COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture The European Commission's contribution to the Leaders' meeting in Gothenburg, 17 November 2017
Date: 2017-11-14
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: EU investment, EU programme, European identity, cultural heritage, cultural pluralism, education policy, frontier worker, promotion of the European idea, vocational training

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Strasbourg, 14.11.2017 COM(2017) 673 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture  The European Commission's contribution to the Leaders' meeting in Gothenburg,  17 November 2017   
 
 
Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture 

The European Commission's contribution to the Leaders' meeting in Gothenburg, 17 
November 2017 

"Education and culture are the key to the future – both for the individual as well as for our 
Union as a whole. It is how we turn circumstance into opportunity, how we turn mirrors into 
windows and how we give roots to what it means to be 'European', in all its diversity. When 
Europe's Leaders meet in Gothenburg this week, we must seize the opportunity and make sure 
education and culture are the drivers for job creation, economic growth, social fairness and 
ultimately unity". 
(President Juncker, 14 November 2017) 

"The EU is not perfect but it is the best instrument we have for addressing the new challenges 
we  are  facing.  We  need  the  EU  not  only  to  guarantee  peace  and  democracy  but  also  the 
security of our people. We need the EU to serve better their needs and wishes to live, study, 
work,  move  and  prosper  freely  across  our  continent  and  benefit  from  the  rich  European 
cultural heritage." 
(Bratislava Declaration, 16 September 2016) 

"We want a Union where citizens have new opportunities for cultural and social development 
and  economic  growth.  [..]  [We]  pledge  to  work  towards  […]  a  Union  where  young  people 
receive the best education and training  and can study and find  jobs  across the continent; a 
Union which preserves our cultural heritage and promotes cultural diversity." 
(Rome Declaration, 25 March 2017) 

The debate about the future of Europe is in full swing. The European Commission launched 
this  debate  in  March  2017  with  its  White  Paper1.  President  Juncker  set  out  his  views  for  a 
more united, stronger and more democratic Union in his 2017 State of the Union Address2 
and presented a clear roadmap leading up to the meeting of Leaders in Sibiu, in the meantime 
called  by  President  Tusk  for  9  May  2019,  where  further  decisions  on  the  future  of  Europe, 
prepared by the discussions as set out in the Leaders' Agenda3, should take place.  

One of the key issues for debate and decision concerns the social dimension of Europe. The 
Commission  presented  a  specific  Reflection  Paper4  that  points  to  Europe's  important 
achievements in this area. Europe has the most equal and inclusive societies in the world, with 
high  life  expectancy  (80.7  years  on  average)  and  strong  social  protection  systems,  which 
helped  weather  the  economic  crisis.  Unemployment  rates  are  falling  (reaching  7.5%  in 
September  2017,  which  is  the  lowest  rate  recorded  since  November  2008)  but  they  differ 
substantially  from  one  country  to  the  other  and  18.4  million  people  are  still  unemployed, 

1 COM(2017)2025 
2 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/state-union-2017_en 
3 http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/talinn-leaders-agenda/ 
4 COM(2017)206 

1 

 
 
 
                                                            
including 3.7 million young people. At the same time, 40% of European employers report that 
they have difficulties in finding people with the skills they need to grow and innovate.  

The reflection about the future of our Union also entails a reflection on the strength of our 
common  identity.  When  our  European  values  and  democracies  are  tested  by  awakening 
populist forces at home and abroad or by the spreading of "fake news" and the manipulation 
of our information networks, it is the moment when European Leaders and the EU institutions 
must react. They decided in Rome in March 2017 to keep the EU as a unique project where, 
following the motto of "unity in diversity", the EU and its Member States have been able to 
draw on the unique strengths and richness of their nations to achieve unprecedented progress. 
Sixty  years  after  the  signing  of  the  Treaties  of  Rome,  strengthening  our  European  identity 
remains essential and education and culture are the best vectors to ensure this. 

This is why European leaders have decided to meet on 17 November 2017 in Gothenburg to 
discuss  the  future  role  of  education  and  culture  in  strengthening  the  sense  of  belonging 
together and being part of a cultural community.  

The  present  Communication  forms  the  European  Commission's  contribution  to  the  Leaders' 
meeting. It identifies key issues and sets out possible ways forward in line with the principle 
of subsidiarity and the fact that the competences for education and culture lay primarily with 
Member States at national, regional and local level. The Union's competences are limited to 
encouraging cooperation, supporting and complementing national actions. The Union's action 
also  foresees  the  possibility  to  finance  programmes  (Erasmus  for  education  and  Media  for 
culture being the most long-standing ones and the most popular).  

