COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions on achieving the European Education Area by 2025
Date: 2020-09-30
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, European Commission
Subjects: cooperation in the field of education, education, educational system, gender equality, higher education, teacher, teacher training, teaching quality, vocational training

EN 

  EN 

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

1. 

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3 

2.  Long term trends, social transformation and changing needs affecting the world of education 
and training .......................................................................................................................................... 8 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.3. 

2.4. 

2.5. 

Education, technology and the future of work .................................................................... 8 

Population and globalisation ............................................................................................. 12 

Sustainable development ................................................................................................... 15 

Social cohesion and democracy ......................................................................................... 17 

The COVID-19 pandemic ................................................................................................. 19 

3.  The legacy of European cooperation in education and training ................................................ 21 

3.1. 

European Education Area initiatives to date ..................................................................... 21 

3.1.1.

3.1.2.

3.1.3.

3.1.4.

3.1.5.

3.1.6.

3.1.7.

3.1.8.

3.1.9.

Key competences for Lifelong Learning ................................................................ 21 

Promoting common values ...................................................................................... 22 

High quality early childhood education and care ................................................... 23 

Teaching and learning of languages ........................................................................ 24 

Digital Education Action Plan ................................................................................. 25 

Erasmus+ European Universities ............................................................................ 26 

Student Mobility – The European Student Card Initiative .................................... 28 

Graduate Tracking .................................................................................................... 29 

Automatic mutual recognition ................................................................................. 30 

3.1.10.

  Skills ......................................................................................................................... 32 

3.2.  Achievements of the Open Method of Coordination in education and training ................ 34 

3.2.1.

3.2.2.

The Open Method of Coordination in education and training ................................... 34 

Evidence and monitoring ........................................................................................... 38 

4.  Towards the European Education Area ..................................................................................... 41 

4.1. 

Future priorities and issue areas ........................................................................................ 41 

4.1.1.

4.1.2.

4.1.3.

4.1.4.

4.1.5.

4.1.6.

4.1.7.

4.1.8.

4.1.9.

Early childhood education and care........................................................................... 42 

Key challenges to achieve school success for all ...................................................... 43 

Challenges in acquiring and upgrading competences for adults ............................... 48 

Linguistic and cultural diversity ................................................................................ 50 

The multi-dimensional issue of gender in education ................................................. 51 

Teachers, trainers and school leaders ........................................................................ 52 

The need for higher education transformation .......................................................... 53 

Relevance of learning mobility for improved outcomes ........................................... 56 

Informal and non-formal learning and volunteering ................................................. 57 

4.1.10.

  The European Education Area in the world .............................................................. 58 

4.2.  Working together towards the European Education Area – a new enabling framework .. 60 

CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................... 65 
1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................................ 67 

Annex I – Summary Table of European Education Area initiatives ..................................................... 68 

Procedural annex – Synopsis report of stakeholder consultations ........................................................ 73 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.  Introduction 

The  present  Staff  Working  Document  is  composed  of  four  main  chapters:  the  first  one 
introduces  the  broader  context  that  underpins  the  proposal  for  a  coherent  vision  of  the 
European  Education  Area;  the  second  presents  long-term  trends  and  societal  changes  that 
exert  a  transformative  effect  on  education  and  training;  the  third  reflects  on  the  legacy  and 
achievements  of the ET  2020 strategic cooperation framework and presents  progress on the 
ongoing European Education Area initiatives; finally, the last chapter identifies future priority 
and  issue  areas  and  puts  forward  options  for  the  enabling  framework  of  the  European 
Education Area. 

The fundamental place of education in our European way of life 

Education  sets  the  foundation  of  the  society’s  progress  across  generations.  It  is  a  right  of 
every  child 1 .  It  helps  young  people  take  up  the  accumulated  body  of  knowledge  and 
introduces  them  to  society’s  norms  and  practices.  Learning  in  all  its  forms  (formal,  non-
formal  and  informal)  plays  a  pivotal  role  in  ensuring  that  all  people,  irrespective  of  their 
socio-economic  background,  race,  ethnicity,  sexual  orientation,  sex  or  gender  can  discover 
their talents and become valuable members of societies. Education enhances social cohesion 
and  fosters  democracy,  enabling  stronger  and  more  meaningful  social  and  economic 
interactions.2 Individuals with higher levels of education participate in political activities to a 
greater  extent. 3 Education  underpins  democracy  in  Europe  and  the  world,  and  forms  the 
bedrock of the European way of life. 

