Croatia was well represented on Tuesday 21 January in front of the European Parliament's Education and Culture Committee to set out the priorities it intends to defend during its six-month Presidency of the EU Council. However, despite two hours of discussions with MEPs, they did not go much further than what had already been announced (see EUROPE 12398/14).
Four personalities had made the trip: the Minister of Education, Blaženka Divjak, who said she would work on: the role of education and training in the 'European Semester' process, balanced mobility, ‘brain circulation’ and the trainers of the future. The Minister for Youth, Vesna Bedeković, is committed to young people in remote rural areas, raising awareness of the situation of young people and promoting dialogue between the EU and the young. Minister of Culture Nina Obuljen Koržinek identified cooperation in culture, combating risks to cultural heritage and media education as priorities. Finally, Deputy State Secretary for Sport Krešimir Šamija said that Croatia would focus on the qualifications of coaches and the role of the media in sport.
The negotiations on the Creative Europe, European Solidarity Corps and Erasmus programmes were also discussed. “On Erasmus we will do our best", said Blaženka Divjak. "I note Parliament's concerns about governance. We are aware of the problem, but we do not have a mandate. Our goal is to be very active", she continued.
On a broader scale, Blaženka Divjak welcomed the European Commission's intention to update the Skills Agenda (most likely on 4 March), saying that the package would contain a "recommendation on vocational training, which we hope to see adopted at the May EU Council". On the other hand, she regretted that the Commission had fallen behind on the next framework for cooperation between Member States in the field of education and training, announced in the Communication for a Strong Social Europe for the third quarter of 2020, i.e. after the end of the Croatian Presidency. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)