EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 30.9.2020 SWD(2020) 212 final COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions on achieving the European Education Area by 2025 {COM(2020) 625 final}



Contents 1. Introduction 2. Long term trends, social transformation and changing needs affecting the world of education and training 2.1. Education, technology and the future of work 2.2. Population and globalisation 2.3. Sustainable development 2.4. Social cohesion and democracy 2.5. The COVID-19 pandemic 3. The legacy of European cooperation in education and training 3.1. European Education Area initiatives to date 3.1.1. Key competences for Lifelong Learning 3.1.2. Promoting common values 3.1.3. High quality early childhood education and care 3.1.4. Teaching and learning of languages 3.1.5. Digital Education Action Plan 3.1.6. Erasmus+ European Universities 3.1.7. Student Mobility – The European Student Card Initiative 3.1.8. Graduate Tracking 3.1.9. Automatic mutual recognition

3.1.10. Skills 3.2. Achievements of the Open Method of Coordination in education and training 3.2.1. The Open Method of Coordination in education and training 3.2.2. Evidence and monitoring 4. Towards the European Education Area 4.1. Future priorities and issue areas 4.1.1. Early childhood education and care 4.1.2. Key challenges to achieve school success for all 4.1.3. Challenges in acquiring and upgrading competences for adults 4.1.4. Linguistic and cultural diversity 4.1.5. The multi-dimensional issue of gender in education 4.1.6. Teachers, trainers and school leaders 4.1.7. The need for higher education transformation 4.1.8. Relevance of learning mobility for improved outcomes 4.1.9. Informal and non-formal learning and volunteering 4.1.10. The European Education Area in the world 4.2. Working together towards the European Education Area – a new enabling framework CONCLUSIONS ANNEXES Annex I – Summary Table of European Education Area initiatives

Procedural annex – Synopsis report of stakeholder consultations

1.Introduction The present Staff Working Document is composed of four main chapters: the first one introduces the broader context that underpins the proposal for a coherent vision of the European Education Area; the second presents long-term trends and societal changes that exert a transformative effect on education and training; the third reflects on the legacy and achievements of the ET 2020 strategic cooperation framework and presents progress on the ongoing European Education Area initiatives; finally, the last chapter identifies future priority and issue areas and puts forward options for the enabling framework of the European Education Area. The fundamental place of education in our European way of life Education sets the foundation of the society’s progress across generations. It is a right of every child. It helps young people take up the accumulated body of knowledge and introduces them to society’s norms and practices. Learning in all its forms (formal, non-formal and informal) plays a pivotal role in ensuring that all people, irrespective of their socio-economic background, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, sex or gender can discover their talents and become valuable members of societies. Education enhances social cohesion and fosters democracy, enabling stronger and more meaningful social and economic interactions. Individuals with higher levels of education participate in political activities to a greater extent. Education underpins democracy in Europe and the world, and forms the bedrock of the European way of life. Education also stands at the heart of Europe’s social market economy as the foundation for economic and social convergence. It helps strengthen people’s employability, which not only affects the labour market and society but also positively influences individuals’ lives. By equipping people with the right skills, knowledge and competences, education and training can improve productivity as people learn how to perform tasks more effectively. Higher productivity is key for Europe to retain its competiveness in the global market where the Union must compete against lower wage regions. A scenario that considered a modest increase in student achievement on the OECD PISA survey of basic skills showed that, if all EU countries achieved this target in 15 years, the aggregate impact would be faster economic growth and an increase in GDP of EUR 71 trillion compared to the no change scenario. High quality education and training also helps build societal and personal resilience and bring other non-economic benefits. It helps people, across all stages of life, to gain the competences to manage transitions spurred by demographic change, digital transformations, climate change, inequality and globalisation by providing skills and competences to adjust to societal and economic changes. Better education and skills correlate positively with better health, high levels of civic engagement, lower welfare use and help reduce propensity to commit crime. Beyond its benefits for personal development, the whole society benefits from higher education levels. For an individual, the average global rate of return to an extra year of schooling is about 9% a year; for the society this figure stands at more than 10% at the secondary and higher education levels. Children and young people from more disadvantaged backgrounds, in particular, strongly benefit from good quality education and training as they reduce socio-economic differences with those from more affluent families. Education and training also helps the EU play a stronger role in a global, increasingly digital and knowledge-based world. It contributes to strengthening innovation capacity as people learn to generate and adopt new ideas that spur technological progress. It plays an important role in positioning Europe as an attractive destination for global talent and strengthening Europe’s research performance. Over the period 2014-2020, international credit mobility will have led to 200,000 higher education staff and students exchanges between Europe and the rest of the world. Each year around 1,000 European higher education institutions have benefitted from these global contacts, each partnering with an average of 4-6 universities around the world. United in diversity: working toward higher quality and more inclusive education systems Europe can draw on a wide richness of education systems and models. They have been developed to meet the needs of their societies and communities, in line with the national culture and heritage (illustrated below in the models of primary and lower secondary education in Europe). At the same time, all the systems share the same common values and objectives of contributing to personal development, equipping people for their working life, and promoting active civic participation and learning related to democracy, the rule of law, citizenship and a shared identity. They also share the call to succeed in the digital and green transitions. Europe can build on a rich tradition of cooperation in pursuit of shared objectives in education and training. In higher education, each country has its own individual higher education system, but all form part of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), bringing together both EU Member States and other countries in Europe. The EHEA, with EU support, has encouraged the development of common European cycles of study and corresponding tools and principles. It has helped strengthen intra-EU student mobility, employability, and attractiveness for students across the globe. Figure 1. Models of primary and lower secondary education (ISCED 1-2) in Europe, 2019/20 Source: Eurydice, 2019 However, divergence exists across a number of areas. In the case of public spending on education, it has remained relatively constant at an overall level in EU27 in the past five years. In 2018, government expenditure in EU Member States amounted to 4.6% of total GDP on education and training, and the EU average share of public expenditure on education as a percentage of total public expenditure was 9.9%. Nevertheless, major differences exist among EU Member States, with certain countries facing difficulties in ensuring adequate resources to cover their investment needs in terms of education and training. Figure 2. General government expenditure in the EU on education (in % GDP)