This  Communication  sets  out  the  vision  of  a  European  Education  Area,  building  on  the 
New Skills Agenda for Europe5 and the investing in Europe's youth initiatives6. Education is 
part of the solution to get more people into decent jobs, respond better to the economy's skills 
needs  and  strengthen  Europe's  resilience  in  a  context  of  the  rapid  and  profound  changes 
induced by the technological revolution and globalisation. This last aspect was addressed in 
the Commission's Reflection Paper on harnessing globalisation7, which pointed to the key 
role  of  social  and  education  policies  in  ensuring  resilience,  innovation and  competitiveness. 
Europe does not excel in delivering high-quality skills, as even the best-performing Member 
States are outperformed by advanced Asian countries. Europe has, however, the ambition to 
grasp all opportunities created by new developments. 

It  is  therefore  in  the  shared  interest  of  all  Member  States  to  harness  the  full  potential  of 
education and culture as drivers for jobs, social fairness, active citizenship as well as a means 
to experience European identity in all its diversity. 

5 COM(2016)381 
6  COM(2016)940:  Investing  in  Europe’s  youth;  COM(2016)941:  Improving  and  Modernising  Education; 
COM(2017)248: School development and excellent teaching for a great start in life; COM(2017)247: A renewed 
EU agenda for higher education. 
7 COM(2017)240 

2 

 
 
 
                                                            
1. Towards an ambitious shared European Agenda on education and culture  

Europe is facing a number of key developments:  

  continued digitisation, automation, artificial intelligence and the need to keep up with 

 

 

technological progress; 
the  future  of  work,  its  impact  on  working  conditions  and  future  needs  for  skills  and 
competences;  
the  modernisation  of  European  welfare  states,  social  inclusion  and  the  need  to  share 
the benefits of growth and reduce inequalities, including gender inequality;  

  demographic  trends,  an  ageing  workforce,  and  the  need  to  integrate  a  culturally 

diverse migrant population; 

  new patterns in communication, social media, the phenomenon of "fake" news and the 

need to promote media literacy among all citizens; as well as  

  a  flaring-up  of  populism  and  xenophobia,  the  risk  of  violent  radicalisation  and  the 

need to strengthen the sense of belonging together.  

Education  and  culture  can  and  should  be  part  of  the  solution  to  tackle  many  of  these 
challenges and offer ways to harness the opportunities that come with them:  

  Education  forms  the  basis  for  a  creative  and  productive  workforce  that  drives  R&D 
and innovation and is able to steer technological and digital developments, rather than 
react  to  them;  education  and  training  equip  people  with  the  skills  they  need  on  the 
labour  market  and  enable  them  to  respond  to  changing  circumstances  and  structural 
change  or  disruption;  education,  training,  re-  and  up-skilling  help  to  smoothen  the 
transition between jobs; education and training give people the chance to create jobs 
themselves;  a  highly-qualified  and  flexible  workforce  forms  the  backbone  of  a 
resilient economy that deals with shocks well and plays a pro-active role in the global 
economy.  

  Education  and  training  are  also  the  best  way  to  increase  employability  and  help  get 
people into decent jobs. They offer the best protection against unemployment, poverty 
and social exclusion. Provided that it is of good quality and inclusive, education from 
childhood  on  lays  the  groundwork  for  social  cohesion,  social  mobility  and  an 
equitable society. 

  At the same time, education and culture help make Europe an attractive place to live, 
study  and  work,  marked  by  freedom  and  common  values,  which  are  reflected  in 
fundamental  rights  and  an  open  society.  Education  forms  the  basis  for  active 
citizenship and helps prevent populism, xenophobia and violent radicalisation. 

  Europe's cultural diversity is a strength that fuels creativity and innovation and, at the 
same time, there is common ground that makes up the distinct feature of the European 
way of life. Education and culture play a pivotal role for people to (i) know better each 
other  across  borders,  and  (ii)  experience  and  be  aware  of  what  it  means  to  be 
"European". Understanding and preserving our cultural heritage and diversity are pre-
requisites to maintain our cultural community, our common values and identity.  

3 

 
 
2. Boosting mobility and facilitating cross-border cooperation 

People in Europe study, work, travel and share ideas freely. The European project has always 
been about overcoming borders and allowing for free movement. Today, the internal market is 
a reality for goods but not for education and culture. On the other hand, we see an increasing 
interest  in  cross-border  cooperation  and  mobility  for  both  learners  and  cultural  and  creative 
works  in  all  Member  States,  with  interest  coming  from  the  education  and  cultural 
communities themselves.  