Education also stands at the heart of Europe’s social market economy as  the foundation for 
economic  and  social  convergence.  It  helps  strengthen  people’s  employability,  which  not 
only  affects  the  labour  market  and  society  but  also  positively  influences  individuals’  lives.4 
By equipping people with the right skills, knowledge and competences, education and training 
can  improve  productivity  as  people  learn  how  to  perform  tasks  more  effectively.  Higher 
productivity  is  key  for  Europe  to  retain  its  competiveness  in  the  global  market  where  the 
Union  must  compete  against  lower  wage  regions. 5  A  scenario  that  considered  a  modest 
increase in student achievement on the OECD PISA survey of basic skills showed that, if all 
EU countries achieved this target in 15 years, the aggregate impact would be faster economic 
growth and an increase in GDP of EUR 71 trillion compared to the no change scenario.6 

1 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 28. 
2 Muenich, D., Psachaopoulos G.,  Education externalities: what they are and what we know, European Expert Network on 
Economics of Education (EENEE), Analytical Report No. 34, 2018 
3 Persson, M, Review Article: Education and Political Participation, British Journal of Political Science, Volume: 45, Issue: 
3, Pages: 689-703, 2015 
4 European  Commission,  The  Economic  Case  for  Education,  Background  paper  prepared  by  the  Commission  services  to 
inform the policy debate of the Council on 12 December 2014, 2014 
5 European  Commission,  The  Economic  Case  for  Education,  Background  paper  prepared  by  the  Commission  services  to 
inform the policy debate of the Council on 12 December 2014, p. 2, 2014 
6 The increase is equivalent to one quarter of a standard deviation, or 25 points. In: Hanushek, E.A. and Woessmann, L., The 
Economic  Benefits  of  Improving  Educational  Achievement  in  the  European  Union:  An  Update  and  Extension,  European 
Expert Network on Economics of Education (EENEE), Analytical Report No. 39, 2019 

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High  quality  education  and  training  also  helps  build  societal  and  personal  resilience  and 
bring  other  non-economic  benefits.  It  helps  people,  across  all  stages  of  life,  to  gain  the 
competences  to  manage  transitions  spurred  by  demographic  change,  digital  transformations, 
climate change, inequality and globalisation by providing skills and competences to adjust to 
societal  and  economic  changes.  Better  education  and  skills  correlate  positively  with  better 
health,  high  levels  of  civic  engagement,  lower  welfare  use  and  help  reduce  propensity  to 
commit crime.7 Beyond its benefits for personal development, the whole society benefits from 
higher education levels.8 For an individual, the average global rate of return to an extra year 
of  schooling  is  about  9%  a  year;  for  the  society  this  figure  stands  at  more  than  10%  at  the 
secondary and higher education levels.9 Children and young people from more disadvantaged 
backgrounds, in particular, strongly benefit from good quality education and training as they 
reduce socio-economic differences with those from more affluent families.10  

Education  and  training  also  helps  the  EU  play  a  stronger  role  in  a  global,  increasingly 
digital  and  knowledge-based  world.  It  contributes  to  strengthening  innovation  capacity  as 
people  learn  to  generate  and  adopt  new  ideas  that  spur  technological  progress.11 It  plays  an 
important  role  in  positioning  Europe  as  an  attractive  destination  for  global  talent  and 
strengthening Europe’s research performance. Over the period 2014-2020, international credit 
mobility  will  have  led  to  200,000  higher  education  staff  and  students  exchanges  between 
Europe  and  the  rest  of  the  world.  Each  year  around  1,000  European  higher  education 
institutions have benefitted from these global contacts, each partnering with an average of 4-6 
universities around the world. 

United  in  diversity:  working  toward  higher  quality  and  more  inclusive  education 
systems 

Europe  can  draw  on  a  wide  richness  of  education  systems  and  models.  They  have  been 
developed  to  meet  the  needs  of  their  societies  and  communities,  in  line  with  the  national 
culture  and  heritage  (illustrated  below  in  the  models  of  primary  and  lower  secondary 
education in Europe).  

At  the  same  time,  all  the  systems  share  the  same  common  values  and  objectives  of 
contributing to personal development, equipping people for their working life, and promoting 
active civic participation and learning related to democracy, the rule of law, citizenship and a 
shared identity. They also share the call to succeed in the digital and green transitions. 

7 Heckman, J.J, Humphries, J.E., Veramendi, G., The non-market benefits of education and ability, 2017 
8 European Commission, Investment in Human Capital – Assessing the Efficiency of Public Spending on Education  – Note 
for the Eurogroup on 6 November 2017, 2017 
9 Psacharopoulos,  G.,  Patrinos  H.A.,  Returns  to  investment  in  education  -  A  Decennial  Review  of  the  Global  Literature, 
World Bank Group, Education Global Practice, April 2018 
10 European Commission, Education and Training Monitor 2018, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 
2018 
11 Woessmann,  L.,  The  Economic  Case  for  Education,  European  Expert  Network  on  Economics  of  Educaiton  (EENEE), 
Analytical Report No. 20, 2017 

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Europe  can  build  on  a  rich  tradition  of  cooperation  in  pursuit  of  shared  objectives  in 
education  and  training.  In  higher  education,  each  country  has  its  own  individual  higher 
education system, but all form part of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), bringing 
together both EU Member States and other countries in Europe. The EHEA, with EU support, 
has  encouraged  the  development  of  common  European  cycles  of  study  and  corresponding 
tools  and  principles.  It  has  helped  strengthen  intra-EU  student  mobility,  employability,  and 
attractiveness for students across the globe. 