Source: Eurostat [ gov_10a_exp ] Note: *provisional **estimated Wide differences across the EU are also visible in the outcomes, as shown in the OECD PISA survey of basic skills of 15-year-olds. Around one in five pupils in the EU score as low achievers in the PISA survey (22.5% in reading, 22.9% in mathematics and 22.3% in science), a result that has broadly stagnated or worsened in most Member States over the past decade. Socio-economic background strongly affects pupils’ performance and their academic expectations and create a persistent risk of intergenerational transmission of poverty. Overall, the proportion of underachievers in reading is much larger for pupils whose families belong in the bottom quarter of the PISA socio-economic index (see Figure 3). Figure 3. Underachievers in reading (% 15-year-olds) by socio-economic status (ESCS). Source: PISA 2018, OECD. Note: Countries are sorted in ascending order according to the underachievement gap between the bottom and top quarter of the socio-economic index. Data not available for ES. Towards a European Education Area The shared challenges of Europe’s education systems, and the successful tradition of European cooperation, gave rise to the idea of a common European space of learning. In the Rome Declaration of March 2017, European leaders pledged to work towards a Union where young people receive the best education and training and can study and find jobs across the continent. The European Pillar of Social Rights jointly proclaimed by EU Leaders at the 2017 Gothenburg Social Summit establishes the right to quality and inclusive education, training and lifelong learning as its first principle. To make these aspirations a reality, the Commission together with EU countries set in motion actions to achieve a European Education Area, in the Communication on Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture and the EU Leaders’ meeting in Gothenburg on the 17 November 2017. Implementing the political mandate, the Commission presented, on the 17 January 2018, a first package of ‘New measures to boost key competences and digital skills, as well as the European dimension of education’ addressing key competences for lifelong learning, digital skills, common values and inclusive education. On 22 May 2018, a second package of initiatives was proposed by the Commission, in the Communication on Building a stronger Europe: the role of youth, education and culture policies which highlighted the key role played by education, youth and culture in building the future of Europe. On 24 October 2019, a Council Resolution on further developing the European Education Area to support future-oriented education and training systems was adopted. The Resolution called for taking further the ‘initiatives towards the creation of a genuine European Education Area, aiming to develop further its goals, objectives and scope and to enhance its links with the post-ET 2020 strategic framework for cooperation in education and training; and to take appropriate steps to ensure that all levels and all forms of education and training are promoted on an equal basis’. President Von der Leyen made a commitment to making the European Education Area a reality by 2025 by bringing down barriers to learning, improving access to quality education for all, enabling learners to move more easily between educational systems in different countries and making lifelong learning integral part of education and training to empower people through education and skills. The ambition to create the European Education Area is the next step in decades of European cooperation in education and training. Between 2001 and 2020, two strategic frameworks for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2010 and ET 2020) provided a forum to realise the EU’s ambitions in education through a structured political steering, technical work guided by common objectives and performance indicators. Work on the European Education Area will take forward the achievements of the previous frameworks. 2.Long term trends, social transformation and changing needs affecting the world of education and training Major societal shifts – megatrends – have a significant impact on education and training systems across Europe and the individual Member States, most importantly the future of work driven by globalisation, digitalisation and technological progress, climate change and environmental sustainability, demographic change and the global race for talent. The European Education Area presents a vision of education that is future-oriented and is attuned to the ongoing transformation of the world we live in. On top of these long term societal developments, the COVID-19 pandemic accentuates the significance of education and training as an essential human activity, the interruption of which generates far-reaching economic and societal reverberations. 2.1. Education, technology and the future of work Employment The EU being one of the most open economies of the world , challenges in the global economy are increasingly affecting the way we work, the distribution of jobs and the demand for skills and competences. In the space of a generation, the average European worker has gone from having a job for life to having more than ten in a career. The high number of career transitions and the increase of the retirement age make lifelong learning essential. The fast pace of digitisation and automation, together with the sustainability imperative, are reshaping labour market needs across all sectors. Key competences, digital competences in particular, and “soft” transversal skills will be essential to ensure multiple job changes and keep pace with technological progress, while we advance in the digital and green transition. The effects of the COVID-19 crisis will further change the skills demand in a labour market that is already challenged by major transitions. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, employment rates in the EU were on an upward trend, with older and high-skilled workers as the main drivers of employment growth. In the EU in 2019, some 12 million adults aged 25-64 were unemployed. The COVID-19 crisis is expected to lead to a considerable increase in unemployment. The first forecasts done since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak estimate significant contractions of employment. About 45 million jobs in the EU-27 labour market (23% of total EU-27 employment) are faced with a very high risk of COVID-19 disruption and another 22% of the EU workforce, mostly medium- to lower-skilled service provision – is exposed to significant risk. The effects of COVID-19 social distancing fall ‘disproportionately on vulnerable workforce groups, such as women, older employees, non-natives, the lower-educated and those employed in micro-sized workplaces.’ Cedefop work further suggests that, in terms of actual job opportunities, job openings requiring medium-level qualification will continue to represent the largest share of all job-openings (46% of all job openings over the period of 2016-2030), closely followed in number by job-openings requiring high-level of qualification (43% of all job-openings). Education and skills levels continue to be a fundamental factor on the labour market, with higher education and vocational medium-level qualifications being correlated with higher employment rates. On average, only 56.7% of those aged 20-34 with a low level of educational attainment (and not any longer in education or training) were employed in 2019. At the same time, the employment rate of recent graduates with a medium-level general qualification was 62.8%, of those with a medium-level vocational qualification 79.1% and of those with tertiary qualification 85.0%. In other words, the gap between employment rates of low- and high-skilled workers remains very high. Covid-19 is expected to further exacerbate these inequalities, as preliminary evidence suggests that high-qualified people are much more likely to work in sectors that are less affected by the crisis, partially as a result of richer opportunities to work from home. The relatively vulnerable labour market position of low- and (part of the) medium-skilled workers points at the need for policy action, particularly through effective upskilling and reskilling, to help them find more sustainable and quality jobs in the green and digital economy.

Lifelong learning will be vital to provide individuals with both transferable and specific skills enabling them to transfer more easily within the job market, while leaving no one behind. Despite progress in a number of Member States, the participation of adults in learning activities (over the last 4 weeks) has increased only to a limited extent in the last decade, and remains particularly low (below 5%) for low-skilled adults. An important part of the post-COVID 19 recovery process should be met by accelerating the greening of key economic sectors. This includes, for example, “smart circular economy”, the “renovation wave”, clean transport, sustainable food and implementing the “Farm to Fork” strategy, clean energy (such as renewable and energy storage technologies, clean hydrogen, batteries, carbon capture and storage and sustainable energy infrastructure) and health prevention aspects. Protecting and restoring biodiversity and natural ecosystems will also be key to building climate and economic resilience. Greening of economy will also require greening of skills. Technological change and the digital transformation Technological progress (robots, artificial intelligence, big data) and the digital transformation increasingly permeate the world of work, economies across the globe become more integrated and jobs’ skills requirement are continuously rising.. Even in sectors so far less impacted by automation, like health, education and the public sector – sectors employing a large share of the workforce people need to operate a growing number of digital technologies in the framework of their job. The new Commission Digital Education Action Plan goes hand in hand with the EEA to specifically address these challenges. Digital transformation has an impact on jobs and employability. Today, 85% of the current jobs require a certain level of digital skills; at the same time, new jobs will come into being, while robotisation and artificial intelligence are increasingly replacing routine jobs. Secondly, the very idea of citizenship is re-shaped by the mediation of digital tools, contributing to a debate that spans from disinformation to civic participation. Thirdly, when COVID-19 first hit and education institutions closed down, the extent to which effective education continued depended on the state of the existing digital infrastructure, digital skills, and the combined effort of educators, parents, school heads and other stakeholders to help young people continue learning. A fourth aspect that relates to this megatrend is well-being in a digital age. The excessive and uncritical use of digital technologies can have detrimental effects that relate to cyberbullying, to dependence, to decreased empathy. Down-turning effects of digital technology on empathy are yielded when its content and its use entail antisocial approaches and violence. Digital skills are seen today as basic skills for life, as important as reading and writing. Today 42% of the EU population lack basic digital skills. In 2014, in OECD countries, 42% of people with no digital competence were unemployed, and around 40% of people thought that their computer skills were not sufficient to find a new job. Also, the digital divide between those with no or only basic digital skills, and others with higher level skills could widen existing gaps in society and further exclude some parts of the population. Besides the need for digital skills for the labour force in general, there is a need to support the development of professional digital skills. New job openings are emerging every year in the green and ICT sectors and start-ups of the economy. However, on the supply side there is no significant increase in STEM graduates. Digital skills have furthermore a great impact on our democracies. The Flash Eurobarometer 464 report (2018) states that a third of respondents (37%) say they come across fake news every day or almost every day, and a further 31% say that this happens at least once a week. Against this background, a major challenge for the education and training systems is to ensure that all individuals can develop digital competences early on and throughout life. 2.2. Population and globalisation European populations are undergoing profound demographic transformations. Two key drivers behind these trends are population ageing and migration – both of which carry important implications for education and training systems of the future. Ageing population Population ageing implies an overall increase in the median age across the EU from 43.7 years in 2019, to an expected 49 in 2070 , as well as changes in the age structure of societies. Longer and healthier lives coupled with low fertility rates are the key drivers behind population ageing. In 2018, the average life expectancy of an EU citizen at birth was 81 years. It is estimated to continue to increase to 86 years for men and 90 years for women. If current demographic trends continue, by 2070, the share of population over 65 years will surpass 30%, compared to 20% in 2019. The relative share of people over 80 years old growing at an even faster pace: it is projected to double to 13%. At the same time, the number of children and young people (aged 0-19) is projected to decrease by 12.6 million. The latest research shows that EU-27’s working-age population (20-64) has been shrinking for a decade and is projected to fall from 59% (2019) to 51% by 2070, with significant differences between Member States and regions. This will mean more dependent people per active worker: from slightly more than three active workers for every person aged 65 or more, by 2070, the EU will see an average of a little less than two workers for every person above 65. Recent projections show that neither higher fertility, nor higher levels of external migration would significantly mitigate the effects of population ageing. Market transformations linked to demographic change, such as the expected increased participation of older workers in the labour market, increased demands for jobs in the healthcare and social sectors, as well as the increase of age-related public expenditure (including projected changes in public spending on education) will have implications for education and training. One of such is the necessity to ensure high quality initial education and cater to the upskilling and reskilling needs of adults in a lifelong learning perspective to support innovation and labour productivity. Participation in adult learning in the EU remains low (see Section 2.2). Adult participation in education and training currently depends mainly on participation in non-formal education and training. In the future, it will be important to take into account demographic change for public expenditure, in particular for qualified adult educators and the design of flexible pathways in formal settings. Migration On 1 January 2019, there were 21.8 million third country nationals in the EU-27, representing 4.9% of the population. In the last 35 years, each year more people moved into the EU than left, making Europe a continent of positive net migration. People are also on the move internally: in 2018, 1.4 million people moved from one Member State to another, which has implications at the national and local level. There is significant variation in the levels of emigration and immigration across Europe, with certain countries receiving more third-country nationals, refugees and ‘intra-EU’ mobile citizens than others. Migration and education interact in two ways: ·Migration-induced demographic changes impacting education: EU-27 as a whole, the foreign population is younger than the national population: the median age of immigrants to the EU was 29.2 in 2018 (compared to the EU median age of 43.7 in 2019). In some countries, the student population is predicted to grow as a result of immigration. ·Education as a driver of brain circulation: the internationalisation of higher education and the pursuit of global excellence are key tools of attracting highly skilled people from outside of Europe. Talent recruitment and retention