One  identified  obstacle  to  the  mobility  of  students  is  the  fact  that,  despite  the  Bologna 
process8  and  other  cooperation  frameworks  within  the  Council  of  Europe,  higher  education 
school diplomas are not readily recognised in other Member States, which means that young 
people are hindered, for no good reason, from taking up studies or work in another country. 
This is a lost opportunity in equipping young people with a good education and a hindrance to 
the flow of ideas, which impedes the work of universities, research and innovation. It is also a 
remaining obstacle to a truly integrated European labour market. 

There  are  many  administrative  and  bureaucratic  obstacles  that  hinder  universities,  higher 
education  institutions  and  training  providers  from  working  seamlessly  across  borders.  In 
addition,  study  and  training  programmes  that  lead  to  qualifications  that  are  automatically 
recognised in more than one country are still the exception. This makes life more difficult for 
graduates  and  it  impedes  universities,  which  have  to  deal  with  administrative  issues  rather 
than focussing on excellence. 

According to international rankings, out of the 50 best universities in the world, only 10 are 
located in the EU. It is important that Europe remains an attractive place to study and that, in 
the  future  more  European  universities  top  the  international  rankings.  To  support  the 
excellence of our higher education institutions and to develop our sense of belonging to the 
EU,  the  EU  budget  funds  a  small  number  of  European  higher  education  institutions  that 
deliver  education  on  European  issues:  the  European  University  Institute  in  Florence,  the 
College of Europe  (Bruges and Natolin), the European Institute of Public  Administration in 
Maastricht, the Academy of European Law in Trier and the 'Centre International de Formation 
Européenne' in Nice. For the same reasons, EU institutions and Member States should support 
the  establishment  of  the  School  of  European  and  Transnational  Governance  in  Florence, 
which would train managers from national administrations, the private sector and civil society 
in  EU  affairs.  The  EU  also  supports  the  European  Institute  of  Innovation  and  Technology 
(EIT), which helps creative minds to develop new ideas and entrepreneurial projects. 

The EU already has an excellent track record of actively promoting mobility, starting with 
university students but also including secondary level pupils, vocational students and young 
professionals  as  well  as  teachers,  thanks  to  the  Erasmus+  programme.  Most  recently,  the 
Commission  launched  the  European  Solidarity  Corps,  which  offers  new  opportunities  for 
volunteering, traineeships  and jobs  for EU young people between  the ages  of 18 and 30. In 

8 Initiated in 1999, the Bologna Process is an intergovernmental process which facilitates the mutual recognition 
of diplomas in higher education across 48 countries. 

4 

 
 
                                                            
2017,  the  project  Move2Learn  Learn2Move  has  given  the  chance  to  young  Europeans  to 
discover and learn about Europe. 

The  most  prominent  example  of  EU  action  to  boost  mobility  is  the  different  generations  of 
Erasmus+9, one of the most popular European programmes. After 30 years in operation, the 
Erasmus+  programme  has  helped  9  million  people  to  study,  train,  teach,  or  volunteer  in 
another  country.  People  speak  about  an  "Erasmus  generation".  Evidence  shows  that  people 
who  have  taken  part  in  Erasmus  have  excellent  chances  on  the  labour  market.  In  times  of 
globalisation, such experiences are bound to become even more valuable. However, it is still 
the case today that only 3.7% of young people have the chance to take part in this type of 
mobility.  It  is  also  true  that  mobility  outside  these  well-established  frameworks  remains 
difficult for the reasons explained above. 

If European Leaders and their citizens call for an open Europe in which learning mobility is 
the norm and if Europe wants to remain a continent of excellence, an attractive place to study, 
to carry out research and to work, the time has come to work towards a European Education 
Area.  Although  the  Union's  competences  in  education  and  culture  clearly  do  not  allow  for 
harmonisation  as  in  other  fields,  action  at  EU  level  based  on  cooperation  is  possible  and 
desirable. 

