Communication from the Commission - Financial education
Date: 2007-12-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: consumer information, consumer policy, consumer protection, financial market, provision of services, single market

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 18.12.2007 
COM(2007) 808 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

FINANCIAL EDUCATION 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

FINANCIAL EDUCATION 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Financial education enables individuals to improve their understanding of financial products 
and  concepts,  and  develop  the  skills  necessary  to  improve  their  financial  literacy;  i.e.  to  be 
aware of financial risks and opportunities and to make informed decisions in their choice of 
financial  services.  It  is  a  life-long  issue.  Financial  education  is  a  complement  to  measures 
aiming  to  ensure  the  appropriate  provision  of  information,  protection  and  advice  to 
consumers1. The sum of these policies contributes to empowering consumers to make the best 
decisions for their financial circumstances.  

Numerous  international  surveys  have  demonstrated  consumers'  generally  low  level  of 
understanding of financial matters and of basic economics. At the same time, the education of 
citizens  in  financial  matters  is  becoming  increasingly  important  as  innovation  and 
globalisation  are  increasing  the  range  and  complexity  of  financial  services  on  offer.  The 
current difficulties in the US sub-prime mortgage market, where many consumers have taken 
on  mortgages  beyond  their  means  owing,  in  part,  to  a  lack  of  understanding  of  product 
features, serve as a reminder of the magnitude of the problem. Member States should play a 
central role but the EU can assist them. 

The  importance  of  good  financial  education  has  been  acknowledged  at  the  global  and  EU 
level, including in the White Paper on Financial Services Policy (2005-2010)2, the May 2007 
Green  Paper  on  Retail  Financial  Services3,  and  the  European  Parliament  resolution  on 
financial  services  policy4,  adopted  in  July  2007.  The  issue  of  financial  education  was  also 
raised  in  the  ECOFIN  Council  conclusions  of  8  May  2007,  in  which  the  Council  invites 
Member  States  "to  significantly  step  up  their  efforts  to  raise  households'  awareness  on  the 
latter's  need  to  obtain  proper  information  and  education,  in  combination  with  the  financial 
industry's  own  responsibilities  and  initiatives  as  appropriate,  so  as  to  increase  households' 
preparation whilst maintaining adequate investor protection".  

Financial education has been announced in the  Commission's  report  on  a  Single  Market  for 
21st Century Europe5 as an essential component of its efforts to ensure that the Single Market 
can  bring  direct  benefits  to  Europe's  citizens,  particularly  by  empowering  them  not  just  to 

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5 

Consumer  information  and  protection  are  at  the  heart  of  EU  financial  services  legislation.  Examples 
include the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, with its retail investor protection provisions; the 
current  review  of  the  UCITS  directives,  including  the  Simplified  Prospectus;  the  Directives  on 
Consumer Credit, the Distance Marketing of Financial Services and Insurance Intermediaries, and the 
proposals put forward in the White Paper on Mortgage Credit, which are designed to allow consumers 
to make the right decisions when purchasing a financial product. The Commission intends to carry out a 
cross-sectoral study in 2008 on the appropriateness and consistency of information requirements in EU 
financial services legislation, and it is also reviewed in evaluations of the relevant specific rules. 
COM(2005) 629. 
COM(2007) 226. 
P6_TA-PROV(2007)0338/A6-0248/2007. 
COM(2007) 724, SEC(2007) 1520. 

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shop  around  for  the  best  financial  services,  whether  in  their  own  Member  State  or  cross-
border, but also to understand some essential basics of personal finance. 

The purpose of this Communication is to assist stakeholders in the development of financial 
education schemes by 

•  raising awareness of the need to address low financial education; 

•  encouraging  and  promoting  the  provision  of  high-quality  financial  education  within  the 

EU, including the sharing of best practice; 

•  developing certain practical, facilitating tools to achieve these aims. 

2. 