Highly skilled people are an indispensable driver of economic growth, competitiveness and innovation. European countries develop talent through investment in education and training, complemented by talent recruitment from outside Europe. European countries are all, to varying degrees, trying to respond to the pressures created by population ageing, labour and skills shortages, increased global competition and economic integration, and the expansion of digitalisation to all areas of work and life. However, it is also important to note that education opportunities alone do not drive labour migration. Evidence from the 2020 pilot Graduate Tracking Survey shows that graduate migration is mainly related to the labour market situation rather than study abroad experience. The tertiary student population has grown significantly in the last two decades. Overall, the number of higher education students in the world is steadily rising, with particularly strong growth in the developing and emerging economies. In this landscape, Europe remains an attractive destination for mobile learners with a stable share of the internationally mobile student population – France and Germany as the most popular destinations account for approximately 5% of the global share each. As more and more countries are expanding and raising the quality of their higher education offer, European higher education institutions must act strategically to capitalise on Europe’s reputation for top quality higher education. In addition, the pursuit of excellence in teaching and research should remain top priority for European higher education institutions in a changing geopolitical context. They must increase their attractiveness; actively promote international mobility of students and staff; provide world class innovative curricula as well as research opportunities; and enter into cooperation and strategic partnerships with other higher education institutions, government institutions, the private sector and civil society around the world. Furthermore they must make a stronger contribution to economic growth and tackling social challenges by encouraging innovation and ensuring that higher education responds to labour market needs. At the same time, Europe needs more digital experts who can develop technologies such as artificial intelligence, high performance computing and cybersecurity helping to address societal challenges such as climate change. Other demographic observations In addition to these large trends and parameters all together in the context of education and training, on a more granular level the following points are worth noting: 1.By 2030, the baseline student population (ages 3-16) is projected to shrink by 5.8% on average, and in several Member States (e.g. Spain, Italy, Greece), the change will be closer to -14%; while others (Germany, Austria, Sweden) will likely experience an increase, mostly as a result of migration. These trends will bear implications both for the design of education policies to respond to diversity as well as education expenditure. 2.As reported in the 2019 Education and Training Monitor, the EU’s teaching workforce is ageing and Member States face significant teacher shortages, both generally and in terms of specific profiles. Teachers are predominantly women: in 2018 in the EU-27 women represented 96.6% of pre-primary, 84.9% of primary and 64.7% of secondary school teacher. (For further discussion on teacher demography and underlying trends, see Section 3.1.5.). 3.Other demographic trends, such as changes in household size and composition, or the regional dimension of demographic change, such as the depopulation of rural areas, impacting people’s access to quality services (health, education etc.) will bear important consequences for the planning of education and training provision. Experience with online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of geographical location as well as family environments, and will carry continued relevance in the future. 2.3.Sustainable development A sustainable society is founded on equal access to healthcare, nutrition, clean water, shelter, education, energy, opportunities and employment. The EU has been making significant steps in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and in the transition towards a greener economy. The transition to a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable economy that is climate-neutral can have significant employment and social impacts, which can be partially mitigated through education and skills policies. The 2019 Employment and Social Developments in Europe Report highlighted that the environmental goods and services sector recorded above average job creation since 2000. Between 2012 and 2018 the number of jobs linked to the circular economy in the EU grew by 5% to reach around 4 million. In 2016, there were 4.5 million people (full-time equivalent) employed in the environmental economy in the EU, up from 3.2 million in 2000. The report points out that skill requirements and education levels in the green economy are increasing faster than in the economy overall. This shows the need to accelerate action for bridging the skills gap, particularly for vulnerable (e.g. old, low-skilled) workers, and the importance of continuous improvement of transversal competences in the transition towards a greener economy. As the COVID-19 pandemic containment measures are gradually lifted, Member States start charting sustainable recovery routes out of the crisis. In order to deliver, and bearing in mind the momentum imposed by the recovery and the accelerating transitions, educational shift towards sustainability needs to become a reality affecting all age cohorts. In the 2019 Eurobarometer, 67% of respondents identified protecting the environment and fighting climate change as the first priority for the EU in the years to come. However, there appears to be a gap between concern for the environment and actual action. The final report of the European Education and Training Expert Panel emphasised the need to move beyond awareness raising to building understanding about sustainability through education, and generating change in individual habits and behaviours. The European Green Deal and Climate Pact initiatives stress the importance of accelerating action that triggers social awareness and engagement, and highlight the role of schools and universities where related knowledge and skills can be gained and put into practice. Initiatives stemming from the European Green Deal, as for example the Biodiversity Strategy to 2030 and Circular Economy Action Plan, recognise the need for education and training to reap the benefits of green transition. The Expert Panel advocated that sustainable development needs to be at the heart of Europe’s education and training systems, shaping environmental awareness, consumer behaviour and new skills of current and future generations. Curricula and study programmes should promote the acquisition of key sustainability skills (e.g. critical thinking and creativity), cognitive and emotional attitudes (e.g. respect, responsibility and empathy), interdisciplinary knowledge and community learning. The Expert Panel also highlighted the importance of teacher education and of building components of sustainable development into special programmes for teachers. According to Eurydice’s report on citizenship education , education for environmental sustainability is now often considered a specialised topic, fit for higher levels of school education, extra-curricular projects or non-formal learning. The Expert Panel pointed out that the nature of primary education (with flexible timetables) could allow teachers to integrate a sustainable development approach. In the secondary school system, curriculum areas such as civic and citizenship education, geography, science, health education, business studies, could provide opportunities for the integration of education for environmental sustainability. Schools and higher education institutions play an essential role in addressing the issue of sustainable development by raising awareness and instilling the key competences needed for changing personal behaviours and empowering people to act in their respective communities. Education for environmental sustainability development should be integrated and mainstreamed across all disciplines and all levels in education. There is a need to connect citizens to science and vice-versa, to strengthen the link between research and education, between scientists and pupils, and to engage on topics such as climate change, sustainable development, health, and other issues covered under the European Green Deal. Using education for environmental sustainability can increase the performance, interest and motivation for students to study STEM with an interdisciplinary STEAM approach and to pursue careers in STEM and/or sustainable development, which is more and more needed in an economy that respond to the current challenges. Systematic approaches within education institutions that support learning, teaching, research, community engagement and campus initiatives with dedicated budget allocations and incentives are needed. 2.4.Social cohesion and democracy