The way forward (for the ideas put forward  below that entail  access to EU funding beyond 
2020, final decisions will only be taken in the context of the future discussions on EU finances 
and the multiannual financial framework for the next period): 

- as an essential element of the European Education Area, prepare a proposal for a  Council 
Recommendation  on  the  mutual  recognition  of  higher  education  and  school  leaving 
diplomas/study periods abroad. This could be accompanied by a new process, building on 
experiences from existing cooperation schemes, to facilitate such recognition and take further 
the  cross-border  validation  of  training  and  lifelong  learning  certificates  ("the  Sorbonne 
process"); 

- boost the tried-and-tested Erasmus+ programme in all categories of learners that it already 
covers  (pupils,  students,  trainees,  apprentices  and  teachers)  with  the  aim  of  doubling  the 
number of participants and reaching out to learners coming from disadvantaged backgrounds 
by 2025;   

- roll-out in 2019 the pilot project for an EU student card, with the objective of offering it to 
all mobile students by 2025, to facilitate student mobility across borders and offer a new user-
friendly way to store information on a person's academic records; 

-  work  towards  truly  European  universities,  which  are  enabled  to  network  and  cooperate 
seamlessly across borders and compete internationally, including the creation of a School of 
European  and  Transnational  Governance  (hosted  by  the  European  University  Institute  in 
Florence, Italy). 

9 https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/ 

5 

 
 
                                                            
3. Investing in people and their education 

Investing in education is a shared interest of all Member States and of Europe as a whole as 
it is a driver for jobs, economic growth and improved welfare and supports upward economic 
and  social  convergence  both  between  and  within  Member  States.  Investment  in  initial 
education and training and in upskilling throughout life pays dividends, both to the individual 
and  to  the  public  purse.  Education  does  not  only  help  to  achieve  economic  and  social 
objectives. It is also a right as set out in Article 14 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of 
the  European  Union,  even  though  the  scope  of  this  right  is  limited  to  the  action  of  the  EU 
institutions  and  bodies  and  applies  to  the  Member  States  only  when  they  are  implementing 
EU law. 

Education  and  training  systems  in  Europe  are  in  general  of  good  quality  but  there  are  also 
short-comings: too many pupils acquire only a low level of competences. Recently, the share 
of "low achievers" in the subject of "science" surged by 25%. The share of pupils with low 
achievements  in  mathematics  has  been  stagnating  for  years  at  around  20%.  These  young 
people  will  encounter  serious  problems  on  the  labour  market.  20%  of  the  EU  working  age 
population  have  low  literacy  and  low  numeracy  skills.  44%  of  the  EU  population  have  low 
digital competences. As skills demand continues to rise, this problem will not go away.  

The latest OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 
data  show  that  one  in  five  pupils  in  the  EU  has  insufficient  proficiency 
in  reading,  mathematics  and  science.  Between  2012  and  2015,  the  trend  in 
underachievement for the EU as a whole has worsened.  In the countries 
involved in the OECD Survey of Adult  Skills  (PIAAC)  2012,  between  5%  and 
28%  of  adults  are  proficient  at  only  the  lowest  levels  in  literacy  and  8%  to 
32%  are  proficient  at  only  the  lowest  levels  in  numeracy. 

A second problem is linked to equal opportunities. Pupils showing weak performance come 
disproportionately from disadvantaged backgrounds (i.e. from households with low levels of 
income  or  education).  This  shows  that,  in  practice,  education  often  does  not  offer  a  real 
chance for social mobility. Quality  in education does not only mean achieving good results, 
but also ensuring that all pupils get the support they need for them to achieve good results.  

Another  key  aspect  to  ensure  quality  education  is  to  make  sure  that  the  education  systems, 
including vocational ones, impart all the knowledge, skills and competences that are deemed 
essential  in  today's  world.  As  skills  needs  are  changing  rapidly,  work-based  learning,  as 
apprenticeships or in a larger context of life-long learning, is essential and businesses have an 
important  role  to  play  through  education-industry  partnerships.  To  reap  the  benefits  of 
technological developments, existing short-comings concerning teaching digital skills such as 
coding or cyber security skills, media literacy and entrepreneurship skills must be addressed. 
Furthermore,  social,  civic  and  ‘learning  to  learn’  skills  are  essential  for  young  people  to 
participate fully in diverse and quickly changing societies. More efforts are needed to strive 
for curricula that are comprehensive and include all of these "key competences".  

6 

 
 
 
44% 

90% 

40% 

65% 

of Europeans between 16 and 74 years 
(169 million people) do not have sufficient 
digital  skills; the highest share of the 
population is in Bulgaria (74%) and the 
lowest share is in Luxembourg (14%) 

of jobs in the 
future  will require 
some level of 
digital  skills 

of European 
businesses seeking 
to recruit ICT 
specialists struggle  
finding  them 

of children entering 
primary school will 
find themselves in 
occupations that 
do not exist today 

A  specific  issue  is  the  learning  of  languages.  The  European  integration  process  calls  for 
acquiring good language competences. Multilingualism represents one of the greatest assets in 
terms  of  cultural  diversity  in  Europe  and,  at  the  same  time,  one  of  the  most  substantial 
challenges. Almost half of EU citizens only speak and understand their mother tongue. At the 
same time, the broad majority of Member States10 make the learning of two foreign languages 
compulsory for all students in general education at some point during their schooling. 

