After a slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, public spending on education in the European Union is back on the rise. According to the report Investing in Education 2025, published on Wednesday 27 August by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, in 2023 Member States spent €806 billion euros on education, representing 9.6% of their total public spending and 4.7% of their gross domestic product.
However, while these figures are rising - 9.3% of public spending was devoted to education in 2020 - they are still below the levels before the health crisis (10% in 2019). According to the report, investment in education continues to get “a lower share of total public expenditure than in the 2010s”.
In terms of the breakdown of investment, more than 70% of expenditure goes to school education, while higher education receives 16%.
The European Union also supports Member States’ actions through specific funding: for the period 2021-2027, €148 billion has been earmarked for education and skills via Erasmus+, the European Social Fund+ and InvestEU, in addition to €75 billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
“Spending on education is an investment, not a cost. And the EU has be ready for the future”, said Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, responsible for Social Rights and Skills, in a press release. She also pointed out that the next Multiannual Financial Framework, which was presented in July (see EUROPE 13682/1), provides for greater funding for education, in particular through more partnership plans, a ‘European Competitiveness Fund’ and a “reinforced Erasmus+ programme”.
In line with Roxana Mînzatu’s statement, the report presents education as a vector for productivity and innovation. A single additional year of study increases individual earnings by an average of 7% in Europe. As a result, it is noted that “by 2030, the GDP of European countries could increase by between 8 to 10 per cent above current projections if more people were equipped with sufficient level of basic skills”.
To read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/i5i (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)