On Tuesday 22 May, education ministers highlighted the essential role played by the higher education establishments (HEE) in creating strong regions that promote regional growth and tackle regional disparities.
This exchange of views took place at the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council in Brussels on 22-23 May. Ministers highlighted the importance of partnerships (between universities, businesses, public sector, etc.) and the financial incentives for guaranteeing innovation. They also discussed the measures taken to this effect in their respective countries.
Krasimir Valchev, the Bulgarian Minister for Education and Science indicated during his introduction that “The regions must be specialised in their economic activities. We are talking about ‘intelligent specialisation’”. The regions must put the emphasis on where they have high potential and therefore guide public investment. The majority of delegations also supported this approach to varying degrees. The Austrian delegation stated that “The idea of intelligent specialisation is a good idea and appears logical at an economic level. But we need to be able to draw on the potential of a region that can also justify the creation or development of a dedicated HEE”. Finland highlighted the need to respect the concept of universities' autonomy.
Recommendations and conclusions
The section on education (in the morning) led to the adoption of conclusions on creating a European education area by 2025 and two recommendations: on lifelong education/ training and the European dimension of education (see EUROPE 12021).
The conclusions call on the Commission to “explore the possibility of creating a European voluntary student card that helps improve educational mobility by ensuring the best services for students and reduced administrative costs for the higher education institutions”. This European student “status” is being called for by the European Students Union (ESU). The conclusions also call on the Commission to introduce key objectives for “European universities” and their development.
As indicated in a previous issue, the recommendations were presented in January 2018 as part of the measures on skills in Europe (see EUROPE 11941). The first text updates the 2006 recommendation on key skills to take into account technological evolution. With regard to the Commission proposal, the Council is highlighting lifelong learning and is introducing a reference to “healthy life management”. The second text recognises the need to promote the European education dimension in order to increase understanding of our common European heritage and an awareness about the EU’s social and cultural diversity. The Council also adds a possibility for member states to celebrate “European Union” day events as part of the education context.
Structured dialogue
During a press conference, the Bulgarian Minister for Youth and Sport, Krassen Kralev, summed up the working dinner on “Restructuring the Structured Dialogue” by identifying four key messages: (1) greater involvement of young people from different backgrounds; (2) improved follow-up of the dialogue process; (3) structured dialogue at all the different stages; (4) more taking into account of different opinions). (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)