Figure 1. Models of primary and lower secondary education (ISCED 1-2) in Europe, 2019/20 

Source: Eurydice, 2019 

However,  divergence  exists  across  a  number  of  areas.  In  the  case  of  public  spending  on 
education,  it  has  remained  relatively  constant  at  an  overall  level  in  EU27  in  the  past  five 
years. In 2018, government expenditure in EU Member States amounted to 4.6% of total GDP 
on education and training, and the EU average share of public expenditure on education as a 
percentage of total public expenditure was 9.9%. Nevertheless, major differences exist among 
EU Member States, with certain countries facing difficulties in ensuring adequate resources to 
cover their investment needs in terms of education and training. 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Pre-primary and primary education

Secondary education

Post-secondary non-tertiary education Tertiary education

Education not definable by level

Subsidiary services to education

R&D Education

Education n.e.c.

Figure 2. General government expenditure in the EU on education (in % GDP) 

Source: Eurostat [gov_10a_exp]  
Note: *provisional **estimated 

Wide  differences  across  the  EU  are  also  visible  in  the  outcomes,  as  shown  in  the  OECD 
PISA  survey  of  basic  skills  of  15-year-olds. Around one in five pupils in the EU score as 
low  achievers  in  the  PISA  survey  (22.5%  in  reading,  22.9%  in  mathematics  and  22.3%  in 
science), a result that has broadly stagnated or worsened in most Member States over the past 
decade. 12  Socio-economic  background  strongly  affects  pupils’  performance  and  their 
academic  expectations  and  create  a  persistent  risk  of  intergenerational  transmission  of 
poverty. 13 Overall,  the  proportion  of  underachievers  in  reading  is  much  larger  for  pupils 
whose families belong in the bottom quarter of the PISA socio-economic index (see Figure 3). 

12 Eurostat, online data code [sdg_04_40] (Source: OECD) 
13 European  Commission,  Employment  and  Social  Developments  in  Europe,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union, 
Luxembourg, 2018 

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80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

EE IE FI PL SE DK LV HR IT SI MT AT CZ EU LT PT NL DE FR CY BE EL SK HU LU RO BG

Share of underachievers in reading, all pupils

Bottom quarter of ESCS

Top quarter of ESCS

Figure 3. Underachievers in reading (% 15-year-olds) by socio-economic status (ESCS).  

Source: PISA 2018, OECD. Note: Countries are sorted  in ascending order according to the underachievement gap between 
the bottom and top quarter of the socio-economic index. Data not available for ES. 

Towards a European Education Area  

The  shared  challenges  of  Europe’s  education  systems,  and  the  successful  tradition  of 
European cooperation, gave rise to the idea of a common European space of learning. In the 
Rome  Declaration  of  March  2017 14,  European  leaders  pledged  to  work  towards  a  Union 
where young people receive the best education and training and can study and find jobs across 
the continent. The European Pillar of Social Rights jointly proclaimed by EU Leaders at the 
2017  Gothenburg  Social  Summit  establishes  the  right  to  quality  and  inclusive  education, 
training and lifelong learning as its first principle.15 

To make these aspirations a reality, the Commission together with EU countries set in motion 
actions  to  achieve  a  European  Education  Area,  in  the  Communication  on  Strengthening 
European  Identity  through  Education  and  Culture 16  and  the  EU  Leaders’  meeting  in 
Gothenburg on the 17 November 2017. Implementing the political mandate, the Commission 
presented,  on  the  17  January  2018,  a  first  package  of  ‘New  measures  to  boost  key 
competences  and  digital  skills,  as  well  as  the  European  dimension  of  education’  addressing 
key competences for lifelong learning, digital skills, common values and inclusive education. 
On  22  May  2018,  a  second  package  of  initiatives  was  proposed  by  the  Commission,  in  the 
Communication  on  Building  a  stronger  Europe:  the  role  of  youth,  education  and  culture 
policies17 which highlighted the key role played by education,  youth  and culture in  building 
the  future  of  Europe.  On  24  October  2019,  a  Council  Resolution  on  further  developing  the 

14 The Rome Declaration of 25 March, 2017 
15 Interinstitutional Proclamation on the European Pillar of Social Rights (OJ C 428, 13.12.2017, p.10) 
16 COM/2017/0673 final 
17 COM/2018/268 final 

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European  Education  Area  to  support  future-oriented  education  and  training  systems18 was 
adopted.  The  Resolution  called  for  taking  further  the  ‘initiatives  towards  the  creation  of  a 
genuine European Education Area, aiming to develop further its goals, objectives and scope 
and  to  enhance  its  links  with  the  post-ET  2020  strategic  framework  for  cooperation  in 
education and training; and to take appropriate steps to ensure that all levels and all forms of 
education and training are promoted on an equal basis’. 