THE INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION 

The  financial  services  industry  is  a  rapidly  evolving  one.  Innovation  and  globalisation  give 
individuals access to an increasing choice of products and services designed to meet a variety 
of  needs  and  circumstances.  Technological  advances,  new  electronic  delivery  channels  and 
financial  market  integration  have  increased  the  range  of  services  offered  and  the  ways  in 
which they are available. But for many citizens, products are inherently complex and future 
performance  is  hard  to  assess.  Information  asymmetries  remain  significant:  even  relatively 
straightforward  financial  products  can  appear  quite  complex  to  an  average  citizen  who  has 
little  or  no  financial  education.  Evidence  from  recent  surveys  shows  the  extent  of  the 
problems faced by consumers. 

•  Individuals find financial matters difficult to understand. People increasingly recognise 
that they lack some essential skills to deal with and understand financial matters. This can 
have significant consequences for their ability to interact with and get the best deal from 
providers.  A  Hungarian  survey  found  that  consumers  were  not  aware  of  basic  financial 
terms; 70% of respondents were not aware of the meaning of inflation6. A survey carried 
out  in  France,  Spain  and  Italy  also  showed  that  a  large  proportion  of  people  on  low 
incomes  paid  no  attention  to  the  difference  in  costs  and  terms  between  financial 
institutions, and were not able to evaluate them7.  

•  Individuals often overestimate their understanding of financial services. Consumers are 
unlikely to be receptive to financial education unless they realise that it is relevant to them. 
A first step is therefore to raise awareness among people who "don't know that they don't 
know"  about  financial  issues.  Respondents  to  surveys  in  the  US  expressed  confidence  in 
their  understanding  of  financial  issues  but,  when  tested,  demonstrated  only  a  limited 
understanding8. In an Australian survey, while two-thirds of respondents believed that they 
were financially literate, only around one quarter understood compound interest9.  

•  Many  individuals  fail  to  plan  ahead  or  choose  products  that  meet  their  needs.  This 
means that they are much more liable to fall into debt and to experience difficulties if their 

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9 

Gecser, Presentation on 8 steps to teach young Hungarians to use their money in a smart way, Financial 
Capability Conference, Brussels, 28 March 2007. 
Nieri, Access to Credit: the Difficulties of Households, New Frontiers in Banking Services: Emerging 
Needs and Tailored Products for Untapped Markets, Springer Verlag: Berlin, 2006. 
Mandell,  Personal  Finance  Survey  of  High  School  Seniors,  The  Jumpstart  Coalition  for  Personal 
Financial Literacy, 2004. 
ANZ Banking Group, ANZ Survey of Adult Financial Literacy in Australia, 2003. 

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personal  circumstances  change  (e.g.  due  to  bereavement,  relationship  breakdown  or 
periods of unemployment). It also makes it harder for individuals to ensure a satisfactory 
standard of living in retirement. A UK survey found that at all income levels many people 
do not plan ahead, and 70% have no provision to cover an unexpected drop in income10.  

However,  consumers  are  willing  to  learn  about  financial  matters.  Despite  widespread 
evidence of low levels of financial education, there is increasing awareness among consumers 
that  understanding  financial  matters  will  only  become  more  important  for  them  and  their 
families. A study by VISA found that parents rank the development of good personal financial 
skills second only to that of personal safety11.  

3. 

ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  BENEFITS  OF  PROVIDING  FINANCIAL 
EDUCATION 

The provision of an appropriate level of financial education to citizens at all stages of life can 
benefit all ages and income levels. But it also has benefits for the economy and society as a 
whole. Naturally, financial education should be seen as a complement to adequate consumer 
protection and to the responsible behaviour of financial services providers. It can in no way be 
seen  as  the  only  solution  to  remedy  information  asymmetries  between  consumers  and 
providers.  

3.1. 

Benefits for individuals, society and the economy 

Benefits for individuals 

Financial education can help children to understand the value of money and teach them about 
budgeting and saving. It can give students and young people important skills for independent 
living, for example in managing and repaying student loans. It can assist adults in planning for 
major  events  like  buying  a  home  or  becoming  parents.  It  can  help  citizens  make  better 
financial provision for unforeseen situations, invest wisely and save for their retirement. It can 
help  people  to  avoid  the  pitfalls  of  payment  fraud.  People  who  understand  financial  issues 
make better choices of financial services for their particular needs, and are more inclined to 
heed regulatory risk warnings. They are less likely to purchase products they do not need, be 
tied  into  products  that  they  do  not  understand,  or  take  risks  that  could  drive  them  into 
financial difficulty.  