An additional problem is that few students choose to study science, technology, engineering 
and  mathematics,  especially  girls.  Linked  to  this,  there  are  not  enough  opportunities  for 
students  to  follow  inter-disciplinary  approaches  and  too  few  students  combine  science  and 
technology with arts. This raises the risk of labour and skills shortages, which can hold back 
innovation and competitiveness. 

The way forward: 

-  prepare  a Council  Recommendation  on  improving  language  learning  in  Europe,  setting 
out a benchmark that by 2025 all young Europeans finishing upper secondary education have 
a good knowledge of two languages in addition to their mother tongue(s); 

-  in  the  context  of  revamping  the  existing  EU  level  cooperation,  make  the  Council 
benchmarks for the share of low achievers and early school-leavers more ambitious by 2025, 
reducing the first benchmark from 15% currently to 10% and the second from 10% currently 
to 5 %. New benchmarks could be agreed for digital competences and entrepreneurship; 

- update the Recommendation on Key Competences in early 2018. 

Three key factors contribute to an improved education: the first one is the quality of teachers 
and  of  teaching.  Teachers  play  the  central  role  in  the  process  of  imparting  skills, 
competences and knowledge as well as in fostering international perspectives early in a young 
person’s  life.  The  better  the  teacher,  the  better  the  outcome.  However,  many  teachers  will 
retire in the years to come, and it is essential to attract enough qualified and motivated people 

10  Belgium  (French  community),  Germany,  Ireland,  Spain,  Croatia,  Hungary  and  the  United  Kingdom  are 
countries in which learning two languages is an option rather than an obligation. 

7 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
to  this  profession.  This  would  require  offering  them  excellent  training  and  attractive 
perspectives for their professional development and remuneration. 

The second issue is linked to lifelong learning. While young people spend the bulk of their 
time in education, investment in competences drops after graduation and remains flat for most 
people for the rest of their lives. Lifelong learning offers a way for re-skilling and up-skilling, 
but  only  a  small  fraction  of  adults  take  part  in  such  activities,  and  most  of  them  are  well-
qualified  already.  Most low  skilled adults,  including  those  who  struggle  with  basic  skills  or 
who  are  in  precarious  or  fragmented  work  situations,  do  not  take  part  in  lifelong  learning. 
Today, the disparities between EU countries in terms of participation in lifelong learning are 
significant.  It  is  essential  to  seek  convergence  and  increase  the  share  of  people  engaging  in 
learning  throughout  their  lives.  This  would  be  a  promising  way  to  improve  skills  and 
knowledge capital in Europe. Two generations ago, having access to basic education was the 
key  to  security  –  in  today's  fast  changing  world,  this  role  has  been  taken  over  by  life-long 
learning.  

At the same time,  there is  evidence that  good education  during early childhood lays a  solid 
foundation for learning at school and throughout life but, in practice, there are shortcomings 
with regard to the access, quality and affordability of such education.  

The  third  factor  is  innovation  and  digital  technologies  in  education.  They  offer  new 
possibilities for teaching and learning approaches but Europe is lagging behind in making use 
of  them.  Too  many  schools  do  not  yet  have  access  to  high-speed  connectivity  and  digital 
equipment,  and  not  enough  teachers  benefit  from  professional  development  programmes  in 
these fields. 

The way forward (for the ideas put forward  below that entail  access to EU funding beyond 
2020, final decisions will only be taken in the context of the future discussions on EU finances 
and the multiannual financial framework for the next period): 

-  gear  up  support  for  teachers  by  increasing  their  mobility  across  Europe  and  through  the 
"eTwinning network", aiming to reach 600,000 users by 2020, by providing Massive Open 
On-line Courses as part of setting up an EU Teacher Academy;  

- create momentum to stimulate lifelong learning by setting a more ambitious benchmark for 
participation in lifelong learning activities to 25% by 2025; 

-  prepare  a  Council  Recommendation  on  a  quality  framework  for  Early  Childhood 
Education  and  Care,  accompanied  by  a  more  ambitious  common  benchmark  that  would 
call for offering places for at least 95% of children between 3 years of age and the mandatory 
school age; 

-  prepare  a  new  Digital  Education  Action  Plan  in  order  to  promote  innovative, 
personalised and digital teaching methods and technologies that will help improve learning 
outcomes; implement a new EU connectivity target with the aim of ensuring that all schools 
have access to ultra-fast broadband by 2025.  

