Report from the Commission to the European Parliament on the functioning of the European School System in 2008
Date: 2009-10-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European school, activity report, educational reform, financial management, financing, operation of the Institutions, organisation of teaching

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 29.10.2009 
COM(2009)598 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

on the functioning of the European School System in 2008 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

on the functioning of the European School System in 2008 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

In  2008  the  Commission,  in  close  cooperation  with  the  office  of  the  Secretary-
General  and  the  Finnish  and  Swedish  presidencies,1  began  in  earnest  the  work  of 
driving  forward  the  process  of  reform  of  the  European  School  System  which  was 
started in 2005 at the initiative of the Commission and the European Parliament. 

The  purpose  of  the  reform  is  to  make  the  system  more  efficient  and  more  open.  It 
was essential both to offer staff a better service and to make the European curriculum 
more  widely  available  as  an  instrument  for  increasing  European  awareness  among 
young people and promoting diversity and openness in EU schools.  

The Commission welcomed the positive outcome of this ambitious process in April 
2009. This reform means not just that the governance of the European Schools will 
be simplified and improved, but that the framework defined will in future allow all 
children whose parents work in EU institutions and agencies to follow a curriculum 
leading  to  the  European  Baccalaureate.  This  is  already  the  case  for  some  of  the 
students  at  the  Parma  school,  which  has  been accredited  since  2007,  who  will  take 
their  European  Baccalaureate  in  2009.  The  Commission  has  invited  the  Member 
States  to  disseminate  the  curriculum  and  the  European  Baccalaureate  as  widely  as 
possible within their national schools. 

Pending the practical implementation of the reform, the shortcomings of the current 
system  were  felt  again  in  2008.  The  Commission  is  still  very  concerned  about  the 
problems arising from the overpopulation of the Brussels European Schools and by 
the restrictive enrolment policy which has had to be continued as a consequence. It 
also has concerns about the proliferation of cases where certain Member States have 
failed  to  fulfil  their  obligations  under  the  Convention  defining  the  Statute  of  the 
European  Schools.  The  Commission  has  taken  very  firm  action  against  certain 
Member States who have not complied with their obligations and has made several 
political approaches to try to find appropriate solutions.  

2. 

IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS IN 2008 

2.1. 

Overview of the general situation in the European Schools 

In 2008 there were 21 649 pupils registered in 14 schools located in seven countries2

.  

1 
2 

The European School presidency does not follow the same order as the European Council presidencies. 
An increase of 2.98% compared with 2007. 

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2.2. 

Brussels 

The  population  of  the  transitional  site  of  Berkendael  continued  to  expand  in  2008 
pending  the  opening  of  the  definitive  fourth  European  School  premises  in  Laeken. 
Belgium repeated its commitment that the Laeken school would be fully operational 
in  September  2012.  Until  the  buildings  on  this  site  are  delivered,  the  extra  space 
needed by the European Schools must be provided by the Belgian authorities.  

Due  to  overpopulation,  the  enrolment  policy  has  been  very  restrictive  over  the  last 
few  years,  particularly  for  pupils  who  are  not  the  children  of  staff  of  the  EU 
institutions and agencies. The Commission regrets that this restrictive policy has had 
to be maintained because of the lack of infrastructure. 

The  Board  of  Governors  of  the  European  Schools  agreed  unanimously  in  January 
2008  to  begin  a  dialogue  with  the  Belgian  authorities  regarding  a  fifth  European 
School in Brussels. In July 2008, officials from the private offices of Prime Minister 
Leterme,  Vice-President  Kallas  and  the  Secretary-General  of  the  European  Schools 
agreed on estimates of future pupil numbers in Brussels. According to these figures, 
a fifth school will be necessary in the medium term.  

As  the  ongoing  discussions  on  the  capacity  of  the  European  Schools  were  making 
negotiations  with  the  Belgian  government  difficult,  it  was  agreed3  that  an  audit  on 
the capacity of the European Schools in Brussels should be carried out to assess the 
infrastructure needed to meet future needs. At its meeting in October 2008, the Board 
of Governors approved publication of an invitation to tender  to carry out this  audit 
and agreed to share the cost4 by means of a cofinancing agreement. 