Benefits for society 

The  ripple  effects  of  financial  education  go  well  beyond  the  individuals  concerned,  with 
benefits also for wider society. It can help address problems of financial exclusion: those who 
have received some form of education on financial matters are far more likely to be engaged 
with  the  mainstream  financial  industry,  and  not  have  to  rely  on  higher-cost  and  higher-risk 
fringe providers or loan sharks. It can encourage citizens, even those on low incomes, to plan 
and save some part of their incomes. It can help to develop the skills to form the financiers of 
tomorrow.  

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Financial Services Authority, Financial Capability in the UK: Establishing a Baseline, 2006. 
The Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, Making the case for financial literacy, 2007. 

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Benefits for the economy 

Financial  education  can  contribute  to  financial  stability  by  helping  consumers  to  choose 
appropriate  products  and  services,  leading  to  lower  default  rates,  for  instance  on  loans  and 
mortgages, and more diversified and therefore safer saving and investment. This can help to 
prevent, or at least attenuate, situations such as has been seen in the US sub-prime mortgage 
market  in  2007,  with  its  wider  repercussions  for  global  financial  markets.  Financially 
educated citizens, able to seek out better, cheaper and more appropriate products and services 
can  drive  efficiencies  in  the  financial  industry  and  improve  economic  welfare  by  fostering 
increased  competition,  spurring  innovation  and  demanding  improvements  in  quality  and 
diversity.  Citizens  who  become  confident  in  investing  can  provide  additional  liquidity  to 
capital  markets,  which  can  be  fed  through  to  small-business  financing  in  the  EU,  a  key 
element  in  supporting  growth  and  jobs.  Structured  and  financially  literate  consumer 
organisations  can  also  be  a  political  counterweight  in  the  process  of  preparing  regulation, 
reducing  the  likelihood  of  regulatory  capture  by  the  financial  industry.  Therefore  there  is 
potential for a significant trickle-through effect of financial education to the wider economy.  

Financial  education  can  empower  consumers  to  shop  around  for  the  best  product  for  their 
needs,  regardless  of  the  location  of  the  financial  services  provider,  and  thereby  avail  of  the 
opportunities  offered  by  the  single  market.  Conversely,  increased  financial  literacy  and 
customer  willingness  to  move  between  suppliers  may  also  make  it  more  attractive  for 
financial  services  providers  to  enter  new  markets  in  other  Member  States,  enhancing  cross-
border activity. 

3.2. 

Provision of Financial Education within the European Union 

Two recent wide-ranging studies funded by the European Commission12 provide an overview 
of the various initiatives in place in the Member States concerning financial education in the 
EU: 

•  Financial  education  is  provided  by  a  wide  variety  of  actors,  ranging  from  financial 
supervisory  authorities  to  adult  literacy  agencies,  debt  advice  clinics,  social  workers, 
financial  industry  federations,  microfinance  organisations,  consumer  representatives, 
education  authorities,  individual  financial  firms,  housing  authorities  and  others.  National 
authorities (government ministries, financial supervisors, central banks etc.) are the drivers 
of programmes in 11 Member States. 

•  The provision of financial education seems to be particularly strong in certain EU Member 
States,  including  the  UK,  Germany,  Austria,  the  Netherlands  and  Italy.  In  many  others, 
including Greece, Bulgaria and Latvia, there is limited, if any, activity.  

•  The most common subject of financial education programmes is "money basics", such as 
how to use a bank account. This is followed by budgeting skills, including managing credit 
and debt. The issues of investment, saving and retirement, insurance and risk management 
feature less highly, indicating that these may be areas requiring greater attention in future.  