8 

 
 
4. Strengthening the sense of European Identity and awareness of cultural heritage 

Freedom, democracy,  equality, respect for the rule of law, human rights and dignity are the 
fundamental values on which the European Union is based. They form part of our European 
identity. Education, culture and sport have a pivotal role in promoting active citizenship 
and  common  values  amongst  the  youngest  generations.  Their  combination  in  concrete 
projects  in  local  communities  contributes  to  the  strengthening  of  the  sense  of  European 
identity. Initiatives such as the European day at school11 should receive renewed support and 
be developed on a larger scale.  

The EU is pursuing various activities to safeguard and enhance Europe's cultural heritage and 
offers support to cultural and creative sectors. It also provides a regulatory framework aimed 
at improving the conditions for authors and creators to create, distribute and get remunerated 
in the digital world.  

While  it  is  hard  to  measure  achievements  in  terms  of  culture  or  identity,  cultural  activities 
contribute to improving people's experience, to knowing each other better and to understand 
what  it  means  to  be  European.  In  that  regard,  the  well-established  initiative  of  European 
Capitals of Culture12 has been celebrating and promoting cultural diversity for 30 years. At 
the  same  time,  the  economic  importance  of  cultural  industries  must  not  be  underestimated.  
European  cultural  and  creative  sectors  represent  around  4%  of  European  GDP  and  provide 
jobs to 8 million Europeans. 

The  2018  European  Year  of  Cultural  Heritage13  will  be  an  opportunity  to  increase 
awareness of the importance of culture and cultural heritage and, in particular, to recall that 
cultural heritage belongs to all. It will also be the moment to highlight the strong economic 
role  that  cultural  heritage  plays.  It  will  provide  an  occasion  to  show  how  digital  tools  can 
broaden  access  to  cultural  material  and  opportunities,  and  shed  light  to  initiatives  such  as 
Europeana14, which fosters access to cultural heritage material held by libraries, archives and 
museums through digital means. 

The  Creative  Europe  programme15  supports  the  circulation  of  culture  projects  across 
borders, the mobility of artists and the wide distribution of European films. Its "Creative and 
Cultural  Sectors  Guarantee  Facility"  aims  at  increasing  access  to  finance  for  small  and 
medium-sized companies active in the Cultural and Creative Sector, and developing activities 
based on cultural values and/or artistic and other creative expressions. The Guarantee Facility 
has been in operation since 30 June 2016 and has a budget of EUR 121.4 million for the 2016-
2020  period.  So  far,  there  is  a  growing  market  take-up,  with  guarantee  agreements  already 
signed in Spain, France and Romania and another four agreements in preparation in Belgium, 

11 The European day at school is a good example of how students can get in contact with Europe. Since 2007, the 
project launched by Chancellor Merkel, at the occasion of the German Presidency of the Council, offers students 
in Germany the opportunity to get to know Europe better. Politicians from all political levels, as well as officials 
from the European institutions are invited to visit schools and discuss Europe.     
12 https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/creative-europe/actions/capitals-culture_en 
13 https://ec.europa.eu/culture/european-year-cultural-heritage-2018_en 
14 https://www.europeana.eu/portal/en 
15 https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/creative-europe/ 

9 

 
 
                                                            
Italy and the Czech Republic. The MEDIA programme has, since 1991, invested over EUR 
2.5  billion  in  the  creation  of  European  films  and  audio-visual  products,  supporting  their 
production, their promotion and their distribution across borders. 

In  view  of  the  growing  challenges  to  qualitative  journalism  and  factual  reporting  by  the 
phenomena  of  "fake  news"  and  "alternative  facts",  we  need  to  take  a  stronger  stance  in 
support of media freedom, media pluralism and media transparency in Europe. Even though 
Europe  has  no  direct  competence  over  the  media,  the  EU  has  for  years  a  close  link  with 
Euronews.  In  1993,  Euronews  was  created  by  a  number  of  national  Europeans  public 
broadcasters,  with  the  ambition  of  having  a  European  public  broadcaster  offering  access  to 
independent,  high-quality  information  with  a  pan-European  perspective.  At  the  time,  the 
project  was  meant  to  contribute  to  the  strengthening  of  European  identity.  For  that  reason, 
without becoming a shareholder, the EU has been providing financial support to the channel, 
supporting the broadcast of programmes in nine EU languages, but also of services in Arabic 
and Farsi. EU funding today represents 36% of the Euronews budget (EUR 25 million a year). 

