While “the European Education Area [EEA] is gradually being shaped”, there are still challenges to achieving its ambitions by 2025. This is set out in a draft resolution that will be discussed on Friday 21 April in a working group of the Council of the EU.
According to the Swedish Council Presidency text, “the effects of socio-economic status on the educational achievement and well-being of pupils” are thus an obstacle to the development of the EEA. To address this, four priority areas for action are identified: inclusion, teachers, mobility and lifelong learning.
On inclusive education, the document calls for ensuring that all EU citizens can acquire key competences, including basic skills (see EUROPE 13072/5).
With regard to teachers, the Swedish text stresses the need to enhance the value of the profession and to address the shortage in the sector. To this end, it advocates improving their working conditions and promoting mobility opportunities. It also calls on the European Commission to put forward a proposal for a European Year of Teachers. Suggested by Belgium at the last EYCS Council, the initiative did not convince the European Commissioner for Education, Mariya Gabriel (see EUROPE 13136/8).
In addition, the text calls for the removal of obstacles to learning mobility. However, for the Presidency, this will mainly be achieved through automatic mutual recognition of competences within the EU (see EUROPE 13157/22).
Finally, the draft resolution stresses the need to promote lifelong learning, especially when it comes to the skills needed for the green and digital transitions.
The draft resolution specifies that the EU Council could review the priority areas of the strategic framework for cooperation between Member States in education and training (2021-2030). The Commission is expected to present a mid-term review of the EEA during 2023.
Read the draft resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/6ez (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)