There is an even split in the profile of the target audiences of the programmes between those 
aimed at children and young people, and those aimed at adults. Only few schemes seem to be 

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Observatoire du Crédit et de l'Endettement et al, FES - Better access to financial services and financial 
education (2007), Report of the survey on Financial Education, April 2007 and Evers & Jung, Survey 
on Financial Literacy Schemes in the EU-27, November 2007. 

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aimed at a more specific public, such as those of pre-retirement age, women, ethnic minorities 
or those on low incomes.  

3.3. 

Evaluating the positive impact of financial education initiatives 

Given  that  behavioural  change  is  only  perceptible  over  the  longer  term,  relatively  few 
evaluations  of  the  benefits  of  financial  education  programmes  have  been  carried  out. 
Available data, such as volumes of consumer credit, number of repayment defaults, consumer 
complaints,  and  changes  in  social  expenditure  in  terms  of  debt  mediation  can  only  be  of 
limited use to assess whether financial education initiatives have directly contributed to such 
behavioural changes. It is difficult to distinguish between the impact of a financial education 
programme,  wider  market  influences  such  as  employment  rates,  pay  inflation,  financial 
innovation etc., and the personal circumstances and environment that affect the behaviour of 
the individual.  

Evaluations  therefore  tend  to  focus  on  participation  in  individual  financial  education 
programmes. These use measures such as: participant number growth, publications requested, 
website  hits,  press  coverage,  enquiries  received,  etc.  One  effective  tool  some  financial 
education providers, including Member States, use to measure benefits is the use of baseline 
surveys. These give a snapshot of the level of financial literacy of the population, can help in 
pointing to priorities, and facilitate the monitoring of progress after a given period of time.  

There  have  also  been  various  attempts  to  examine  behavioural  changes  that  may  arise  from 
financial education.  

•  Evaluations of a UK workplace financial education programme showed that 82% intended 
to take action (such as contributing to a voluntary pension plan or paying off debts) as a 
result  of  attending  the  seminars;  when  contacted  3  months  later  60%  of  attendees  had 
already turned these intentions into action13. 

•  Research  in  the  US  has  shown  that  retirement  seminars  are  generally  associated  with 
significantly  higher  rates  of  participation  and  higher  contributions 
to  voluntary 
occupational pension schemes14. Other research has also shown that they can influence the 
accumulation of both net worth and broader measures of wealth15. 

•  Research on the effectiveness of pre-purchase home ownership counselling among lower-
income  borrowers  in  the  US  has  found  that  potential  borrowers  who  receive  this 
counselling before buying have on average a 13% lower delinquency rate16.  

These  examples  show  the  positive  behavioural  change  that  can  result  from  participation  in 
financial education schemes. The Commission intends to promote the disclosure of research 
and evaluations carried out to date.  

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Dredge,  Presentation  on  Financial  Capability  in  the  workplace,  Financial  Capability  Conference, 
Brussels, 28 March 2007. 
Bayer, Bernheim, Scholz , The effects of financial education in the workplace: evidence from a survey 
of employers, June 1996. 
Lusardi, Saving and the effectiveness of Financial Education, Pension Research Council Working Paper 
2003-14, Pension Research Council, 2003. 
Hirad, Zorn , Empirical Evidence of the effectiveness of pre-purchase homeownership counselling, May 
2001. 

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4. 

CONTEXT FOR ACTION AT EU LEVEL 

In full respect of the competences of the Member States for the provision of education, the EU 
has  developed  a  number  of  activities  in  the  area  of  financial  education,  and  can  play  a 
supporting  role  to  stakeholders.  Furthermore,  Article  153  of  the  Treaty  provides  that  the 
Community shall contribute to promoting the right to information and education of consumers 
in  order  to  safeguard  their  interests  and  adopt  measures  which  support,  supplement  and 
monitor the policy pursued by the Member States in this field. Financial education can also 
play  a  useful  role  in  underpinning  the  Single  Market  in  financial  services,  by  helping  to 
empower citizens to seek out the most appropriate financial service for their needs, regardless 
of the location of the provider. In this context, there could be a role for action at EU level. 