The Commission has pointed out that this audit is completely independent from the 
issue  of  additional  transitional  equipment  needs  and  that  the  fact  that  the  results  of 
the audit will not be available until 2010 does not justify any delay in the provision 
of such equipment. 

Work of the Central Enrolment Authority in Brussels 

In  October  2008,  the  Secretary-General  of  the  European  Schools  gave  a  detailed 
presentation of enrolment policy and the 2008-2009 enrolment exercise to the Board 
of Governors and concluded that the Central Authority had fulfilled its mandate with 
the enrolment of 9 048 pupils in the Brussels European Schools5. In September 2008, 
438 pupils were enrolled in Brussels IV6. Moreover, 200 pupils rejected an offer of 
enrolment,  the  prospect  of  a  transfer  to  Laeken  being  one  of  the  reasons  for  these 
rejections.  

A  priority  objective  for  the  2009-20107  enrolment  policy  is  to  achieve  a  balanced 
spread of pupils across the four European Schools. At the request of the Commission, 

3 

4 

5 
6 
7 

During  the  meeting  between  officials  from  the  private  offices  of  Prime  Minister  Leterme  and  Vice-
President Kallas in May 2008. 
Between the Commission, the Office of the Secretary-General of the European Schools and the Régie 
des Bâtiments. 
42% of pupils in the ESS. 
Nearly half of the maximum capacity of the transitional site of Berkendael. 
Decided by the Board of Governors in October 2008. 

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the Board of Governors also agreed to allowing a representative of the future parents 
to attend as an observer, the meeting of the Central Enrolments Authority on defining 
enrolment policy for the Brussels European Schools from 2009-2010. 

The Commission stressed its desire to introduce an online enrolment procedure. For 
the  2009-2010  academic  year,  parents  can  already  submit  their  application 
electronically.  

Safety 

The Commission is concerned about the fact that the maximum nominal capacity has 
been exceeded in three of the four Brussels European Schools because of the impact 
this could have on safety, particularly as regards evacuation, for the pupils and staff 
of the schools.  

At the meetings of the Administrative Boards of the European Schools of Brussels in 
February 2008, the Commission repeated its request for an evacuation exercise to be 
carried out in the presence of the fire services so as to  obtain an  assessment of  the 
safety of the premises and an estimate of the maximum number of pupils who can be 
accommodated  while  respecting  safety  conditions.  These  evacuation  exercises  took 
place  in  the  Brussels  European  Schools  in  2008.  The  Brussels  Capital  Region  Fire 
and Emergency Service (Service d'Incendie et d'Aide Médicale Urgente de la Région 
de  Bruxelles  Capitale)  made  various  recommendations  without  giving  a  precise 
maximum number of pupils for which safety can be guaranteed. One finding was that 
the  buses  and  cars  parked  in  the  interior  yard  of  the  Brussels  II  European  School 
made  access  –  which  was  already  difficult  due  to  presence  of  the  evacuees  -  more 
problematic  for  the  fire  services.  This  enabled  the  Commission  to  re-open 
negotiations for the bus yard for the Woluwe European School (Brussels II), which 
culminated  in  January  2009  in  the  granting  of  planning  permission  by  the  Minister 
President of the Brussels Capital Region, thus closing a matter which had been under 
discussion since 2002. The audit on the capacity of the European Schools will also 
cover safety conditions. 

the  Commission  also  contributed 

In  2008 
introducing  guidelines  on 
communications channels between the EU institutions and the European Schools in 
case of emergency, within the framework of the Security business continuity plan. 

to 

2.3. 

Luxembourg 

In Luxembourg, the two European Schools are sited on the Kirchberg. Unfortunately 
the Luxembourg I school has not yet taken delivery of the new sports hall which was 
promised for September 2008, and this has complicated the organisation of lessons. 
The hall should be available for September 2009. 