However,  over  the  years,  European  national  public  broadcasters  have  become  minority 
shareholders,  while  non-EU  private  broadcasters  and  private  investors  from  third  countries 
have  increased  their  share.  There  are  increasing  concerns  whether  a  channel  that  gives 
viewers the impression of being a kind of a European public broadcaster is always reflecting 
the diversity of opinions as they exist in Europe and European values. This is why we need a 
reflection  and  a  decision  at  the  political  level  on  the  degree  of  ambition  the  EU  has  for  the 
future of Euronews. The European Parliament should be closely involved in this process. 

The way forward (for the ideas put forward  below that entail  access to EU funding beyond 
2020, final decisions will only be taken in the context of the future discussions on EU finances 
and the multiannual financial framework for the next period):  

-  prepare  a  Council  Recommendation  on  common  values,  inclusive  education  and  the 
European dimension of teaching; 

- strengthen the financing capacity of the Creative and Cultural Sectors Guarantee Facility 
by 2020 in order to allow banks and other financial institutions from an enlarged number of 
countries  significantly  to  increase  financing  of  small  and  medium-sized  companies  in  the 
cultural and creative sectors; 

-  launch  by  2020  a  #Digital4Culture  strategy  with  the  purpose  of  coupling  culture  and 
digital and using the digital potential to enhance the positive economic and societal effects of 
culture; 

- revamp and strengthen the European Agenda for Culture by 2025, based on the cultural 
mainstreaming principle of the Treaty, to promote the cultural dimension of the Union, with 
particular emphasis on a European identity through culture and values; 

- strengthen the European dimension of Euronews.  

10 

 
 
 
5. Conclusions and outlook  

Europe is a cultural community, based on shared values and successful economic integration, 
in particular the internal market. The European Union's social market economy is a hallmark 
of the European way of life, combining economic freedom with social principles, as reflected 
in the European Pillar of Social Rights.  

Education  and  culture  are  primarily  policies  in  the  hands  of  Member  States  and  of  their 
regional  and  local  authorities.  The  European  level  is  playing  an  important  complementary 
role, in particular, when it comes to cross-border activities (the most prominent examples of 
EU action being the Erasmus+ and the Media programme). It is in the shared interest of all 
Member  States  to  harness  the  potential  of  education  and  culture  in  full.  A  collective  effort 
would enable Europe as a whole to deal better with the challenges it is facing. 

A vision for 2025 would be a Europe in which learning, studying and doing research would 
not be hampered by borders. A continent, where spending time in another Member State – to 
study, to learn, or to work – has become the standard and where, in addition to one's mother 
tongue,  speaking  two  other  languages  has  become  the  norm.  A  continent  in  which  people 
have  a  strong  sense  of  their  identity  as  Europeans,  of  Europe's  cultural  heritage  and  its 
diversity.  

Delivering  on  this  vision  must  be  a  common  endeavour.  It  will  mean  working  together 
towards a shared agenda, in full respect of subsidiary.  

At the heart of this shared agenda is the idea to work jointly towards a European Education 
Area based on trust, mutual recognition, cooperation and exchange of best practices, mobility 
and growth, to be established by 2025, including via:  

  making learning mobility a reality for all;  
 

removing obstacles to the recognition of qualifications, both at the level of schools and 
higher education;  

  modernising the development of curricula;  
  boosting language learning;  
  creating  world-class  European  universities  that  can  work  seamlessly  together  across 

borders;  
improving education, training and lifelong learning;  

 
  driving innovation in education in the digital era;  
  giving more support to teachers;  
  and  preserving  cultural  heritage  and  fostering  a  sense  of  a  European  identity  and 

culture.  

Investing in people does not come for free. For this ambitious shared agenda to be credible, 
the  European  Union  will  have  to  engage  in  commensurate  people-based  investment. 
Supporting young people to gain experience in another Member State will require substantial 
funding.  The  political  ambition  would  need  to  be  aligned  with  the  means  to  act  and  will 
therefore need to be reflected in the future discussions on EU finances. 

11 

 
 
Other elements will not require new funding but an investment in cooperation, for example, 
by streamlining provisions on recognition or removing legal obstacles that hinder cross-border 
mobility and cooperation.  

Member  States  already  invest,  on  average,  almost  5%  of  GDP  in  their  education  systems. 
However,  there  are  important  differences  between  Member  States,  with  some  spending 
around 4% or less (Romania) while others spending up to 7% (Denmark). Working towards 
upward  convergence  to  make  Europe  a  continent  of  excellence  will  require  improved 
investments in education in some Member States, closing the gap to the EU average. 