The Commission has already taken some initial steps to address financial education. It has set 
up  a  website,  Dolceta17,  offering  consumer  education  to  adults.  This  site,  translated  into  all 
Community languages and adapted to the specific characteristics of each national market, was 
initially developed for adult education institutions. One of the modules of this site is dedicated 
to  financial  services,  with  subjects  including  budgeting,  consumer  credit  and  home  loans, 
means of payment and investments.  

Another  initiative  is  the  ‘Europa  Diary’18,  a  booklet  distributed  to  second-level  students  to 
inform  them  of  their  rights  as  consumers.  It  includes  a  section  on  money  and  debt,  which 
explains  how  financial  institutions  and  products  work,  and  gives  early  warning  about  the 
dangers of excessive borrowing. 

In March 2007, the Commission organised a Conference on "Increasing Financial Capability" 
to highlight the importance of high-quality financial education provision and provide a forum 
for the exchange of best practices19.  

The  Green  Paper  on  Retail  Financial  Services20  suggested  that  more  could  be  done  to 
encourage financial education. This view was supported by the vast majority of respondents 
to  this  consultation.  Many  stated  that  education  should  remain  a  matter  for  national 
authorities,  and  proposed  that  the  Commission  should  play  a  role  in  collecting  and 
disseminating information  on  best  practices and in  developing non-binding principles to aid 
financial  education  providers.  Others  argued  that  the  benefits  of  financial  education  would 
only be seen in the long term, and that attention should not be diverted from robust consumer 
protection provisions in financial services legislation. 

5. 

BASIC  PRINCIPLES  FOR  THE  PROVISION  OF  HIGH-QUALITY 
FINANCIAL EDUCATION SCHEMES 

Based  on  its  overview  of  financial  education  schemes  already  running  in  the  EU,  the 
Commission  considers  that  it  is  useful  to  define  some  principles  that  could  aid  public 
authorities,  financial  services  providers,  consumer  organisations,  employers  and  other 

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Development of On-Line Consumer Education Tools for Adults, www.dolceta.eu 
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_info/consumer_diary_en.htm 
A summary of the conference and the presentations delivered can be found at:   
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/finservices-retail/capability/index_en.htm 
COM(2007) 226. 

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stakeholders  in  their  efforts  to  launch  and  run  financial  education  programmes21.  These 
principles  take  into  account  the  diversity  of  approaches  and  methods  available  to  develop  a 
successful financial education strategy.  

Principle 1: Financial education should be available and actively promoted at all stages 
of life on a continuous basis.  

Financial  education  should  be  available  to  address  the  financial  challenges  associated  with 
real  events  in  citizens'  lives,  ranging  from  those  experienced  by  young  people  to  those 
relevant to retirees. Programmes should be adaptable to citizens' financial situation and level 
of understanding of financial issues.  

Principle  2:  Financial  education  programmes  should  be  carefully  targeted  to  meet  the 
specific  needs  of  citizens.  In  order  to  achieve  this  aim,  ex-ante  research  should  be 
conducted on the current level of financial awareness on the part of citizens, to identify 
those  issues  that  particularly  need  to  be  addressed.  Programmes  should  be  timely  and 
easily accessible.  

Financial education should meet a specific need: for those starting work for the first time, the 
unemployed,  those  planning  for  a  family,  young  adults,  the  indebted  etc.  It  is  important  to 
ensure that the programme is delivered in a comprehensible manner and in a format that can 
facilitate consultation or access by the user when he/ she needs it.  

Employers should give consideration to how financial education could be delivered through 
the workplace, possibly in conjunction with information on occupational pension schemes. 

Principle 3: Consumers should be educated in economic and financial matters as early 
as  possible,  beginning  at  school.  National  authorities  should  give  consideration  to 
making financial education a compulsory part of the school education curriculum. 

It  is  essential  that  basic  economic  and  financial  knowledge  is  acquired  by  young  people  at 
primary  and  secondary  school.  The  Commission  has  already  issued  a  Recommendation  on 
key  competencies  for  lifelong  learning  (2006/962/EC),  which  supports  the  development  of 
skills  such  as  the  ability  to  apply  mathematical  thinking  into  everyday  situations,  broad 
understanding of the workings of the economy and the ability to plan and manage one's life. 
In this context, consideration should be given by national and regional education authorities to 
how economic and financial education might be included in school curricula.  