The  Luxembourg  authorities  have  announced  that  new  premises  on  the  permanent 
site of the Luxembourg II school,8 on which work began at the end of March 2009, 
will  be  ready  in  2011.  Any  delay  in  delivery  would  exacerbate  the  current 
overpopulation  problems.  The  enrolment  policy  in  the  two  schools  would  then 

8 

At Bertrange/Mamer 

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become  more  restrictive  for  pupils  other  than  children  of  Community  staff  in  the 
coming years. 

The  parents'  associations  are  still  arguing  for  a  breakdown  of  pupils  by  age  rather 
than  language  section  between  the  Luxembourg  I  and  Luxembourg  II  schools. 
However, the decision taken by the Board of Governors in October 2003 still applies 
and the work has been started. The Luxembourg authorities also indicated clearly at 
the Board of Governors' meeting in April 2009 that they would oppose any change to 
the planned structure. 

2.4. 

Other European Schools 

Alicante 

The  Alicante  European  School  was  set  up  to  educate  the  children  of  staff  at  the 
Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM).9 The number of children of 
staff  of  the  EU  institutions  and  agencies  has  increased  by  2%  since  2007  and  now 
accounts for almost 42% of pupils. The increase is mainly in the nursery and primary 
sections. 

Bergen 

Pupil  numbers  in  the  Bergen  European  School  were  stable  in  2008  by  comparison 
with the two previous years. As regards infrastructure, the Commission expressed its 
disappointment  at  the  meeting  of  the  Administrative  Board  that  the  renovation  and 
safety-proofing of the science labs, which has been needed for several years, has not 
yet been carried out by the host Member State. 

Culham 

The  population  of  the  school,  which  celebrated  its  thirtieth  anniversary  in  2008, 
remained stable. 

Following the Board of Governors' decision in April 2007 to progressively close the 
Culham European School as a Type I European School over a period of seven years 
starting  from  2010,  the  Administrative  Board  of  the  school  proposed  a  progressive 
closure plan in June 2008 which takes account of both the quality of teaching and the 
interests of the staff employed by the school. 

The  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Governors  in  October  2008  requested  the  Secretary-
General of the European Schools to carry out a study of the consequences of the plan 
proposed by the Administrative board, both as regards the staff and financial aspects. 
This study was presented to the Board of Governors' meeting in January 2009, which 
approved it. 

In parallel, the UK authorities are working on a plan to convert the Culham European 
School into a state-funded "academy". 

Frankfurt 

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In 2008 nearly 80% of school-age children of staff at the OHIM attended this European School 

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In July 2008, the Italian authorities informed the Secretary-General of the European 
Schools  that  it  would  stop  paying  the  specific  contribution  due  under  the  tripartite 
agreement signed in 2002 between the ECB and the European Schools to set up the 
Italian  section.  Italy  then  reviewed  its  position  and  made  a  request  at  beginning  of 
2009  for  the  Italian  section  to  be  "regularised",  since  the  children  of  ECB  staff 
accounted for less than 27% of pupils. The Commission asked for a detailed study to 
be carried out prior to any discussion of the tripartite agreement.  

Karlsruhe 

Pupil numbers in the European School increased slightly in 2008, mainly due to the 
presence  of  multinationals  in  the  region.  Category  210  pupils  account  for  29%  of 
students  while  children  of  staff  of  the  European  institutions  still  only  account  for 
around 16% of pupils. The school receives continuing and welcome financial support 
from the authorities of the City of Karlsruhe and of the Land Baden-Württemberg. A 
new canteen was opened in March 2009.  

Mol 

In January 2008, the Board of Governors approved the establishment of an English 
language  section  at  the  Mol  European  School  from  September  2008.  There  are 
currently  214  pupils  in  this  section.11
.  The  popularity  of  this  new  language  section 
has  had  the  effect  of  lowering  pupil  numbers  in  the  other  vehicular  language 
sections12.  If  this  trend  continues,  the  viability  of  the  French  and  German  sections 
will be called into question. The establishment of the new language section had no 
effect on the number of children  of staff of the EU institutions enrolled in the Mol 
school13. 

