption and the implementation of the 1996 and 2001 Agreements on Higher Education and Training realise the commitments of the EU-Canada Declarations, and that the cooperation has been highly positive for both Parties;

ACKNOWLEDGING the crucial contribution of higher education and training to the development of human resources capable of participating in the global knowledge-based economy;

RECOGNISING that cooperation in higher education, training and youth should complement other relevant cooperation initiatives between the European Community and Canada;

ACKNOWLEDGING the importance of taking into account the work done in the field of higher education and training by international organisations active in these fields such as the OECD, UNESCO and the Council of Europe;

RECOGNISING that the Parties have a common interest in cooperation in higher education, training and youth, as part of the wider cooperation that exists between the European Community and Canada;

EXPECTING to obtain mutual benefit from cooperation in higher education, training and youth;

RECOGNISING the need to widen access to the activities supported under this Agreement, in particular those activities in the training and youth sectors;

DESIRING to renew the basis for continuing cooperation in higher education and training,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS: