On Thursday 20 February, the MEPs on the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) held talks with the Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Education, Skills and Preparation, Roxana Mînzatu, as part of the first structured dialogue of her term of office.
While Vice-President Mînzatu sought to reassure MEPs that education has a major place in the European project, the MEPs expressed concern about the sustainability of funding and the need to make these programmes more inclusive and accessible to all.
Zoltán Tarr (EPP, Hungarian), who supported the value of education for European cohesion and the fight against disinformation, asked Roxana Mînzatu about the use of funds.
She confirmed her commitment to preserving this funding and stressed the key role of the ‘Skills Union’, which she will be presenting on 15 March and which puts education above all else.
Erasmus+: towards greater accessibility? Budgetary concerns have also affected the Erasmus+ programme, the cornerstone of student mobility in Europe.
Emma Rafowicz (S&D, French) warned of the growing precariousness of young people, calling for greater support for their financial independence: “Today, the precariousness of young people is a European reality”.
Roxana Mînzatu acknowledged these difficulties and pledged her commitment to making Erasmus+ more inclusive: “Erasmus needs to become a tool for reaching more categories. It should not be an elitist tool”.
She also mentioned discussions with the European Investment Bank and the European Social Fund+ to better coordinate funding and ensure better access to grants.
Working conditions for young people and teachers. In addition, the issue of working conditions for young people and teachers was tabled by Anthony Smith (The Left, French), who called for stricter measures on unpaid internships and protection for young people in companies.
Roxana Mînzatu, who affirmed her support for an ambitious directive on internships, confirmed that a specific plan for teachers would be presented in 2025 and that it would focus on making the profession more attractive: “Without well-trained and well-paid teachers, it will be impossible to achieve our objectives in terms of skills and competitiveness”.
With regard to the harmonisation of university degrees in Europe, Laurence Farreng (Renew Europe, French) asked the Commissioner about the future of European university alliances and the recognition of qualifications.
Roxana Mînzatu confirmed her commitment to strengthening these alliances and improving the recognition of diplomas: “We need to strike a balance between deepening existing alliances and welcoming new ones”. She also mentioned a future EU Council recommendation for better automatic recognition of qualifications.
Referring to the decline in school performance in Europe, Malika Sorel (EPP, French) called for measures to combat this collapse, particularly in reading and mathematics.
The Vice-President replied that this issue would be included in the ‘Action Plan on Basic Skills’, which will be presented at the same time as the ‘Skills Union’, and supported a strengthening of digital education. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)