President  Von  der  Leyen  made  a  commitment  to  making  the  European  Education  Area  a 
reality by 2025 by bringing down barriers to learning, improving access to quality education 
for  all,  enabling  learners  to  move  more  easily  between  educational  systems  in  different 
countries  and  making  lifelong  learning  integral  part  of  education  and  training  to  empower 
people through education and skills. The ambition to create the European Education Area is 
the next step in decades of European cooperation in education and training. Between 2001 and 
2020, two strategic frameworks for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2010 
and  ET  2020)  provided  a  forum  to  realise  the  EU’s  ambitions  in  education  through  a 
structured  political  steering,  technical  work  guided  by  common  objectives  and  performance 
indicators. Work on the European Education Area will take forward the achievements of the 
previous frameworks. 

2.  Long  term  trends,  social  transformation  and  changing  needs  affecting 

the world of education and training 

Major  societal  shifts  –  megatrends  –  have  a  significant  impact  on  education  and  training 
systems across Europe and the individual Member States, most importantly the future of work 
driven  by  globalisation,  digitalisation  and  technological  progress,  climate  change  and 
environmental  sustainability,  demographic  change  and  the  global  race  for  talent.  The 
European Education Area presents a vision of education that is future-oriented and is attuned 
to  the  ongoing  transformation  of  the  world  we  live  in.  On  top  of  these  long  term  societal 
developments,  the  COVID-19  pandemic  accentuates  the  significance  of  education  and 
training  as  an  essential  human  activity,  the  interruption  of  which  generates  far-reaching 
economic and societal reverberations. 

2.1. Education, technology and the future of work 

Employment 
The  EU  being  one  of  the  most  open  economies  of  the  world 19,  challenges  in  the  global 
economy are increasingly affecting the way we work, the distribution of jobs and the demand 
for  skills  and  competences.  In  the  space  of  a  generation,  the  average  European  worker  has 
gone from having a job for life to having more than ten in a career. The high number of career 
transitions  and  the  increase  of  the  retirement  age  make  lifelong  learning  essential.  The  fast 

18 OJ C 389, 18.11.2019, p. 1–6 
19 In  2017  EU  exports  supported  36  million,  or  1  in  7,  jobs  in  the  EU  and  19.7  million  jobs  in  third  countries.  European 
Commission,  EU  exports  to  the  world:  effects  on  employment,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg, 
2018 

8 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
pace of digitisation and automation, together with the sustainability imperative, are reshaping 
labour  market  needs  across  all  sectors.  Key  competences,  digital  competences  in  particular, 
and  “soft”  transversal  skills  will  be  essential  to  ensure  multiple  job  changes  and  keep  pace 
with technological progress, while we advance in the digital and green transition.20 

The effects of the COVID-19 crisis will further change the skills demand in a labour market 
that is already challenged by major transitions. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, employment 
rates  in  the  EU  were  on  an  upward  trend,  with  older  and  high-skilled  workers  as  the  main 
drivers of employment growth.21 In the EU in 2019, some 12 million adults aged 25-64 were 
unemployed.  The  COVID-19  crisis  is  expected  to  lead  to  a  considerable  increase  in 
unemployment. The first forecasts done since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak22 estimate 
significant contractions of employment. 

About  45  million  jobs  in  the  EU-27  labour  market  (23%  of  total  EU-27  employment)  are 
faced with a very high risk of COVID-19 disruption and another 22% of the EU workforce, 
mostly  medium-  to  lower-skilled  service  provision  –  is  exposed  to  significant  risk. 23 The 
effects  of  COVID-19  social  distancing  fall  ‘disproportionately  on  vulnerable  workforce 
groups,  such  as  women,  older  employees,  non-natives,  the  lower-educated  and  those 
employed in micro-sized workplaces.’24 Cedefop work further suggests that, in terms of actual 
job  opportunities,  job  openings  requiring  medium-level  qualification  will  continue  to 
represent  the  largest  share  of  all  job-openings  (46%  of  all  job  openings  over  the  period  of 
2016-2030), closely followed in number by job-openings requiring high-level of qualification 
(43% of all job-openings)25. 