Principle 4: Financial education schemes should include general tools to raise awareness 
of the need to improve understanding of financial issues and risks. 

Consumers  are  not  always  aware  of  their  lack  of  understanding  of  financial  issues  and 
financial risks, which is the first step in being open to education on these points. Tools such as 
self-assessment questionnaires and advertising campaigns on financial knowledge can help in 
this  awareness-raising.  Audiences  could  then  be  directed  to  specific  financial  education 
materials. 

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The  guidelines  are  consistent  with  the  OECD's  2005  Principles  and  Good  Practices  for  Financial 
Education and Awareness, which were endorsed by all OECD members, including many EU member 
states (available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/7/17/35108560.pdf). 

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Principle  5:  Financial  education  delivered  by  financial  services  providers  should  be 
supplied  in  a  fair,  transparent  and  unbiased  manner.  Care  should  be  taken  to  ensure 
that it is always in the best interests of the consumer.  

The  financial  services  industry  should,  after  consultation  of  consumer  or  investor 
representatives, be encouraged to take initiatives to contribute to the development of financial 
education and to make its expertise available. However, when providing financial education 
to the public, industry should ensure that a clear distinction is made between general financial 
education, information with regard to individual products, and advice to a specific customer 
on a given product or service. Particular care should be taken with regard to the branding of 
financial education materials, to address any concerns that these lines are being blurred.  

Principle 6: Financial education trainers should be given the resources and appropriate 
training  so  as  to  be  able  to  deliver  financial  education  programmes  successfully  and 
confidently.  

A key issue in developing a successful financial education is empowering those who deliver 
the training: "teaching the teachers". This does not only mean school teachers, but also social 
workers, bank employees, volunteers and other client-facing individuals who need to deliver 
training in a way that most benefits their audience. This will necessitate the development of 
usable teaching materials and training programmes.  

Principle  7:  National  co-ordination  between  stakeholders  should  be  promoted  in  order 
to achieve a clear definition of roles, facilitate sharing of experiences and rationalise and 
prioritise  resources.  International  co-operation  between  providers  should  be  enhanced 
to facilitate an exchange of best practices. 

National  authorities,  financial  services  providers,  consumer  groups,  educators  and  other 
stakeholders should be encouraged to co-operate in the delivery of financial education. This 
could  help  to  streamline  objectives,  result  in  greater  coverage  of  differing  target  groups, 
rationalise and prioritise resources and promote greater learning from experience. Similarly, at 
an  international  level,  co-operation  and  networking  between  practitioners  could  highlight 
those  areas  where  greater  attention  should  be  focused  and  facilitate  an  exchange  of  best 
practices. 

Principle  8:  Financial  education  providers  should  regularly  evaluate  and,  where 
necessary,  update  the  schemes  they  administer  to  bring  them  into  line  with  best 
practices in the field. 

Providers  of  financial  education  should  incorporate  into  their  programmes  an  element  of 
regular evaluation of the progress being made and whether targets are being reached. If this is 
not  the  case,  they  should  consider  amendments  of  the  programme  to  bring  it  in  line  with 
standards achieved by acknowledged best practitioners.  

The  Commission  invites  national  administrations,  financial  services  providers,  consumer 
organisations and other stakeholders to develop national strategies on financial education with 
appropriate financial education programmes with regard to the above principles for financial 
education.  

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6. 

