This document contains 32 papers from a conference on balance and perspectives in comparative vocational education and training (VET) research in Europe. Selected papers are as follows: "On the Path to Vocational Training Research with a European Dimension" (Oliver Lubke, Klaus Schedler, Alphonse de Vadder); "The Val Duchesse Social Dialogue" (Synnova Aga, Manfred Tessaring); "VET Researchers and Research Institutions in Central and Eastern European Countries" (Mihaly Csako); "Instruments of Comparative Statistics for Areas of Interest of the European Union" (Bettina Knauth); "Trends of Convergence and Divergence in the Systems of Education and Vocational Education and Training of the Member States of the European Union" (Tom Leney, Marcella Deluca); "Historical and Cultural Approaches to Comparative VET-Research" (Anja Heikkinen); "Does Strategic Behavior Play a Part in the Demand for Education?" (Benedicte Gendron); "Comparisons of Post-16 Education Strategies to Promote Parity of Esteem between Vocational and General Education in Europe" (Johanna Lasonen, David Raffe); "Growing Skills in Europe" (Asa Murray, Hilary Steedman); "'Transitional Labor Markets' between the Vocational-Training System and the Employment System" (Klaus Schomann); "Training for Professionalism Development" (Benito Echeverria, Sofia Isus, Lander Sarasola); "Collaborative and Comparative Approaches to Researching VET (Graham Attwell, Jenny Hughes); "Additional Qualifications at the Interface between Initial and Continuing Education/Training, a Comparative Survey (AQUI)" (Georg Hanf);"The Integration of Older Workers into Teamwork" (Eva Kuda, Jurgen Strauss); "Integration in the World of Work and Occupational S[k]illing of Young People in the Education System" (Lander Sarasola Ituarte, Luis M. Naya Garmendia); "Comparative Vocational Education and Training Research of Value to Educational Policy--Quality Assurance in Terms of Conceptual Approach, Research Organization and Support Policies (Ingrid Drexel, Martine Moebus); "Management of Training Time in France and Denmark" (Eric Fries Guggenheim, Jacques Trautmann); "Vocational Training and Access to Trades and Professions" (Hildegard Schaeper, Jens Zinn); "Latin American and Caribbean Network for Information, Research and Management of Vocational Training" (Klaus Przyklenk); and "Towards Instituting a Standing European Network for Cooperation in Comparative Vocational Education and Training Research" (Uwe Lauterbach). Many papers include substantial bibliographies. Overviews of four current research projects on VET and a list of participants are appended. (MN)