Education  and  skills  levels  continue  to  be  a  fundamental  factor  on  the  labour  market,  with 
higher  education  and  vocational  medium-level  qualifications  being  correlated  with  higher 
employment  rates.  On  average,  only  56.7%  of  those  aged  20-34  with  a  low  level  of 
educational attainment (and not any longer in education or training) were employed in 2019. 
At  the  same  time,  the  employment  rate  of  recent  graduates  with  a  medium-level  general 
qualification was 62.8%, of those with a medium-level vocational qualification 79.1% and of 
those with tertiary qualification 85.0%.26 In other words,  

the  gap  between  employment  rates  of  low-  and  high-skilled  workers  remains  very  high. 
Covid-19  is  expected  to  further  exacerbate  these  inequalities,  as  preliminary  evidence 

20 European  Commission,  10  trends  shaping  the  future  of  work  in  Europe,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union, 
Luxembourg, 2019 
21 Proposal For A Joint Employment Report from the Commission and the Council accompanying the Communication from 
the Commission on the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2020, COM/2019/653 final 
22  European  Commission,  European  Economic  Forecast:  Spring  2020,    Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union, 
Luxembourg, 2020 
23 Cedefop, European skills and jobs surveys 
24 Pouliakas K., Branka J., ‘EU jobs at highest risk of COVID-19 social distancing: is the pandemic exacerbating the labour 
market divide?’ Working paper series No1: Cedefop, May 2020. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/6201_en.pdf 
25 The analysis assumes that occupations classified as ISCO 1-3 require high-level education; occupations classified as ISCO 
4-8 require medium-level education; and those classified as ISCO 9 require low-level education. 
26 ESTAT, EU-LFS, online data code [edat_lfse_24] 

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suggests  that  high-qualified  people  are  much  more  likely  to  work  in  sectors  that  are  less 
affected  by  the  crisis,  partially  as  a  result  of  richer  opportunities  to  work  from  home.27 The 
relatively vulnerable labour market position of low- and (part of the) medium-skilled workers 
points at the need for policy action, particularly through effective upskilling and reskilling, to 
help them find more sustainable and quality jobs in the green and digital economy.  

Lifelong learning will be vital to provide individuals with both transferable and specific skills 
enabling them to transfer more easily within the job market, while leaving no one behind.28 
Despite  progress  in  a  number  of  Member  States,  the  participation  of  adults  in  learning 
activities (over the last 4 weeks) has increased only to a limited extent in the last decade, and 
remains particularly low (below 5%) for low-skilled adults.29  

An important part of the post-COVID 19 recovery process should be met by accelerating the 
greening of key economic sectors. This includes, for example, “smart circular economy”, the 
“renovation  wave”,  clean  transport,  sustainable  food  and  implementing  the  “Farm  to  Fork” 
strategy,  clean  energy  (such  as  renewable  and  energy  storage  technologies,  clean  hydrogen, 
batteries,  carbon  capture  and  storage  and  sustainable  energy  infrastructure)  and  health 
prevention aspects. Protecting and restoring biodiversity and natural ecosystems will also be 
key  to  building  climate  and  economic  resilience.  Greening  of  economy  will  also  require 
greening of skills. 

Technological change and the digital transformation 

Technological progress (robots, artificial intelligence, big data) and the digital transformation 
increasingly permeate the world of work, economies across the globe become more integrated 
and jobs’ skills requirement are continuously rising.. Even in sectors so far less impacted by 
automation, like health, education and the public sector – sectors employing a large share of 
the  workforce 30 people  need  to  operate  a  growing  number  of  digital  technologies  in  the 
framework of their job. 

The  new  Commission  Digital  Education  Action  Plan  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  EEA  to 
specifically address these challenges. 

27 European  Commission,  ‘Telework  in  the  EU  before  and  after  the  Covid-19:  where  we  were,  where  we  head  to’,  JRC 
Science for Policy Briefs, 2020 
28 ‘Even  before  the  outbreak  of  COVID-19,  the  EU  economy,  industry  and  social  model  were  being  affected  by  climate 
change,  globalisation,  demographic  challenges  and  digital  transformation.  All  these  factors  were  shaping  skills  demands 
through the creation and destruction of jobs as well as by changing the nature of existing occupations. The resulting changes 
in  skills  needs  had  translated  into  skills  imbalances  in  various  economic  sectors  and  several  geographical  areas.  Such 
transitions affect every part of our economy and society.’ Council conclusions of 8 June 2020 on reskilling and upskilling as 
a basis for increasing sustainability and employability, in the context of supporting economic recovery and social cohesion 
29 Proposal For A Joint Employment Report from the Commission and the Council accompanying the Communication from 
the Commission on the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2020, COM/2019/653 final 
30 OECD, OECD Employment Outlook 2019: The Future of Work, OECD Publishing, Paris, 2019 