Each person has a contribution to make to democratic engagement in Europe; irrespective of their background everyone deserves a chance to succeed and feel that they are valuable members of society. Poverty, youth unemployment, rising inequality, the digital divide, disinformation, racism and discrimination require urgent cooperation and action across Europe, as do the attention to well-being and the integration of migrants. Education and training systems across Europe can deliver the skills that people need to participate fully in society, so Europe can remain globally competitive and innovative and be true to its common values in creating a more equitable and sustainable world. In 2018, across Europe, 23.4% of children under the age of 18 were at the risk of poverty or social exclusion. Youth unemployment in European regions ranges from 2.8% to 64% and only 50% of persons with disabilities that want to work have a job. Parental education still determines a student’s educational attainment to a large degree. Children from poorer areas and families often begin schooling with an educational disadvantage and make slower progress than children from more economically advantaged backgrounds. Vast disparities can be seen in levels of social exclusion, poverty and unemployment of non-EU citizens as compared to home-country nationals. In 2018, nearly 40% of non-EU citizens were at risk of income poverty after social transfers, compared with only 15.3% of home-country nationals. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated inequalities in education, affecting in particular learners in rural and remote regions and disadvantaged groups. Learners had difficulties coping under the new circumstances, due to various reasons, including a less supportive home environment and motivational factors. Learners with special education needs and vulnerable students need additional, targeted and personalized support, as they are likely to be more prone to the physical, psychological and emotional effects of the lockdown than other learners. The integration of people with a migrant background bears particular relevance for education and training, especially as immigrants are more likely to be of school or tertiary education age. Addressing the diversity of educational needs is at the core of making education systems more equitable and inclusive, and will be instrumental for the successful integration of newcomers. Discrimination, racism and intolerance remain a persistent problem. In 2017, 29% of respondents to a large scale EU-wide survey on migrants and minorities felt discriminated against based on their ethnic or immigrant background when looked for a job in the five year before the Survey. Discrimination is not limited to the labour market: in 2019 65% of respondents to a Special Eurobarometer on Europeans’ attitudes toward internal security were ‘concerned’ about ‘the possibility of being exposed to online material that promotes racial hatred or religious extremism.” In FRA’s second LGBTI survey, as many as 43% of LGBT respondents felt discriminated against in 2019 in all areas of the survey they were asked about, as compared with 37% in 2012. Extremist ideologies and violent radicalisation of young people are another complex phenomenon requiring both in-depth knowledge and a multi-faceted response. Factors furthering radicalisation include personal alienation, injustice or humiliation reinforced by social marginalisation, xenophobia and discrimination. Limited education and employment possibilities or unstructured family ties also contribute to it. Moreover, issues related to the mental health and well-being of students require urgent attention. Around 10-20% of children and adolescents experience mental disorders such as anxiety and depression, which may severely influence their development, educational attainment and their potential to live fulfilling lives. Schools in general, and educational attainment in particular, are recognized amongst the fundamental determinants of mental health of children and adolescents. Finally, disinformation has a disabling effect on the social fabric of our society. While Member States tried to construct and implement COVID-19 lockdown measures across Europe, the rise of the ‘infodemic’ dominated the media. 7 in 10 people followed COVID-19 news at least once a day, while 74% of respondents to a recent survey expressed concern about the presence of fake news and 85% claimed the need to hear more from scientists. Tackling disinformation around the COVID-19 pandemic is of particular urgency and education is the best way forward in helping (young) people understand and assess what the media presents. Young people have a vital role to play in strengthening democracy. There is some relief in acknowledging that today’s young people are well organised, motivated and active. The European Green Deal was preceded by a global call to action of young people across the planet. Turnout of young people (aged 18-25) increased by 50% for the 2019 EP elections Their social and civic participation is impressive: 77% of 15-30 year olds have been actively engaged in some form of organised movement or volunteering. 2.5.The COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has played a role in each of the above mentioned societal challenges. It is evident that education and training will play a key role for the EU’s socio-economic recovery and long-term growth and rightfully has a prominent place in the European recovery plan. For that reason, it is important to focus current investment priorities on education and training for the sake of wellbeing and personal and professional development of citizens and to build a resilient economy and society. On top of that, the crisis has exerted a specific and unprecedented pressure on education and training systems and brought about a drastic shift in the teaching and learning process. According to UNESCO, at the end of March 2020, educational institutions shut down in 193 countries, affecting approximately 91% of total enrolled learners on the planet . To ensure continuity of learning in the aftermath of physical closures, education and training institutions had to adapt rapidly to distance learning and teaching, in particular through the employment of digital solutions. The confinement measures presented challenges to operational matters, like admissions; end of the school/academic year; assessment; curricula; and student mobility, particularly affecting 170,000 young people involved in Erasmus+ or the European Solidarity Corps. To mitigate the short term effects, the Commission provided possibilities for additional flexibility in the implementation of the Erasmus+ programme, as well as facilitation of further possibilities for exchange of information and cooperation between Member States. In addition, the Commission put in place a number of tools to support the education and training community, e.g. through an online Distance Learning Network for Member States ministry representatives, the School Education Gateway online platform, the e-Twinning online community, the EU Code Week online community , the adult learning platform EPALE and the publication of guidelines to support education stakeholders in their future planning. The EU funded European network of Safer Internet Centres in the Member States provided resources for teachers and parents with children at home in a special Covid-19-related campaign on the EU betterinternetforkids.eu portal. The Commission also launched a public consultation on the experience of citizens, institutions and organisations, public and private, with the switch to distance and online learning during the pandemic. Nevertheless, the impact of the pandemic on education systems in Europe will be long lasting. It is imperative that temporary challenges will not turn into structural weaknesses. While the rapid switch to digital teaching and learning showed enormous resilience and adaptability of teachers and learners, it also manifested the irreplaceability of face-to-face, traditional educational practice, in particular for younger learners. The heightened challenge of social inclusion of all learners during the COVID-19 crisis is likely to leave a lasting imprint. Estimates and reports from selected EU countries indicate that COVID-19 will not affect students equally. On average, students will suffer a learning loss due to less time spent in learning, experience of stress symptoms, changes in student interaction, and lack of motivation. More structured communication between schools, parents and teachers, which emerged during the crisis, needs be maintained to ensure equal opportunities. The digital shift has brought different challenges to learners, their families, teachers and trainers, but it also provided a valuable learning experience while accelerating digital transformation of education and training institutions. Distance learning as an emergency measure needs to be optimized and modified to prepare the ground for modern, blended forms of teaching and learning. This could eventually lead to new innovative forms of learning which are more flexible, individualized and inclusive. The pandemic highlighted the importance of providing teachers, pupils and students with adequate digital infrastructure and skills. During the pandemic, teachers and trainers have faced unprecedented challenges connected with the required skills and competences to manage digital transitions and the related workload, adapting curricula. The pandemic has reconfirmed that well-trained teachers constitute a driving force in enabling distance learning. European teachers and trainers are the cornerstones of the European Education Area, with a central role to play in promoting the European dimension of teaching, supporting learners in understanding and experiencing the sense of European identity and belonging. 3.The legacy of European cooperation in education and training A strong European Education Area rests on the legacy and achievements of long-standing European cooperation in education and training. It is this cooperation which laid the groundwork for the creation of a European space in education, through the pursuit of shared objectives and targets, mutual learning, building a common knowledge base, and new advances in evidence building and analysis. In the same vein, the ongoing European Education Area initiatives set the track for the work until 2025. 3.3.European Education Area initiatives to date

The launch of the European Education Area in 2018 was accompanied by the adoption of two packages of policy measures in the areas of skills development, languages, higher education and student mobility. These initiatives remain the cornerstone of the European Education Area through their ongoing implementation. A summary table of progress on the initiatives is presented in the Annex. 3.3.1.Key competences for Lifelong Learning In a rapidly changing and highly interconnected world, each person will need a wide range of skills and competences, to be developed continually throughout life. The key competences as defined in the Council Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, adopted in May 2018, aim to lay the foundation for achieving more equal and more democratic societies. They respond to the need for inclusive and sustainable growth, social cohesion and further development of the democratic culture. In comparison to its earlier edition, the Recommendation updates the definitions of key competences and stresses the need to develop teaching practices, assessment tools and innovative learning environments. The Recommendation proposes a Reference Framework as a reference tool for policy makers, education and training providers, educational staff, guidance practitioners, employers, public employment services and learners themselves; it supports efforts at European, national, regional and local level to foster competence development in a lifelong learning perspective. To support the implementation of the Key Competence Recommendation, the Commission has focused its work with experts and stakeholders on developing new ways to organise learning and usage of different learning approaches and environments. For example, a large conference on the Learning Approaches and Environments in School Education was held in Brussels in November 2019. The Commission has also developed more detailed, specific frameworks for three of the eight key competences: Entrepreneurial (EntreComp), Digital (DigComp), and Personal, social and learning to learn competence (LifeComp). These reference tools provide additional help to our Member States and stakeholders for the promotion of competence-based education across the EU. As announced in the Communication on the European Green Deal, the Commission plans to deliver a multidisciplinary competence framework on climate change and sustainable development which will draw on the Council Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning with a special emphasis on STEM, citizenship, entrepreneurship, and the personal, social and learning to learn competences. The work on the general Framework and the more detailed ones continues in view of laying the foundation for the ambitions of the EEA, as concerns the development of progression levels, assessment tools, innovative pedagogies, and learning environments that foster the acquisition of the key competences by all European citizens, especially in the basic skills of reading, maths and science where large deficiencies have been found. This effort sits at the core of the overall support for the Member States provided by the Commission in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. 3.3.2.Promoting common values, inclusive education and the European dimension of teaching In aiming to foster more fair and tolerant societies, the Council adopted the Recommendation on Promoting common values, inclusive education, and the European dimension of teaching in 2018. The Recommendation indicates ways in which education can help young people understand the importance of and adhere to common values set out in Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union and aims at strengthening social cohesion and contributing to fight the rise of populism, xenophobia, divisive nationalism and the spreading of fake news. It invites Member States to step up their efforts to promote more inclusive education systems, support educational staff and focus on the importance of common European values. Education, culture, youth and sport are effective means to nurture societal resilience, pluralism and respect. The implementation of the Recommendation has brought together around 20 EU-level actions across varies policies and programmes which underscore the importance of inclusion and provide young people with an opportunity to make a positive contribution to our European democracies. In the field of education, such actions include the launch of the Jan Amos Comenius Prize, which rewards secondary schools that help their pupils learn about the European Union in inspiring ways; a Network of Role models implemented through the Erasmus+ National Agencies; and the ongoing work of eTwinning relating to fostering a culture of democratic participation in schools. Member States have been actively engaging in mutual learning activities through the ET 2020 Working Group on Common Values and Inclusive Education, on topics such as inclusive history education or the uses and abuses of modern media. In addition, several actions in the field of culture, youth and sport have been supporting the implementation of the Recommendation. This includes for instance the Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange pilot project, which allows young people in Europe and the Southern Mediterranean to connect online improving inter-cultural awareness and soft skills. This initiative will reach over 25,000 young people by the end of 2020 and is expected to become an integral part of the future Erasmus programme. The highly successful #BeInclusive EU Sport Awards rewards organisations in Europe– public or private, commercial or not-for-profit – that have successfully developed sport projects aimed at supporting social inclusion. To sustain the momentum of these achievements, the European dimension of teaching, anchored in common values should remain an intrinsic principle of the European Education Area. 3.3.3.High quality early childhood education and care As the first step of the lifelong learning ladder, participation in early childhood education and care is recognised as an important factor for success in later life. It is therefore essential that the European Education Area addresses the provision of high quality early childhood education and care, as defined in the EU Quality Framework, part of the May 2019 Council recommendation on high quality early childhood education and care systems: -early childhood education and care systems should be accessible, affordable and inclusive; -all staff should be well qualified and benefit of continuing training; -curricula should be in place, based on pedagogical goals, values and approaches which enable children to reach their full potential addressing their social, emotional, cognitive and physical development and their well-being; -monitoring and evaluation processes conceived in the best interest of the child should be in place at every level of the system; -legislation, regulations and adequate funding should support progress towards a universal entitlement to high quality affordable early childhood education and care.