Munich 

Pupil  numbers  in  the  Munich  European  School  have  constantly  increased  and  the 
issue  of  infrastructure  is  becoming  particularly  sensitive,  as  the  extra  provisional 
space provided has temporarily reduced the common areas available and has cut off 
certain  passages.  The  definitive  new  buildings  on  the  current  site  will  be  delivered 
six months late14 but the German authorities have met the European School's needs 
promptly  by  offering  a  suitable  additional  site  at  Perlach,  near  the  current  site,  to 
fulfil supplementary educational needs. 

Varese 

In  Varese  the  overriding  difficulty  for  the  school  continued  to  be  the  problem  of 
inadequate  infrastructure.  Despite  repeated  requests  for  more  funding  from  the 
Secretary-General  and  Vice-President  Kallas  from  2006  onward,  and  a  petition 
signed  by  more  than  1200  parents,  the  Italian  authorities  have  not  acceded  to  this 
request.  Instead,  the  customary  contribution  for  building  maintenance  was  reduced. 

10 
11 
12 
13 
14 

Children of staff of contracting firms. 
29.8% of the total. 
Down by 23% in the German section and 47% in the French section 
148, or 20.3% of the 718 pupils are children of staff 
Delivery in January 2010. 

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The financial situation of the canteen, which is now run by a parents' co-operative, is 
sound.  

2.5. 

Host countries' obligations 

2.5.1.  Making the necessary infrastructure available 

2.5.1.1.  Belgium 

The  Belgian  authorities  have  confirmed  several  times  in  2008  that  the  definitive 
premises of the fourth European School in Brussels will be delivered in 2012. They 
also  informed  the  Secretary-General  of  the  European  Schools  in  July  2008  that  the 
Belgian  Council  of  Ministers  had  approved  the  funding  needed  for  the  preparatory 
work, notably the removal of asbestos in 2009. It will however be essential to have 
temporary premises available from September 2010; otherwise it will not be possible 
to accept some of the applications for enrolment of children of Community staff.  

2.5.1.2.  Italy 

The  premises  of  the  European  School  in  Varese  are  inadequate  and  unsuitable. 
Despite several formal approaches by the Secretary-General of the European Schools 
and Vice-President Kallas in 2008 and the promises of various  Italian officials, the 
Italian government has not provided the necessary funding.  

2.5.1.3.  Germany (Frankfurt) 

The  Frankfurt  European  School  has  an  ever  increasing  school  population  and  a 
pitiful  lack  of  space.  It  currently  seems  impossible  to  find  a  site  for  the  European 
School  near  the  site  of  the  new  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  building,  but 
negotiations  are  underway  to  increase  the  size  of  the  current  buildings  to  meet  the 
needs of pupils. Discussions with the city authorities, which were difficult in 2008, 
seem to be moving ahead in 2009. This issue is one of the main priorities for 2009. 

2.5.2.  Secondment of teachers 

The problem of certain Member States' failure to second teachers worsened in 2008. 
There were 59 non-seconded teachers in the 2008/2009 school year15, at an extra cost 
which had to be met from the Community budget. To fill posts which have been left 
vacant  because  of  a  lack  of  seconded  teachers,  teachers  were  recruited  locally, 
thereby  transferring  the  cost  of  staff  from  national  budgets  to  the  EU  budget,  to 
which all the Member States contribute, including those who fulfil their obligations. 

2.5.3. 

Infringement case 

Since  October  2006,  the  Belgian  authorities  have  been  refusing  to  recognise 
Belgium's  obligation  to  bear  the  cost  of  furniture  and  equipment  for  the  European 
Schools in its territory, and to pay the bills for furniture and teaching materials sent 
to them by the Brussels-based European Schools. As this attitude is contrary to the 
fundamental  rules  laid  down  in  the  EC  Treaty,  the  Commission  launched  an 

15 

39 in 2007/2008. 

