The European Commission would like to provide a new dynamic to education in Europe. On 14 November in Strasbourg, it presented a communication outlining its vision up to 2025. The document will be discussed by the EU28 during the informal Gothenburg summit. It is proposing to make it compulsory for member states to dedicate 5% of their GDP to education.
Addressing the press, the Commissioner for Growth and Investment, Jyrki Katainen, stated, “Education and training have not been a priority in all member states over recent years. Citizens, should be more resilient… the fact that education is not an EU competency does not compromise its value… the Commission would like make education challenges more of a priority”.
A few days ago, the Commission published its 2017 education and training follow-up report. This demonstrates that the EU is far from achieving the 'EUROPE 2020' education targets (see EUROPE 11901).
In this context, the College of Commissioners adopted a communication presenting several ways for modernising education and culture over the years leading up to 2025. This paper will be discussed on 17 November during a working dinner for heads of state and government during the informal Gothenburg summit.
Some possible ways ahead include, for example, the idea of defining new reference criteria to ensure that all young Europeans complete the second cycle of secondary education and have a good level of proficiency in two languages, in addition to their mother tongues, by 2025.
Another proposal involves setting a 25% quota for people to pursue continuous education by 2025. The Commission also mentions the idea of a Sorbonne process, based on the Bologna process, as a means of anchoring the recognition of EU diplomas. This idea had been suggested by French President, Emmanuel Macron, during his speech for relaunching the European project at the Université de la Sorbonne (see EUROPE 11870).
Petra Kammerevert (S&D, Germany), the president of the culture and education committee at the European Parliament, declared, “This communication is, by far, the most comprehensive and ambitious strategy document written for years at European level!” She was particularly delighted with the objective proposed by the Commission to double the number of participants in the Erasmus+ programme and target the most disadvantaged potential beneficiaries.
The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk’s services have also confirmed that he will also be putting a document on the table involving education and culture in Gothenburg.
The Communication text can be seen at: http://bit.ly/2hr5tiB. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)