To support the Member States to achieve such quality systems, the Commission has been facilitating exchange of experiences and peer learning since 2018, in particular on the topics of staff recruitment and training as well as inclusion. The key deliverables of the dedicated ET 2020 Working Group are the following: 1. an ECEC competence profile, presenting the core competences which ECEC staff should possess; 2. policy and practice recommendations on efficient strategies to raise the attractiveness of the profession; and 3. a tool-kit for inclusion in ECEC. 3.3.4.Teaching and learning of languages The Council Recommendation on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of languages, which was adopted in May 2019, advocates adequate competence levels by the end of compulsory education. This is based on the Commission’s vision to create a European Education Area, that ‘by 2025, all young Europeans finishing upper secondary education have a good knowledge of two languages, in addition to their mother tongue(s)’. This vision is reflected in the Recommendation in three ways: 1)First, it recommends Member States to raise the bar for language learning in general. All upper secondary school graduates should master the language of schooling and another European language at a level which allows them to use these languages effectively for social, learning and professional purposes. All graduates should also be able to fluently interact in any third language. 2)Second, the Recommendation underlines the importance of fully mastering the language of schooling as a basis for learning and educational achievement, especially for learners from migrant, minority or disadvantaged backgrounds. It therefore recommends that teachers of all subjects should be supported to be able to support the acquisition of the language of schooling. 3)Finally, by recognising the increased linguistic diversity in European classrooms as a result of recent waves of migration and increased mobility within the EU, the Recommendation stresses the importance of valuing linguistic diversity. It promotes the assessment, validation and development of languages which are not necessarily part of the curriculum, but that are an intrinsic part of an increasing share of learners’ linguistic repertoires. The Recommendation strongly supported efforts to ensure that more language teachers benefit from opportunities to learn and study abroad; Erasmus+ can complement equivalent national programmes. Actions like the European Language Label and the European Day of Languages provide further opportunities for Member States to promote language teaching and learning at school level. Member States are recommended to identify and promote innovative, inclusive and multilingual pedagogies, using European tools and platforms, such as the School Education Gateway and eTwinning . A broad spectrum of such pedagogies is discussed in a recent report by the European Commission’s research network for the social and economic aspects of education, NESET, entitled The future of language education in Europe: Case studies of innovative practices . In order to support the implementation of the Recommendation, the European Commission published in June 2020 a report entitled Education begins with language . It focuses on the main challenges and opportunities related to multilingualism in the context of the creation of the European Education Area. 3.3.5.Digital Education Action Plan As part of the European Education Area , in January 2018, the European Commission adopted a Digital Education Action Plan , which set out 11 actions over a three-year timeframe (2018-2020) to help Member States meet the challenges and opportunities stemming from the use of digital technologies in education and training. The 2018 Action Plan focused on formal education (i.e. primary and secondary schools, VET, and higher education) and presented a coordinated and action-oriented narrative on the use of digital technologies for teaching, learning and assessment. Its 11 actions were structured around three priority areas: ·Making better use of digital technology for teaching and learning (actions 1-3); ·Developing digital competences and skills (actions 4 to 8); ·Improving education through better data analysis and foresight (actions 9 to 11). Welcomed by Member States, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, and stakeholders at large, the 2018 Action Plan brought together for a first time after 5 years various policy initiatives and activities on digital education, which raised their visibility and improved the overall coordination and coherence in the field at EU level. The relevant Communication on the new Digital Education Action Plan and the accompanying Staff Working Document provides a detailed overview of the results achieved. 3.3.6.Erasmus+ European Universities The Erasmus+ European Universities initiative, announced in the European Council conclusions of 14 December 2017, is the flagship initiative of the European Education Area in the field of higher education. European Universities are transnational alliances of higher education institutions from across the EU that share a long-term strategy on education, research, innovation and service to society. European Universities strive to boost the transformation of European higher education to enhance its quality, inclusion, digitalisation and attractiveness through deeper cooperation between institutions, their students and staff. Their objective is to pool online and physical resources, courses, expertise, data and infrastructure to leverage their strengths and intellectually empower the next generations in tackling together the current challenges that Europe and the world are facing. The Erasmus+ European Universities Initiative has been tested through two calls for proposals in 2019 and 2020. Following the 17 European Universities selected in June 2019, 24 more alliances were selected in July 2020, bringing the total number of European Universities to 41. The 41 alliances now include more than 280 higher education institutions involved across all EU Member States, and Norway, Serbia, Iceland, Turkey and the UK, thereby ensuring a fair geographic balance. To further support the research dimension of the Erasmus+ European Universities, Horizon 2020 – the EU’s Research and Innovation programme - will already in 2020 complement the Erasmus+ European Universities initiative with a top-up for the research dimension.

Key achievements of the selected European Universities alliances under the pilot calls: ·A diverse spectrum of higher education institutions The selected alliances include a wide variety of types and sizes of higher education institutions. Under the second call, almost 40% of the selected higher education institutions are either a university of applied sciences/art or technical and medical universities, besides around 60% of comprehensive universities. ·Transformational impact: trans-disciplinary long-term visions and knowledge co-creating teams The selected European Universities have presented a common long-term strategy on education, with links to research and innovation. As such, they aim for a systemic, structural and sustainable impact. Adopting a challenge-based approach, they will establish transdisciplinary and transnational knowledge co-creating teams of students, professors, researchers, and a wide diversity of associated partners like NGOs, businesses and local or regional authorities. Challenges tackled by the European Universities inter alia include the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, health, climate protection, blue growth, urban coastal development, marine and maritime sectors, big data/robotics and artificial intelligence, space, migration, and social sciences. ·Diversity of innovative governance models In the framework of the related calls for proposals, European Universities have pledged to structurally transform their institutions at all levels. They have created common management (e.g. joint high-level boards/strategy boards, legal entities) and support (e.g. joint mobility offices, libraries and ICT tools) structures. They will also become stronger by pooling and sharing education and research data and infrastructure. European Universities are moreover based on an inclusive co-creation governance model and consider student, staff and stakeholder involvement as essential for success. ·Embedded and seamless mobility The European Universities will come forward with seamless and embedded mobility for students and staff through an integrated European campus. They will facilitate administrative steps leading to physical, virtual and blended mobility; and they will ensure that mobility becomes a structural part of student’s learning pathways. They will work towards a 50% mobility target for students within the alliance, through a combination of physical, virtual or blended mobility and a mix of short and long-term mobilities. ·Student-centred learning and teaching The European Universities will offer student-centred and flexible curricula. This includes for instance modular learning, and micro-credentials. This new flexibility will also accommodate the needs of professionals learners faced with changing job content and longer careers. Next to flexibility, innovative pedagogies supported by digitalisation are key. Several European Universities will for instance create pedagogical labs. Teaching will be informed by outstanding research and the teaching will encourage learners to engage in research and creation of new knowledge. ·Social inclusion The European Universities will focus on widening access for diverse student and staff populations, facilitating inclusive admission and recruitment policies, and attracting and retaining successfully talent from less-represented groups. ·Research excellence with a feedback loop to education The Erasmus+ European Universities initiative aims to strengthen and reinforce the link between the European Education Area and the European Research Area by fostering a joint long-term vision and strategy to integrate education, research, innovation and service to society across Europe. 3.3.7.Student Mobility – The European Student Card Initiative The European Council conclusions of 14 December 2017 identified the European Student Card Initiative as one of the key actions to further “promote student mobility and participation in educational and cultural activities”. The initiative is an important step in achieving the objectives of the European Education Area by 2025, and aims to significantly boost student mobility, be it physical, virtual or blended, and making it as easy as possible for both students and universities, so that no one is left behind. Through its key components, including the Erasmus+ Mobile App and the digitalisation of the student mobility management, the European Student Card Initiative constitutes a real revolution for the simplification of the way universities manage the student mobility: from information provision to application processes and settling into the host community while abroad. The roll-out of the initiative will start with Erasmus+ student mobility, with the aim of gradually scaling it-up to cover all student mobility within Europe by 2025. By replacing the current paper based processes used across Europe by higher education institutions and students with digital and streamlined processes, the initiative substantially changes the management of student mobility. This would imply a major simplification for all stakeholders, ensuring that higher education institutions are able to manage higher volumes of student mobility while also enhancing overall quality of the mobility experience for the students. In addition, the initiative promotes a strong European student identity by ensuring that mobile students can use their own student cards when abroad, and by implementing a European student eID for online cross-border authentication of students’ status and academic records in full respect of General Data Protection Regulation. A Eurobarometer conducted in 2018 revealed that nine in ten young Europeans think that the planned services offered by the European Student Card Initiative would be useful. The European Student Card Initiative is thus also an essential element of the renewed Digital Education Action Plan and a main contribution to a Digital Erasmus, as it provides the key components for the digital infrastructure required for the organisation and recognition of blended and virtual mobility, as well as online cooperation.