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Digital  transformation  has  an  impact  on  jobs  and  employability.  Today,  85%  of  the  current 
jobs  require  a  certain  level  of  digital  skills31;  at  the  same  time,  new  jobs  will  come  into 
being32, while robotisation and artificial intelligence are increasingly replacing routine jobs33. 
Secondly,  the  very  idea  of  citizenship  is  re-shaped  by  the  mediation  of  digital  tools, 
contributing to a debate that spans from disinformation to civic participation. Thirdly, when 
COVID-19  first  hit  and  education  institutions  closed  down,  the  extent  to  which  effective 
education continued depended on the state of the existing digital infrastructure, digital skills, 
and  the  combined  effort  of  educators,  parents,  school  heads  and  other  stakeholders  to  help 
young people continue learning.34 A fourth aspect that relates to this megatrend is well-being 
in a digital age. The excessive and uncritical use of digital technologies can have detrimental 
effects  that  relate  to  cyberbullying,  to  dependence,  to  decreased  empathy.  Down-turning 
effects  of  digital  technology  on  empathy  are  yielded  when  its  content  and  its  use  entail 
antisocial approaches and violence.35 

Digital skills are seen today as basic skills for life, as important as reading and writing. Today 
42%  of  the  EU  population  lack  basic  digital  skills36.  In  2014,  in  OECD  countries,  42%  of 
people with no digital competence were unemployed, and around 40% of people thought that 
their computer skills were not sufficient to find a new job.37 Also, the digital divide between 
those  with  no  or  only  basic  digital  skills,  and  others  with  higher  level  skills  could  widen 
existing gaps in society and further exclude some parts of the population.38 Besides the need 
for digital skills for the labour force in general, there is a need to support the development of 
professional digital skills39. New job openings are emerging every year in the green and ICT 
sectors  and  start-ups  of  the  economy.  However,  on  the  supply  side  there  is  no  significant 
increase  in  STEM  graduates.  Digital  skills  have  furthermore  a  great  impact  on  our 
democracies. The Flash Eurobarometer 464 report (2018)40 states that a third of respondents 
(37%) say they come across fake news every day or almost every day, and a further 31% say 
that this happens at least once a week.  

Against this background, a major challenge for the education and training systems is to ensure 
that all individuals can develop digital competences41 early on and throughout life.  

31 Cedefop,  Insights  into  skill  shortages  and  skill  mismatch:  Learning  from  Cedefop’s  European  skills  and  jobs  survey, 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019 
32 World Economic Forum, The future of Jobs Report 2018, 2018 
33 European  Commission,  10  trends  shaping  democracy  in  a  volatile  world,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union, 
Luxembourg, 2019 
34 As confirmed by a survey on the challenges and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vocational education and training 
undertaken by the Commission in March-May 2020. 
35 NESET analytical report, forthcoming. 
36 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 
37 OECD, Measuring the digital economy, a new perspective, OECD Publishing, Paris, 2014  
38 See reports published here: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/reports-and-studies/75988/3585  
39  European  Commission,  High-Tech  Skills  Industry:  Increasing  EU’s  talent  pool  and  promoting  the  highest  quality 
standards in support of digital transformation, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019 
40 Flash Eurobarometer 464, Fake news and disinformation online, 2018 
41 Council Recommendation of 22 May 2018 on key competences for lifelong learning (OJ C 189, 4.6.2018, p. 1–13). Digital 
competence is defined as the confident, critical and responsible use of and engagement with digital technologies for learning, 
work, and participation in society. 

11 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
2.2. Population and globalisation 

European  populations  are  undergoing  profound  demographic  transformations.  Two  key 
drivers  behind  these  trends  are  population  ageing  and  migration  –  both  of  which  carry 
important implications for education and training systems of the future. 

Ageing population 

Population  ageing  implies  an  overall  increase  in  the  median  age  across  the  EU  from  43.7 
years in 2019, to an expected 49 in 207042, as well as changes in the age structure of societies. 
Longer  and  healthier  lives  coupled  with  low  fertility  rates  are  the  key  drivers  behind 
population  ageing.  In  2018,  the  average  life  expectancy  of  an  EU  citizen  at  birth  was  81 
years.43 It is estimated to continue to increase to 86 years for men and 90 years for women.44 
If current demographic trends continue, by 2070, the share of population  over 65  years will 
surpass  30%,  compared  to  20%  in  2019.45 The  relative  share  of  people  over  80  years  old 
growing  at  an  even  faster  pace:  it  is  projected  to  double  to  13%.46 At  the  same  time,  the 
number of children and young people (aged 0-19) is projected to decrease by 12.6 million.47 