EU level investment in education and training complements national efforts. This applies 
to  a  variety  of  instruments,  ranging  from  mobility  programmes  (in  particular  Erasmus+), 
research and innovation programmes (Horizon 2020, in particular Marie Skłodowska Curie), 
European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds,  financial  instruments  (including  the  Investment 
Plan  for  Europe  which  already  funds  education  related  projects  in  Finland,  Portugal  and 
Latvia)  and  the  Structural  Reform  Support  Service.  Education  is  primarily  funded  through 
public expenditure. However, in the context of tight public finances, both at national and EU 
levels,  the  potential  of  using  innovative  forms  of  funding,  for  example  tapping  into  private 
investment and using investment tools such as the European Fund for Strategic Investments, 
would also need to be explored for some types of education equipment (e.g. to provide high 
connectivity  in  schools)  and  certain  forms  of  education  (e.g.  to  promote  higher  education 
cooperation).  

This  shared  agenda  would  be  implemented  on  the  basis  of  the  existing  distribution  of  tasks 
and  competences,  using  tried-and-tested  ways  of  working  together.  In  particular,  the 
European  Semester  would  play  a  key  role  in  supporting  structural  reforms  to  improve 
education  policy  outcomes  and  bring  about  upward  convergence.  A  priority  would  be  to 
offer  to  everybody  access  to  high-quality  and  inclusive  education,  training  and  lifelong 
learning, in line with principle no 1 of the European Pillar of Social Rights.  

The existing EU-level cooperation in the field of education and training, with its focus on 
exchanging experiences, mutual learning and providing national policy-makers with evidence 
on  best  practices  on  what  works  well  in  education,  would  be  relaunched  with  a  2025 
perspective  in  the  light  of  the  new  priorities  and  the  ambition  to  build  up  a  European 
Education  Area.  In  particular,  it  would  support  the  launch  of  a  process  (“the  Sorbonne 
process”) that, politically and technically, will accompany the work on removing obstacles for 
recognition of school leaving and higher education diplomas, and work towards the smoother 
cross-border validation of training and lifelong learning certificates.  

As  President  Juncker  said  on  1  March  2017  when  presenting  the  European  Commission's 
White  Paper  on  the  Future  of  Europe:  "the  European  Union  has  changed  our  lives  for  the 
better.  We must  ensure  it  keeps  going  doing  so  for  all  of  those  that  will  follow  us".  Putting 
education and culture at the heart of our reflection on how to strengthen our shared European 
identity, and putting  forward concrete ideas  and initiatives to achieve  this  goal, are the best 
way to sustain the diversity and richness of our Union.  

12 

 
 
At their meeting on Education and Culture in Gothenburg on 17 November 2017, Leaders are 
invited to discuss and give a strategic orientation on the following six key policy suggestions 
from  the  European  Commission  (without  prejudice  to  the  decision  on  the  next  multiannual 
financial framework): 

1)  boost  the  Erasmus+  programme  in  all  categories  of  learners  that  it  already  covers 
(pupils,  students,  trainees,  apprentices  and  teachers)  with  the  aim  of  doubling  the 
number  of  participants  and  reaching  out  to  learners  coming  from  disadvantaged 
backgrounds by 2025; 

2)  work on a Council Recommendation on improving language learning in Europe, 
setting out a benchmark that, by 2025, all young Europeans finishing upper secondary 
education  have  a  good  knowledge  of  two  languages,  in  addition  to  their  mother 
tongue(s);  

3)  work  on  a  Council  Recommendation  on  the  mutual  recognition  of  higher 
education  and  school  leaving  diplomas/study  periods  abroad.  This  could  be 
accompanied  by  a  new  process,  building  on  experiences  from  existing  cooperation 
schemes to facilitate such recognition and take further  the cross-border validation of 
training and lifelong learning certificates ("the Sorbonne process"); 

4)  strengthen the financing capacity of the  Creative and Cultural  Sectors Guarantee 
Facility  by  2020  in  order  to  allow  banks  and  other  financial  institutions  from  an 
enlarged number of countries significantly to increase financing of small and medium-
sized companies in the cultural and creative sectors; 

5)  work  towards  truly  European  universities  that  are  enabled to  network and  cooperate 
seamlessly  across  borders  and  compete  internationally,  including  the  creation  of  a 
School  of  European  and  Transnational  Governance  (hosted  by  the  European 
University Institute in Florence, Italy); 

6)  strengthen the European dimension of Euronews. 

13