The European Student Card Initiative entails four core elements that are inter-connected with each other: ·A digital one-stop-shop for students: the Erasmus+ Mobile App The Erasmus+ Mobile App App (originally launched in 2017 with over 85.000 downloads to date) gives students a single online point of access to all the information and services they need before, during, and after their exchanges abroad. ·A digital one-stop-shop for higher education institutions: the Erasmus Without Paper Network The objective is to simplify the management of student mobility by enabling universities to exchange electronically mobility related data in a secure and streamlined manner, starting with Erasmus+ student mobility. The aim is to make the use of the Erasmus Without Paper Network gradually mandatory for higher education institutions in the context of Erasmus+ funded student mobility, depending on the state of readiness of the IT-tools of higher education institutions. Over 2200 universities are currently involved in testing the different services, and their feedback is continuously sought to ensure the features meet their needs. Additionally, a large survey among higher education institutions carried out in the context of the initiative found that 90% of them support the concept . ·Turning existing student cards into European Student Cards The objective is to enable mobile students to access more easily services, museums, cultural activities and special deals when abroad by adding European Student Card holograms and other branding to existing student cards, effectively turning them into European Student Cards. Around 2.3 million student cards have been turned into European Student Cards, with the total expected to grow significantly. ·Enabling students to authenticate themselves online and have their national identity and status recognised automatically across Member States: European Student eID The objective is to ensure the “once only principle” for mobile students when completing administrative steps or accessing services online at the host higher education institution in line with the vision on the Digital Education Action Plan 2018-2020. The development and roll-out of the technical infrastructure necessary to enable the European Student eID is funded with the support of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Within the framework of this action, a blueprint for a European Student eID for higher education was published in April 2020 through the MyAcademicID project. 3.3.8.Graduate Tracking As a follow-up to the Renewed Agenda for Higher Education and the 2016 Skills Agenda, the Commission proposed and the Council adopted a Recommendation on tracking graduates in November 2017. The objectives are to encourage Member States to develop comprehensive tracking systems for tertiary and VET graduates at national level, and to improve the availability of comparable EU data to allow more in-depth comparative analyses of graduate outcomes. The expected impact is to contribute to a culture of continuous quality improvement and ensure that it becomes an inherent process both for policy-making purposes and for use by the higher education institutions themselves. To support Member States in the implementation of the Council Recommendation, the Commission concluded a pilot European graduate survey (2020). It was conducted among Bachelor, Master and tertiary short cycle graduates one and five years after graduation in 8 voluntary countries (Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Malta, Lithuania and Norway). Results indicate that the pilot survey provides valuable insights, especially on skills acquisition and use, labour market performance and personal and social outcomes of higher education. To assess the state of graduate tracking in Member States, the Commission also concluded a Mapping study on graduate tracking practices and capacities across Member States (2020). The study shows that graduate tracking is a policy objective (e.g. explicitly mentioned in adopted policy documents) in 24 countries and among them, a legal obligation in 14 countries. Two thirds of countries have a relatively high level of compliance with the Council Recommendation on graduate tracking, but only two countries comply fully. The Commission also set up an Expert group on graduate tracking in 2018, with a mandate of two years. The group is working on improving and further developing national graduate tracking systems as well as on making EU-level data on graduates more available and comparable, including for cross-border graduates. It gathers around 60 experts representing Member States, social partners, stakeholder organisations and EU services and agencies with expertise in the area (JRC, Eurostat, Cedefop and ETF). 3.3.9.Automatic mutual recognition The Commission, together with Member States is working intensively on reaching the goal of having the European Education Area becoming a reality by 2025. Despite work done in the context of the intergovernmental Bologna Process, learners still face hurdles of having their qualification recognised if they want to pursue their studies abroad. The unanimously adopted Council Recommendation on promoting automatic mutual recognition of higher education and upper secondary education and training qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad of 26 November 2018 is a big step towards this. In the Council Recommendation Member States agreed to put in place measures to achieve automatic recognition for further learning by 2025. Automatic recognition is understood in this context as follows: ·a qualification at higher education level gained in one Member State is automatically recognised in any other Member State, for the purpose of granting access to further studies; ·all credits gained during the period of study abroad or during the virtual mobility – as agreed in the Learning Agreement and confirmed by the Transcript of Records - should be transferred without delay and counted towards the student’s degree without any additional work or assessment of the student;

