After a year and a half of video conference meetings, the EU Ministers for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport will meet in person in Brussels on Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 May.
Their first morning meeting will be devoted to education, with a debate on the transformation of higher education in the EU. Ministers will be asked about their interest in a European approach to degrees and micro-credentials in higher education.
The debate will be followed by a working lunch on adult learning with the Commissioners for Employment and Education. Two draft conclusions, of which EUROPE has obtained a copy, will also be submitted to the ministers for approval.
The first is the European Universities Initiative, whose pilot phase (see EUROPE 12283/19) was extended last summer to 24 new university alliances.
Among other things, the Commission and the Member States are invited to support these ‘European Universities’ “while respecting their institutional autonomy” and to help them achieve the European objective of 50% mobile students.
The draft also calls on the Commission to develop guidelines on the means available under EU programmes, funds and financial instruments to complement the financial support for this project.
This topic is also expected to be addressed during the debate. Indeed, the Ministers were invited by the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council to express their interest in these university alliances, which were presented as “test beds” for better cooperation with regard to the careers of European teachers and researchers.
Inclusive education. The second set of draft conclusions deals with equity and inclusion in education.
It calls on Member States to facilitate access to early childhood services for all children and to improve access to quality education and training.
This is “for all learners”. Particularly for those at risk of poverty and social exclusion, people with disabilities, people from migrant and minority backgrounds, and learners with fewer opportunities due to their geographical location or gender, the document says.
On this point, the draft conclusions indicate that more young men than young women leave the education system early (11.9% versus 8.4% respectively). It also points out that while the rate of those leaving school early was held to 10.2% in 2019, it was still 20.3% for pupils with disabilities.
The text also calls on Member States to address the shortage of teachers, “in particular in the special needs education and multicultural and multilingual settings”, and on the European Commission to convene an expert group to work on promoting digital literacy and combating disinformation (see EUROPE 12712/25).
Youth. On Monday afternoon, the ministers will discuss how to develop “youth-friendly” policies, particularly to address the challenges facing young people, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
A draft conclusion on youth participation in decision-making processes is also expected to be approved.
The German, Portuguese and Slovenian ministers, who make up the current trio Presidency, together with their French counterpart, will hold an informal exchange of views with the Commissioner for Youth, Mariya Gabriel, and representatives of European youth organisations.
Culture and Sport. Finally, on Tuesday, the ministers will discuss the diversification of funding sources for safeguarding Europe’s cultural heritage and the promotion of European values in the world through sport.
Again, conclusions are expected to be adopted on the revival of the cultural and creative sectors on the one hand and on the transformation of the media sector on the other (see EUROPE 12679/24). (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)