The  latest  research  shows  that  EU-27’s  working-age  population  (20-64)  has  been  shrinking 
for  a  decade  and  is  projected  to  fall  from  59%  (2019)  to  51%  by  2070,  with  significant 
differences between Member States and regions.48 This will mean more dependent people per 
active worker: from slightly more than three active workers for every person aged 65 or more, 
by 2070, the EU will see an average of a little less than two workers for every person above 
65. 49  Recent  projections  show  that  neither  higher  fertility,  nor  higher  levels  of  external 
migration would significantly mitigate the effects of population ageing.50 

Market  transformations  linked  to  demographic  change,  such  as  the  expected  increased 
participation  of  older  workers  in  the  labour  market,  increased  demands  for  jobs  in  the 
healthcare  and  social  sectors,  as  well  as  the  increase  of  age-related  public  expenditure 
(including  projected  changes  in  public  spending  on  education)51 will  have  implications  for 
education  and  training.  One  of  such  is  the  necessity  to  ensure  high  quality  initial  education 
and cater to the upskilling and reskilling needs of adults in a lifelong learning perspective to 
support innovation and labour productivity. Participation in adult learning in the EU remains 
low (see Section 2.2). Adult participation in education and training currently depends mainly 

42 Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and 
the Committee of the Regions on the impact of demographic change, COM/2020/241 final 
43 Eurostat, online data code [demo_mlexpec] 
44 Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and 
the Committee of the Regions on the impact of demographic change, COM/2020/241 final 
45 Ibid. 
46 Ibid.  
47 Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and 
the Committee of the Regions on the impact of demographic change, COM/2020/241 final 
48 Ibid. 
49 Ibid. The ratio stood at 34.1% in 2019 and is projected at 59.1% in 2070 for the EU-27. 
50 Lutz, W. et al., Demographic Scenarios for the EU, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019 
51 European  Commission,  The  2018  Ageing  Report  –  Economic  and  Budgetary  Projections  for  the  28  EU  Member  States 
(2016-2070),  European  Economy  Institutional  Paper  079,  May  2018,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union, 
Luxembourg, 2018 

12 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
on participation in non-formal education and training.52 In the future, it will be important to 
take into account demographic change for public expenditure, in particular for qualified adult 
educators and the design of flexible pathways in formal settings.53 

Migration 

On 1 January 2019, there were 21.8 million third country nationals in the EU-27, representing 
4.9% of the population.54 In the last 35 years, each year more people moved into the EU than 
left,  making  Europe  a  continent  of  positive  net  migration. 55 People  are  also  on  the  move 
internally: in 2018, 1.4 million people moved from one Member State to another56, which has 
implications  at  the  national  and  local  level.  There  is  significant  variation  in  the  levels  of 
emigration  and  immigration  across  Europe,  with  certain  countries  receiving  more  third-
country nationals, refugees and ‘intra-EU’ mobile citizens than others. 

Migration and education interact in two ways: 

  Migration-induced demographic changes impacting education: EU-27 as a whole, the 
foreign  population  is  younger  than  the  national  population:  the  median  age  of 
immigrants  to  the EU was 29.2 in  2018 (compared to  the EU median age of 43.7 in 
2019).57 In some countries, the student  population is  predicted to  grow as a result of 
immigration. 

  Education as a driver of brain circulation: the internationalisation of higher education 
and  the  pursuit  of  global  excellence  are  key  tools  of  attracting  highly  skilled  people 
from outside of Europe. 

Talent recruitment and retention 

Highly  skilled  people  are  an  indispensable  driver  of  economic  growth,  competitiveness  and 
innovation. European countries develop talent through investment in education and training, 
complemented  by  talent  recruitment  from  outside  Europe.  European  countries  are  all,  to 
varying degrees, trying to respond to the pressures created by population ageing, labour and 
skills shortages, increased global competition and economic integration, and the expansion of 
digitalisation to all areas of work and life. However, it is also important to note that education 
opportunities  alone  do  not  drive  labour  migration.  Evidence  from  the  2020  pilot  Graduate 
Tracking  Survey  shows 58 that  graduate  migration  is  mainly  related  to  the  labour  market 
situation rather than study abroad experience. 

52 European Commission, Education and Training Monitor 2019, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 
2019 
53 European  Commission,  Education  and  Training  Expert  Panel:  Summary  of  findings  and  of  the  discussions  at  the  2019 
Forum on the Future of Learning, Final Report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019 
54 Eurostat, online data code [migr_pop1ctz] 
55 Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and 
the Committee of the Regions on the impact of demographic change, COM/2020/241 final 
56 Eurostat [migr_pop2ctz] (this figure includes both EU and third-country nationals) 
57 Eurostat [migr_pop2ctz] 
58 European Commission, Mapping the state of graduate tracking policies and practices in the EU Member States and EEA 
countries, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020 

13 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
The tertiary student population has grown significantly in the last two decades.  Overall, the 
number of higher education students in the world is steadily rising59, with particularly strong 
growth  in  the  developing  and  emerging  economies.  In  this  landscape,  Europe  remains  an 
attractive  destination  for  mobile  learners  with  a  stable  share  of  the  internationally  mobile 
student  population  –  France  and  Germany  as  the  most  popular  destinations  account  for 
approximately 5% of the global share each.60 As more and more countries are expanding and 
raising the quality of their higher education offer, European higher education institutions must 
act strategically to capitalise on Europe’s reputation for top quality higher education.  

