On 4 September, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn inaugurated the first European School outside the EU – in Georgia.
This school, which is one of the 20 deliverables of the Eastern Partnership by 2020, "will provide students from the EU's six Eastern partner countries (...) with an innovative academic programme while fostering multicultural exchanges and cooperation", the European Commission stated in a press release.
For its first academic year, the school will host 30 pupils aged 16 and 17, coming from the six Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine). The teaching is to take its inspiration from the European Schools system, with the pupils following lessons in a multilingual and multicultural environment in order to broaden and deepen their knowledge of Europe and the EU. They will also be able to participate in high-level conferences on EU subjects, the Commission states. Graduates will receive an International Baccalaureate Diploma in European Studies.
The financing behind this programme does not yet seem clear. Hahn told press in Georgia that he still had to speak to the Georgian prime minister and education minister about the details of a development plan for the years to come in order to clarify what the future contributions of the government and EU would be. He stated that the EU was ready to invest €7 million to prepare the project, build a school and cover the operation costs for three years. He added that the EU was always ready to provide grants and help those who have limited financial means.
Hahn also announced that the first joint meeting between the European Commission and Georgian government would take place on 21 November. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)