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infringement procedure which culminated in an application being made to the Court 
of  Justice  in  March  2009.  This  illustrates  the  Commission's  determination  to  deal 
firmly with Member States' failure to fulfil their obligations. 

3. 

BUDGET AND FINANCE 2008 

For  2008,  the  contribution  initially  earmarked  for  the  European  Schools  by  the  EU 
budgetary  authority  was  EUR  144  million,  out  of  an  overall  budget  allocation  of 
EUR 257.9 million. 

On  the  basis  of  established  revenue,  the  most  recent  breakdown  of  the  various 
contributions to the total budget (excluding surplus) was as follows: 

– 

EU budget: 56.4%; 

–  Member States: 22.1%; 

– 

– 

– 

EPO16

: 6.3%  

financing  agreements  undertaken  by  firms  which  have  concluded  an 
agreement with the European Schools for category II pupils: 5.7%  

Tuition  fees  for  category  III  pupils  (with  no  link  to  the  European 
institutions). 7.3% 

– 

Other sources: 2.2%. 

The  average  annual  cost  per  pupil  for  all  European  Schools  was  approximately 
EUR 11 700 in 2008. The share of the budget allocated to children with special needs 
(“SEN”)17 has increased by 24% over the last two years. 

4. 

GOVERNANCE AND REFORM 

At its meeting in April 2008 in Helsinki, the Board of Governors decided to merge 
the various working groups set up in 2007 with a view to taking a global approach to 
the reform, involving: 

1) 

2) 

3) 

rationalising  the  overall  governance  of  the  current  system,  to  ensure  that 
decisions are taken at the right level;  

ensuring  that  operating  costs  are  shared  out  fairly  among  all  the  Member 
States; 

opening up the system by offering the European curriculum and the European 
there  are  EU 
Baccalaureate 

in  national  schools 

in  countries  where 

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The contribution from the European Patent Office (EPO) relates to the Munich European School 
Children with special educational needs (SEN) are those who have learning difficulties arising from a 
physical, mental or behavioural handicap. 

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agencies/bodies (Type II schools) or elsewhere, at the initiative of the Member 
States concerned (Type III schools). 

After  four years of delicate negotiation, an overall agreement was  reached, without 
the need to modify the current Convention, at the meeting of the Board of Governors 
in April 2009. This agreement focused on the following points:  

4.1. 

Autonomy of the European Schools and local governance 

Political  agreement  was  reached  in  the  framework  of  the  reform  for  increased 
autonomy  of  the  European  Schools:  more  decisions  will  be  taken  by  the 
Administrative  Boards  of  the  European  Schools,  and  the  parents,  who  have  voting 
rights of one in six, will have a stronger role in decision-making. This autonomy will 
nonetheless  be  subject  to  checks.  It  will  be  incorporated  in  the  general  framework 
established by the Board of Governors, and will be the subject of an annual roadmap 
for each European School which will include the objectives to be achieved as regards 
teaching and management and also reporting obligations (accountability).  

4.2. 

Governance of the system 

In  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  Commission,  the  aim  of  the  reform  is  to 
readjust  and  simplify 
the 
responsibilities  of  the  various  bodies18.  This  will  allow  the  Board  of  Governors  to 
focus  exclusively  on  political  decisions,  as  other  decisions  will  be  taken  at  an 
appropriate  lower  level.  The  Secretary-General's  coordinating  role  is  strengthened 
and the office will be assisted officially by the presidencies and the Commission19. 

the  decision-making  process,  while  clarifying 

4.3. 

Reporting obligations 

Definition  of  responsibilities  and  reporting  obligations  for  each  body  will  ensure 
consistency throughout the system. 

4.4. 

Sharing costs between the Member States 

The sharing of the cost of seconded teachers between Member States was a sensitive 
political  point  in  the  margins  of  the  reform  process.  Discussions  during  the  2008 
meetings of the reform working party were difficult, as the Member States were not 
very enthusiastic about the subject.  

