During a unique joint debate on Friday 8 November, the European Ministers of Finance and Education underlined the importance of investment in education. Not surprisingly, some countries, such as France, insisted on spending “more”, while others, such as Germany and the Netherlands, insisted on spending “better”.
This is the first time that these two EU Council configurations have been brought together in a single debate (in this case on the importance of effective and high-quality education and training for the economy) (see EUROPE 12365/26). An exercise which, although welcomed by all, lasted for a good three hours, delaying the other debates. This is an “historic day”, said Finnish Minister of Education Li Andersson, supported by European Commissioner for Education Tibor Navracsics, who presented himself as a long-time advocate of such an exercise. Will it be continued? This will depend on the upcoming rotating presidencies, Li Andersson told the press.
Education, a priority investment area
In his introductory speech, Financial Services Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis called for a smart mix of public and private spending. In his view, the efficiency of public spending should be improved, which would specifically lead to welfare gains of 0.4 to 1.6 percentage points in terms of gross domestic product. He added that private investment should also be encouraged and used to finance training (upskilling and reskilling of adults).
The question of the amount of investment made by the Member States, which are primarily responsible for education policies, quickly arose. Tibor Navracsics raised this issue. He defended “adequate, smart investments that leave no one behind” and questioned the spending level in Europe, which is equivalent to 4.6% of GDP on average. “Do we really believe it’s sufficient?” he wondered, without answering the question.
Spend more or better?
Two camps clashed throughout the meeting. The breach was opened by the President of the Economic and Financial Committee (an EU advisory body), Hans Vulbrief, who said that spending on education is not necessarily about new money, but about “doing more with what we have more efficiently”. Germany, the Netherlands and Austria immediately engaged. For Berlin, the most important thing is to make better use of funds and exchange best practices. Vienna, for its part, stressed that the challenge was to make reductions in spending per person. And Amsterdam closed the loop by calling for “an end to spending that does not work”.
Several Member States have taken this opportunity to call for more flexible European fiscal rules. “A pro-education budget is essential, but that’s not all. Our fiscal rules must be more conducive to increased spending”, said Italian Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri. On behalf of the German-speaking community of Belgium, Harald Mollers called on the EU to review funding rules to allow investment in infrastructure, while Romanian Secretary of State Attila György suggested making more use of EU funds.
For its part, France, through its Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, insisted that education is a “social and economic investment”. “Investment efficiency is needed; but that doesn’t prevent us from saying that it must increase. There are two areas where more spending is needed: education and health”.
Croatian Presidency and experiences
More broadly, States described their main actions on the ground and their main challenges. Denmark, for example, explained that it has to deal with an increasing number of families who put their children in private schools. Austria welcomed its low rate of inactive youth, highlighting its choice to make education compulsory (secondary education, apprenticeship or training) until the age of 18.
Croatia, which will take over the rotating presidency of the EU Council on 1 January 2020, has announced that it will take a close interest in supporting teachers and in circulation of expertise in connection with the ‘European Semester’.
Finally, Latvia recalled that it would sign, on that very day, together with five other Member States, a declaration of intent concerning automatic recognition of higher education diplomas (see EUROPE 12362/24). She hoped that this would “inspire the rest of the EU”. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)