PLANNED INITIATIVES AND PRACTICAL ASSISTANCE 

While  the  Commission  considers  that  the  primary  responsibility  for  financial  education 
remains with Member States, non-profit agencies and financial services providers, the EU can 
be  instrumental  in  providing  practical  assistance.  The  Commission  has  identified  the 
following initiatives as a matter of priority: 

•  The  creation  of  a  network  of  financial  education  practitioners  –  the  opportunity  for 
networking  and  learning  from  experience  is supported  by  many  stakeholders.  In  order  to 
promote  this  further,  the  Commission  will  establish  a  group  of  experts  in  financial 
education  comprising  representatives  of  Member  State  authorities  (including  education 
experts),  financial  services  providers,  consumer  organisations  and  other  groups  where 
appropriate.  Its  aims  will  be  to  share  and  promote  best  practice  on  financial  education; 
assist the Commission in identifying problems in its provision; advise the Commission on 
how the above principles are being implemented; monitor the performance and delivery of 
financial  education  and  contribute  to  the  evaluation  of  the  measures  contained  in  this 
Communication in the period to 2010. Calls for expressions of interest in this network will 
be made early in 2008.  

•  Providing  sponsorship  to  Member  States  and  private  actors  in  the  organisation  of 
national/regional  conferences  on  financial  education  –  most  financial  education 
programmes are local, regional or, at best, national in scope. As such, there is a need for 
awareness-raising  events  to  take  place  as  close  to  the  target  audiences  as  possible.  The 
Commission  strongly  encourages  Member  States  and  private  actors  to  organise  such 
events, and can provide sponsorship and European Commission participation. Commission 
involvement  provides  a  good  opportunity  to  support  or  encourage  the  start  of  national 
financial  education  fora,  promote  best  practice  at  a  local  level  and  promote  existing 
initiatives.  Such  conferences  provide  impetus,  visibility  and  coverage  to  financial 
education issues at the level at which they should be tackled.  

•  The publication of an online database of financial education schemes and research in 
the  EU  –  Building  on  the  findings  of  the  studies  mentioned  in  Section  3.2,  above,  the 
Commission  will  develop  an  online  database  of  financial  education  schemes  throughout 
the  EU.  It  will  give  information  on  projects  with  regard  to  their  geographical  base,  the 
subject  matter  covered,  the  target  audience,  and  the  contact  details  of  the  providers.  The 
database will also bring together the results of research conducted into financial education 
and  levels  of  financial  literacy  in  the  EU.  The  purpose  of  this  database  is  to  facilitate 
consultation  of  good  practice  and  research  findings.  The  Commission  will  make  every 
effort  to  ensure  that  the  data  remains  accurate.  To  increase  public  awareness  of  this 
database,  the  Commission  will  publish  a  regular  newsletter  to  bring  to  attention  new,  or 
particularly  noteworthy,  additions  to  the  database.  The  online  database  will  be  made 
available in 2008.  

•  Development of a teacher training module on financial literacy – The Dolceta initiative 
has  already  proved  very  useful  in  facilitating  the  teaching  of  financial  issues  to  adult 
learners.  Building  on  this,  the  Commission  will,  from  the  beginning  of  2008,  start  to 
develop a module on financial education for teacher-training purposes. This project will be 
undertaken  with  the  help  of  pedagogues  and  financial  experts  from  the  European 
Universities Continuing Education Network. This Dolceta module will provide teachers in 
primary  and  secondary  education  with  ready-to-use  kits,  including  internet  training,  in 
order  to  encourage  and  help  them  to  incorporate  financial  issues  into  the  general 
curriculum  on  a  voluntary  basis.  All  materials  will  be  adapted  to  the  national  cultures. 

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Upon  the  completion  of  this  teacher-training  module,  national  development  teams  will, 
where possible, participate in teacher-training events to advertise the consumer education 
materials and encourage teachers to use them. 

7. 

FOLLOW-UP  

This Communication is one element in the package of measures on retail financial services set 
out in the Commission's report on a Single Market for 21st Century Europe, whose aim is to 
improve the delivery of the benefits of financial market integration to Europe's citizens. The 
focus of much of the Commission's future work in retail financial services will be to empower 
customers  to  make  informed  choices.  Efforts  to  increase  financial  literacy  will  be  an 
important element of this work.  

The Commission will continue to monitor progress of the various initiatives that are outlined 
in  this  Communication  in  order  to  gain  an  understanding  of  whether  they  are  fulfilling  the 
objectives  outlined  above.  In  addition  to  this,  the  initiatives  will  be  subject  to  a 
comprehensive review in 2010.  

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