At the meeting of the Board of Governors in April 2009, agreement was reached on 
an  indicative  reference  which  would  fairly  reflect  the  proportionality  between  the 
percentage of staff seconded by a Member State  and the percentage of pupils from 
the  same  Member  State  in  the  European  School  system.  No  direct  financial 
compensation would be required in the event of a Member State's failure to second a 
sufficient number of teachers, as all of the Member States were strongly opposed to 

18 

19 

The Budgetary Committee will have greater decision-making powers on budget and financial questions 
increased.  The  Joint  Teaching  Committee,  which  is  now  a  single  body,  will  have  decision-making 
powers on most educational matters. The parents, the Staff Committee and the Commission will each 
have a vote. 
Within the Troïka. 

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this possibility. However, to ensure that all Member States would be able to second 
teachers, the Board of Governors approved a structural approach allowing non-native 
speakers to teach in one of the vehicular languages20 of the system provided that their 
language skills were strictly checked before recruitment. 

In the event of enough teachers not being seconded, the Community would continue 
to  cover  the  cost  of  recruiting  local  teaching  staff.  The  Community  contribution 
would  be  clearly  identified  and  monitored  on  an  annual  basis.  The  Commission 
hopes that highlighting the fact that the cost is borne by the Community rather than 
the  Member  States  concerned  will  encourage  Member  States  to  fulfil  their 
obligations. 

4.5. 

Opening up of the system and reform of the European Baccalaureate 

4.5.1.  Accreditation and funding of accredited schools 

The  Board  of  Governors  adopted  the  principle  of  opening  up  the  European  School 
System  with  the  possibility  of  establishing  schools  accredited  by  the  Board  of 
Governors.  These  Type  II  and  Type  III  schools  will  be  accredited  national  schools 
providing  a  European  study  programme  and  offering  the  European  Baccalaureate 
while  abiding  by  strict  educational  criteria.  They  are  different  from  the  14  Type  I 
European  Schools.  Type  II  schools  are  schools  located  near  EU  institutions  and 
agencies which can accept children of EU staff, while this is not in principle the case 
for Type III schools.  

The Board of Governors also approved the inclusion in the Accreditation Agreement 
of a new article on a pro rata contribution to Type II schools by the European Union 
depending on the number of children of staff of EU institutions and agencies enrolled 
at the school. This contribution will be based on simple and fair criteria which will 
be known in advance and will take account of differences in national reference costs 
between the Member States.  

Thanks  to  the  efforts  made  by  certain  Member  States  to  anticipate  this  process  of 
opening up the system, six schools are already accredited or are on the point of being 
so21. 

4.5.2.  European Baccalaureate 

One  of  the  preconditions  for  the  opening  up  of  the  system  is  the  reform  of  the 
European  Baccalaureate  to  guarantee  its  quality,  ensure  it  is  recognised  within  the 
EU  and  strengthen  its  already  widely  recognised  value  as  a  qualification  allowing 
access to third level education. 

English, French and German. 
Dunshaughlin School (IR), near the Food and Veterinary Office in Grange; 

20 
21 
Heraklion School (GR), near the European Network and Information Security Agency ;  
Parma School (IT), near the European Food Safety Authority;  
Helsinki School (FI), near the European Chemicals Agency;  
Strasbourg School (FR), near the European Parliament; 
Manosque School (FR), near the ITER Research Centre at Cadarache. 
A Type III accredited school is under preparation in The Hague (NL), independently of the presence of an EU 

institution or agency.  

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The  Board  of  Governors  meeting  in  Helsinki  in  April  2008  approved  amendments 
including schools accredited by the Board of Governors in the 1984 agreement on the 
European  Baccalaureate.  The  Parma  European  School  has  a  provisional  agreement 
which will come into force for the Baccalaureate of June 2009. 

An  external  evaluation  of  the  European  Baccalaureate  was  carried  out  by  the 
University  of  Cambridge  at  the  request  of  the  Board  of  Governors  and  the  final 
report was submitted in April 2009. The Board of Governors set up a working group 
to prepare for the reform of the Baccalaureate. This group started its work in 2009. 

5. 