·an upper secondary qualification giving access to higher education in one Member State is automatically recognised in any other Member State, for the purpose of granting access to higher education. The Council Recommendation proposes to launch a Union level cooperation process in school education to initiate closer cooperation and exchange of practices among Member States to foster transparency and build mutual trust. The objective is now to start implementing the actions in the Council Recommendation, with a view to having the necessary steps in place by 2025. This includes working with relevant stakeholders, in particular on the creation of guidance material and an online information service of school-leaving certificates in the EU. In upper secondary education, the Commission has started the implementation the Preparatory Action ‘Recognition of outcomes of learning periods abroad in general secondary education’, called for by the European Parliament. In the field of higher education, the Council Recommendation builds on and also enhances the further use of existing transparency tools that can support recognition, such as the European Qualifications Framework, the Diploma Supplement and the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). The Commission supports the implementation of the Council Recommendation by working closely with Member States in the context of the ET 2020 framework and through the Erasmus+ Programme. One of the main goals of this support is to strengthen the network of National Academic Recognition Centres (NARIC) and to encourage their work with capacity building, trainings and sharing best practice, by creating a Technical Support Team, among other measures. The recognition community quickly reacted to the challenges posed by the COVID - 19 crisis. It prepared a reflection note on the effects of COVID-19 on recognition. One of the possible solutions identified to mitigate the negative effects of the crisis is the full implementation of automatic recognition of qualifications. 3.3.10.Skills The actions below are being implemented as part of the 2016 Skills Agenda. Most were directly defined in the Skills Agenda, while the Centres of Vocational Excellence and the quality framework for apprenticeships have been developed to implement the Skills Agenda initiative “Making VET a first choice”. To address the problem of access to education and training for low-skilled adults, the European Council adopted the Recommendation on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults in December 2016. In February 2019, The Commission published a Staff Working Document to take stock of Member States’ implementation of the Recommendation. Uptake in most Member States is low compared to adults’ upskilling needs. The main messages from the report were taken up in Council Conclusions that were adopted in May 2019. An evaluation report to the Council on the impact of the implementation measures is due five years from the adoption (end of 2021). European Skills Agenda 2020 sets new indicators on adult participation in learning activities. In 2018, the Council adopted the proposal of the Commission for a Recommendation on a European Framework for Quality and Effective Apprenticeships. Its main aim is to increase the employability and personal development of apprentices and to contribute to the development of a highly skilled and qualified workforce, responsive to labour market needs and a cohesive society. In order to report on its implementation the Commission sent a survey in June 2020 to Member States, as well as other stakeholders of the European Alliance for Apprenticeships. Their replies will provide the basis of the Commission’s reporting on the implementation of the Council Recommendation. In addition, an EMCO light review on apprenticeships planned for November 2020 and the first results of the benchlearning process will also feed into the reporting. The initiative on Centres of vocational excellence (CoVE) defines a bottom-up approach to excellence where VET institutions are capable of rapidly adapting skills provision to evolving economic and social needs. The CoVE initiative supports a lifelong learning-based and innovation-driven approach to education and training, while contributing to the objectives of the European Education Area, by bringing together a wide range of partners from different sectors and countries, to develop a skills ecosystems underpinned by high quality and inclusive education and training that responds to the individual’s personal development, labour market, and societal needs. In 2019, the Commission selected first five CoVE pilot projects under Sector Skills Alliances with a budget of EUR 5 million. In 2020 this was boosted with further 7 fully-fledged Platforms running for 4 years, which closely resemble the future CoVE model to be supported in the Commission’s proposal for the Erasmus programme in the period 2021-2027. The call attracted very strong interest with 55 quality from 52 countries and attracting more than 1300 organisations. The revised European Qualifications Framework Recommendation of 22 May 2017 (replacing the Recommendation of 2008) further strengthened the mobility and recognition efforts of the European Education Area as well as its labour market relevance. By July 2020, 36 countries had referenced their national qualifications frameworks or systems to the EQF. This includes 26 out of 27 EU Member States. The revised 2017 EQF Recommendation invites Member States to review and update their referencing to the EQF when relevant, which helps to ensure that the information underpinning the referencing is accurate, transparent and reflects any relevant changes at national level. All countries have now adopted National Qualifications Frameworks, and in the majority of countries the NQF is now in an advanced operational stage, meaning that NQFs have become an integrated part of national education and training systems and are based on learning outcomes. The new Europass platform was launched by the Commission on 1 July 2020 as the first stage in the modernisation of Europass as the EU tool for communicating skills in Europe. The new Europass also underlies the efforts of the European Education Area to support peoples’ careers and lifelong learning in the context of green and digital transitions. The new Europass offers online tools and information that help people to present their skills and qualifications and to plan their learning and their career. With new Europass Digital Credentials, graduates and job-seekers will be able to share their qualifications quickly and securely, and employers and recruiters can make faster, more confident decisions. As of 2020, 18 countries are piloting Europass Digital Credentials; more countries and education and training institutions will be able to preview the tools shortly as we roll-out the tools for further use. Under the blueprint for sectoral cooperation on skills, one of the key initiatives of the 2016 Skills Agenda, stakeholders work together in sector-specific partnerships, called alliances for sectoral cooperation for skills, which develop and implement strategies to address skills gaps in these sectors. Strengthening the employability efforts in the European Education Area, each blueprint alliance will develop a sectoral skills strategy to support the overall growth strategy for the sector, which will then be rolled-out at national and regional level. Until now 15 Blueprint alliances have started work, with funding from the Erasmus+ programme under the activity Sector Skills Alliances. While all alliances are still in progress, the experience gained will provide the basis for upscaling the Blueprint, in the context of the Pact for Skills envisaged in the European Skills Agenda. The 2012 Council Recommendation on validation of non-formal and informal learning asked Member States to take action, at the latest by 2018, so that everybody could have their skills validated to access further learning or improve their career. The evaluation, released on 1 July 2020 together with the European Skills Agenda , has found that all Member States have taken action and there is evidence of significant progress, with increased validation practices and a higher policy profile in all Member States. However, the ambitious objectives of the Recommendation have not been fully achieved. In particular, a clear lesson is that providing more validation opportunities is not enough, there is a need to provide support to individuals to take them up. This requires more strategic coordination among relevant stakeholders, closer cooperation between guidance and validation services, and coordinated implementation of qualification and validation policies, also to take into account innovative skills recognition practices such as micro-credentials. In 2018, the Commission launched the Digital Opportunity Traineeships, where students from any discipline work as a trainee in a company with digital technologies such as digital marketing, programming, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity etc. In two years more than 10,000 students have taken this opportunity to get hands-on digital work experience. The pilot initiative is financed via Horizon 2020 and channelled through Erasmus+. Due to its success it will be expanded in the Digital Education Action Plan and also include VET students. 3.4.Achievements of the Open Method of Coordination in education and training 3.4.1.The Open Method of Coordination in education and training The expiring strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) was the operational format of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in education and training. It helped promote mutual learning in education through common strategic objectives, create a shared understanding of issues and build consensus on solutions and their practical implementation. In 2015, the Council and the Commission published a Joint Report on the implementation of the strategic framework – in line with the commitment to cyclical reporting – which represents an important milestone in the evolution of the OMC. The Joint Report established direct links between technical work and strategic priorities and introduced new and innovative forms of mutual learning. Through the exchange of good practice between EU Member States and other participants, ET 2020 contributed to improving European education policies and helped set the stage for the European Education Area.

The principal forum for mutual learning as well as technical working formation of ET 2020 were the Working Groups, composed of representatives of Member States, experts, the members of the European Free Trade Association and the EU candidate countries, and other stakeholders. Between 2015 and 2020, they contributed to the implementation of 6 priority areas and 30 concrete issues, as highlighted in the 2015 Joint Report. In 2020, there are five sector-focused and two issue-focused Working Groups in operation. The mid-term evaluation of ET 2020 and other assessments revealed that a majority of Member States appraised mutual learning as one of the most valued element of ET 2020, in particular the peer learning activities and peer counselling. The cooperation framework ET 2020 comprised seven EU benchmarks adopted by the EU Member States. Once a year, the Commission published the latest data on all the benchmarks and its accompanying analysis of the state of education in the EU . ET 2020 links with European and international cooperation processes in education and training likewise set the stage for the future global dimension of the European Education Area and enabled deepened sectoral cooperation. These include international organisations such as OECD, UNESCO, Council of Europe, but also Europe-wide intergovernmental processes, such as the Copenhagen Process and the Bologna Process. Via the Erasmus+ programme, the Commission co-financed national education reviews and studies implemented by the OECD, and cooperated on “Education Policy Outlook” country profiles or thematic research studies (such as the ‘School Resources Review’ or HEInnovate). The Commission works closely with the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, which provides evidence-based recommendations to support inclusive educational policies and practices regarding learners with disabilities and/or special educational needs. Supporting policy reforms corresponding to national priorities was one of the key functions of the OMC. Peer counselling was introduced in 2015 as a demand-driven and tailor-made tool to support policy development, implementation and evaluation at national level. It provided high quality, country-specific and concrete policy advice by peers from other national administrations, European stakeholder organisations as well as, optionally, from independent experts. A total of 13 peer counselling events took place since 2015 across a wide range of policy areas. Evidence showed clear Member State support to the peer learning and the peer counselling activities. They have had national impact and follow-up and prompted active dissemination of successful practices. Instrument/ tool Impact Example Peer counselling Tailored support to policy development, design, policy implementation and evaluation at national level Czechia revised its system for allocating funding to higher education institutions in 2018 building on recommendations from a peer counselling held in 2015. The change aims to improve quality, diversification of institutions and programmes as well as completion rates. Mutual learning Impact on planning, designing and implementing new initiatives/programmes at national level Shared understanding, common vocabulary and increased transparency at EU level ET 2020 peer learning activities impacted the digitalisation of basic education in Austria, notably the development of a European Social Fund (ESF) call to makethe training of adult education providers in basic education a profession; the Austrian state prize for adult education in the thematic area of digital literacy; and the initiation of EBmooc, an adult education Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Policy deliverables (reference tools and guidance) Impact on individual and organisational capacity building Impact on policy action and reform In Belgium (NL), the High-performance apprenticeships & work-based learning: 20 guiding principles (2015) provided guidance for the elaboration of a dual learning framework in Flanders. Monitoring (benchmarks and indicators) Impact on agenda-setting Setting national targets Improvement of national data collection mechanisms Finland reported that a benchmark on ECEC was frequently cited in the national level policy debates. Awareness of the Finnish performance in comparison to other countries was one of the policy factors in their ECEC legislation reforms and related political debates. Table 1. The policy impact of ET 2020. Source: Triangulation of results of the interim evaluation (2014), Member State Survey (2018), External Assessment of ET 2020 tools and deliverables (2019) and report of relevant Commission services The ET 2020 and the European Semester have worked closely together to support Member State reforms in education and training. Education and training have been closely monitored under the Semester, drawing to a large extent on the analytical work under ET 2020, in particular the Education and Training Monitor. The Semester Country Specific Recommendations addressed a series of issues linked to ET 2020 priorities and benchmarks, guiding EU investment and support to Member State reforms. In particular, building on the Semester’s findings, Member States have benefitted from technical support to design, implement and/or monitor reforms of their national education and VET systems through the Commission’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI – former Structural Reform Support Programme) Through the SRSP and TSI, MS have been provided with relevant expertise as well as with a variety of mutual learning activities building on Member States’ relevant practices and experiences. Between 2017 and 2020, 64 requests for support from different Member States were selected in the area of education, addressing reforms in early childhood education and care, school education, VET and adult learning, higher education, digital education, monitoring/governance, professional development and careers of teachers, inclusive education, and Roma inclusion. Examples of the supported requests include: development of a support system for the implementation of the comprehensive curricular reform (HR), public loan support system in higher education (CY), support for digital education (EL), development of criterion- referenced tests at primary and lower secondary education (SK), monitoring and evaluation system for the implementation of the Strategy for the Inclusion of Roma Minority Romanian Citizens 2014-2020 (RO), reforming the network of teacher training institutions (LT), early identification of students at risk of early school leaving (MT), supporting the improvement of quality in inclusive education (PL), support to improve the quality of dual VET (ES), setting up a national quality framework on early childhood education and care (BG), accompany the conversion of the professional paths through “occupation and qualification campuses” for a better access to the labour market (FR), and evidence-informed decision-making processes in education (CZ). The close alignment between investments under European Structural and Investment Funds, the European Semester and the policy priorities under ET 2020 helped Member States make progress towards agreed strategic priorities. The interim evaluation of the European Social Fund confirmed a strong coherence between EU funds, the European Semester, and ET 2020 policy priorities. For example, early school leaving was monitored under the European Semester and addressed in the country-specific recommendations. It was also subject of an ex-ante conditionality under ESIF, requiring Member States to prepare comprehensive national strategies on early school leaving. At the same time Member States were also supported by policy guidance and mutual learning activities under ET 2020 on the topic. These concerted efforts gave an important push to Member States’ policies to reduce early school leaving and allowed the EU as a whole to reach the ESL target by 2020. Similar effects could be seen in other policy areas, such as digital education. Civil society and social partner organisations were important actors in building ownership in ET 2020 and ensuring that policy actions are anchored at local level, reflecting concrete needs. They have been members of the ET 2020 Working Groups, and actively involved in some of the Erasmus+ policy experimentations (in particular the European Schoolnet), where the relevant Working Group served as an incubator to prepare these projects. Many of these organisations have been at the forefront of implementation of EU policies, for instance providing digital learning to migrants or finding solutions for a rapid integration of migrants’ children into the host community before a national policy was in place. EU-wide networks of organisations have helped engage the education community through own initiative events (example: Lifelong Learning Week) or in support of large EU events, such as the European Education and Training Forum and the European Education Summit. The ET 2020 committed to the dissemination of results among all relevant stakeholders and the public. All ET 2020 working groups have planned dissemination activities as part of their mandates. Working groups’ outputs were published on the EU publications portal and promoted through the Commission’s regular dissemination channels (social media, web sites, direct mailing, etc.). Annual Education and Training Monitor publications (see Section 2.1.7) were promoted in dedicated EU-level and, occasionally, national events. A dedicated ET 2020 newsletter provided in-depth updates on the Working Groups’ and Directors’ General activities. Future cooperation The assessment of ET 2020 concluded that although OMC and mutual learning are well established across education, there was room for improvement as concerns improving coordination; exploring future policy synergies and methods of cooperation; sharing of good practices and evidence of what works well and strengthening communication and dissemination of outputs. Despite high ambitions laid out in the mid-term evaluation of ET 2020, the 2019 external assessment found that the peer review format was used much less frequently than other OMC tools. Peer counselling and peer learning activities’ impact was, however, limited by the opportunity for dissemination and could have benefitted from stronger links to the other elements of the cooperation framework. Evidence also pointed to strong Member State interest in a more innovative and future-oriented perspective of support to reforms, through a concrete focus on specific current challenges, benefitting all Member States. 3.4.2.Evidence and monitoring An important part of the Open Method of Coordination in education is the systematic collection and analysis of internationally comparable data. In addition, in the past twenty years, international surveys gained weight in the policy discourse in education. Under ET 2020, several avenues were exploited to gain better knowledge of education and training across the EU: ·EU benchmarks, or quantitative targets to be reached by the EU as a whole, and agreed with Member States as a means of monitoring progress and identifying challenges ·Policy data on the structure and functioning of the EU education systems ·Cooperation with knowledge providers on education, such as for example the OECD, or the International Association for the Evaluation of International Achievements ·The use of thematic studies and academic networks

