The European Commission has introduced a new package of measures aiming to bolster implementation of its European Education Area plan by 2025.
Efforts to implement the European Education Area plan have accelerated this year, in an effort to synchronise educational opportunities in member states and enhance learning mobility and opportunities for young people from throughout the bloc.
Among the commission’s aims are to encourage young people to participate in civic and democratic life, and to harness the potential of culture for social progress and economic growth, as a means of empowering more Europeans than ever before.
What does the new package include?
The new package introduces a variety of measures supporting implementation of the European Education Area plan, including a Youth Strategy for the period 2019-2027, which aims to give young Europeans a stronger role to play in European policy-making. It also includes the adoption of an overarching communication on the European Commission’s vision for education and culture policies, and how they will shape the bloc’s future direction.
The commission has also announced ambitions to ensure automatic mutual recognition of diplomas and learning periods, which means that qualifications achieved and times spent learning in certain member states are recognised as equivalent to those in other states.
To facilitate these aims, the new package proposes the establishment of vocational education and training centres of excellence, to promote an active role in local and regional economic development for vocational education.
What has the commission said?
European Commissioner for Education Tibor Navracsics emphasised the positive impact that the establishment of a European Education Area could have for all citizens, across all sectors and at all levels.
He said: “Education, culture and youth policy have a central role in building a resilient, competitive and cohesive Europe for the future… The proposals we are putting forward today show that the commission is working hard to achieve a set of ambitious goals together with member states. These actions will help to pave the way towards the European Education Area while strengthening a European identity and empowering people, especially young people.”