COMMUNICATION, DIALOGUE AND INFORMATION 

In 2008, the Commission continued to prioritise the provision of information to and 
communication  with  the  various  groups  with  an  interest  in  the  European  Schools. 
The Commission met regularly with the parents’ associations and the Brussels Local 
Staff Committee in order to ensure clear and direct dialogue. 

Staff are kept informed by means of the intranet, among other things. Several articles 
have  been  published  in  the  internal  weekly  newspaper  "Commission  en  Direct"  to 
keep staff informed about progress in the reform of the European School System. 

Vice-President  Kallas  has  contacted  the  relevant  national  authorities  on  several 
occasions  to  help  resolve  problems  concerning  the  European  Schools  as  quickly  as 
possible.  He  has  regularly  met  Commission  staff  to  deal  with  their  concerns 
regarding the European Schools.  

President  Barroso  has  taken  up  the  subject  of  the  European  Schools  with  various 
Heads  of  Government  and  with  staff  representatives,  particularly  the  problems 
arising from overpopulation in the Brussels European Schools.  

In  2008,  the  European  Parliament  showed  increasing  interest  in  the  European 
Schools:  Vice-President  Kallas  answered  Parliament's  questions  on  the  reform,  the 
European  Baccalaureate,  funding  of  the  European  Schools,  religion  classes, 
integration of the European Schools System in the Eurydice network, and integration 
of SEN children22.  

6. 

ACTION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS (SEN) 

The  European  Schools  have  continued  their  efforts  to  improve  integration  of  SEN3 
children, to help these children to integrate into a European School, where necessary 
with a specially adapted programme of studies. 

The Commission fully supports the integration of SEN children and makes available 
the necessary financial and other resources to make this possible. Between 2004 and 
2008, the SEN budget and the number of SEN graduates has increased by more than 

22 

Children with special educational needs (SEN) are those who have learning difficulties arising from a 
physical, mental or behavioural handicap.  

EN 

11 

   EN 

 
                                                 
50%23. In September 2008, 49 SEN pupils enrolled for the European Baccalaureate 
in June 2009.  

The  European  Parliament's  Intergroup  on  the  Problems  of  the  Disabled  voted  for  a 
budgetary  allocation  of  EUR  200  000  to  promote  teaching  of  children  with  special 
educational needs in the European Schools. This allowed the Board of Governors to 
commission  an  external  evaluation  of  the  SEN  programme  to  see  how  it  could  be 
improved.  

7. 

WORK OF THE PRESIDENCIES OF THE EUROPEAN SCHOOLS IN 2008 – FINLAND AND 
SWEDEN 

The  Finnish  presidency  of  the  European  School  in  2007-2008  coincided  with  an 
important  phase  in  the  European  Schools  reform  process:  the  drawing  up  of  the 
provisions needed to make the reform a reality.  

In  August  2008,  the  Swedish  presidency  succeeded  the  Finnish  presidency  of  the 
European Schools. During the Swedish presidency in 2008-2009, the reform process 
which had begun in 2005 was completed. 

8. 

FUTURE OF THE SYSTEM  

In  general  terms,  the  process  of  reform  was  a  long  and  complex  one  because  it  is 
always  difficult  for  a  system  to  reform  itself.  However,  despite  the  difficulties,  the 
determination shown by the Commission, successive presidencies and the Secretary-
General enabled these difficulties to be overcome and the fundamental objectives of 
the reform to be achieved. 

The  reform  of  the  system  was  the  subject  of  an  overall  agreement  at  the  Board  of 
Governors' meeting in April 2009, in line with the wishes of the European Parliament 
and  the  Commission.  This  agreement  was  submitted  to  the  Education  Ministers' 
Council of 12 May 2009. 

It falls to Slovenia, which will hold the presidency of the European Schools in 2009-
2010, to implement the reform: this process should be completed by September 2009 
for  aspects  which  do  not  require  legislative  changes  and  for  September  2010  for 
those which do.  

23 

The number of pupils with an SEN contract went from 274 for 2004/2005 to 411 for 2007/2008. 

EN 

12 

   EN