Every year, the Commission published a rich analytical report, the Education and Training Monitor , which brought together the latest comparable and country evidence on education and training. The analysis in the Monitor also served as a support to the analytical exercise under the European Semester. The set of ET 2020 benchmarks in education and training represent the EU contribution to the monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education for all. Some of the indicators of ET 2020 were also used as main and secondary indicators under the Scoreboard of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The ET 2020 comprised seven benchmarks , six of which were regularly reported and analysed in the annual Education and Training Monitor. The objective of the benchmarks was to: ·increase tertiary educational attainment of those aged 30-34 to at least 40%. The tertiary educational attainment in the EU-27 has steadily increased over the past decade and reached 40.3% in 2019 . ·increase participation in early childhood education to at least 95%. With 94.8% of children from age of 4 to the start of primary education enrolled in early childhood education and care, participation in this crucial education level is by now almost universal in the EU. ·reduce early leaving from education and training to below 10%. The rate of young adults (aged 18-24) leaving education and training without obtaining an upper secondary diploma reached 10.2% in 2019. ·Increase the employment rate of recent graduates to at least 82%. After reaching the lowest point in 2013 (75.4%), the employment rate of recent EU graduates has been continuously improving. With 80.9% in 2019, the rate has however not reached yet the 2008 level of 81.8%. ·reduce underachievement in basic skills to below 15%. The OECD PISA 2018 data showed that one in five pupils failed to complete basic tasks in reading (22.9%); mathematics (22.9%); and science (22.3%). ·increase the rate of adult learning to at least 15%. The rate of adult learning, measured as participation in education and training in the last 4 weeks, has increased slowly over the past decade, and only reached 10.8% in 2019. The seventh officially adopted benchmark is on learning mobility in higher education and in initial vocational education. Learning mobility in higher education was estimated at 13.5% in 2018 (ET 2020 target 20%). The major outstanding obstacle to calculating this benchmark is the fact that data on degree mobile graduates from the EU need to be collected by the concerned receiving countries, including those outside the EU. The data on mobile graduates by origin is collected by EU countries but not available in several non-EU countries that attract significant inflows of foreign students . The 2018 Member State Survey revealed that ET 2020 indicators and benchmarks have served as reliable sources of information for countries to measure and improve the performance of their education systems. This view is broadly supported by the stakeholders’ survey, which showed that the benchmarks help focus national policy discussions and support grassroots-level policy initiatives. The independent assessment of ET 2020 confirmed that the benchmarks have been valuable in encouraging national policy dialogues and ensuring impetus for reforms . The ET 2020 benchmarks helped signalling political priorities and assessing convergence . The benchmarks provide comparative, high-quality quantitative evidence. Their analysis also require the use of qualitative information on structure and functioning of education systems . In addition, there are important factors in education that cannot be captured by a single quantitative indicator – for example the quality of teaching. This is why the monitoring of ET 2020 also relied on ‘structural indicators’ (or ‘policy indicators’) collected by the Eurydice network. Further qualitative evidence was collected in cooperation with expert networks such as EENEE (European Expert Network on Economics of Education) or NESET (Network of Experts working on the Social dimension of Education and Training); EU agencies (such as Cedefop, European Training Foundation); and networks of national education information services (such as Eurydice or National Academic Information Centres). This combination of qualitative assessments and the quantitative analysis of key education system developments is, so the stakeholders report, considered useful in providing a more evidence-based approach to education and training policy changes/reforms. This was the approach of the annual Education and Training Monitor, with its EU analysis and country profiles. For example, it featured extensive analysis of demographic change and economic crisis (2012); investing in skills and qualifications (2013); migration (2016); citizenship education (2018); teachers and teaching (2019). The 2020 edition, under preparation, has a particular focus on digital education and digital skills. Stakeholders confirm the importance of an annual Commission publication (the Education and Training Monitor) analysing and setting out the progress made towards the ET 2020 benchmarks. Member States used evidence provided in the report as a comparative reference point and to inform the national policy debate and the dialogue with stakeholder organisations. 4.Towards the European Education Area The challenges identified in section 2 call for new solutions from education and training. At the same time, the strategic priorities defined in the cooperation framework remain relevant In the years ahead, education systems will need to continue working on core tasks, such as strengthening quality, inclusiveness and lifelong learning, but will also need to address the green and digital transitions, account for increasingly pressing demographic changes and adapt to new modes of learning. In the Member States, these adaptations will take place during the recovery period, in which investment in education is likely to face a squeeze caused by the economic crisis. ET 2020 has set the foundations: it has generated shared understanding of common issues and contributed to the emergence of communities of policy practice. Europe now needs a step change in European cooperation in education. Moving beyond a challenge based-perspective, EU action should be set in motion based on the positive principles of the freedom to learn and work together across borders, a commitment to common European values, and to support reforms in Member States. Guided by an understanding of a changing global landscape, the European leaders have decided to increase the ambitions of EU cooperation in education and training and work toward a European Education Area. As outlined in section 3, this step-change was launched through the first European Education Area and other education and training initiatives. As the ET 2020 draws to a close, the time is right to align the enabling framework and common goals to make the European Education Area a reality and work toward a permanent governance framework. 4.3.Future priorities and issue areas This section identifies the areas and thematic issues where fu