In addition, the pursuit of excellence in teaching and research should remain top priority for 
European higher education institutions in a changing geopolitical context. They must increase 
their  attractiveness;  actively  promote  international  mobility  of  students  and  staff;  provide 
world class innovative curricula as well as research opportunities; and enter into cooperation 
and  strategic  partnerships  with  other  higher  education  institutions,  government  institutions, 
the private sector and civil society around the world. Furthermore they must make a stronger 
contribution  to  economic  growth  and  tackling  social  challenges  by  encouraging  innovation 
and ensuring that higher education responds to labour market needs. 

At the same time, Europe needs more digital  experts who can develop  technologies such as 
artificial  intelligence,  high  performance  computing  and  cybersecurity  helping  to  address 
societal challenges such as climate change.  

Other demographic observations 

In addition  to  these large trends and parameters  all together in  the context of education and 
training, on a more granular level the following points are worth noting: 

1.  By 2030, the baseline student population (ages 3-16) is projected to shrink by 5.8% on 
average61, and in several Member States (e.g. Spain, Italy, Greece), the change will be 
closer  to  -14%;  while  others  (Germany,  Austria,  Sweden)  will  likely  experience  an 
increase, mostly as a result of migration. These trends will bear implications both for 
the  design  of  education  policies  to  respond  to  diversity  as  well  as  education 
expenditure.62 

2.  As reported in the 2019 Education and Training Monitor, the EU’s teaching workforce 
is ageing and Member States face significant teacher shortages, both generally and in 
terms of specific profiles.63 Teachers are predominantly women: in 2018 in the EU-27 
women represented 96.6% of pre-primary, 84.9% of primary and 64.7% of secondary 

59 OECD, Education at a Glance 2020, OECD Publishing, Paris, 2020, p.226 
60 OECD, Education at a Glance 2019, OECD Publishing, Paris, 2019, p.236 
61 DG EAC/ European Commission 2020, based on Eurostat’s baseline projections (20.7.2020). 
62 European Commission, Education and Training Monitor 2019, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 
2019, chapter 4.2 « Impact of demographic change on expenditure » 
63 European Commission, Education and Training Monitor 2019, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 
2019 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
school  teacher. 64  (For  further  discussion  on  teacher  demography  and  underlying 
trends, see Section 3.1.5.). 

3.  Other demographic trends, such as changes in household size and composition, or the 
regional  dimension  of  demographic  change,  such  as  the  depopulation  of  rural  areas, 
impacting  people’s  access  to  quality  services  (health,  education  etc.)  will  bear 
important  consequences  for  the  planning  of  education  and  training  provision. 
Experience  with  online  learning  during  the  COVID-19  pandemic  has  shown  the 
importance  of  geographical  location  as  well  as  family  environments,  and  will  carry 
continued relevance in the future. 

2.3. Sustainable development 

A sustainable society is founded on equal access to healthcare, nutrition, clean water, shelter, 
education,  energy,  opportunities  and  employment. 65 The  EU  has  been  making  significant 
steps in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and in the transition 
towards a greener economy.66 

The  transition  to  a  socially,  economically  and  environmentally  sustainable  economy  that  is 
climate-neutral can have significant employment and social impacts67, which can be partially 
mitigated  through  education  and  skills  policies.  The  2019  Employment  and  Social 
Developments  in  Europe  Report 68 highlighted  that  the  environmental  goods  and  services 
sector recorded above average job creation since 2000. Between 2012 and 2018 the number of 
jobs  linked  to  the  circular  economy  in  the  EU  grew  by  5%  to  reach  around  4  million. 69 In 
2016,  there  were  4.5  million  people  (full-time  equivalent)  employed  in  the  environmental 
economy in the EU, up from 3.2 million in 2000. The report points out that skill requirements 
and education levels in the green economy are increasing faster than in the economy overall. 
This shows the need to accelerate action for bridging the skills gap, particularly for vulnerable 
(e.g. old, low-skilled) workers, and the importance of continuous improvement of transversal 
competences in the transition towards a greener economy. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic containment measures are gradually lifted, Member States start 
charting sustainable recovery routes out of the crisis. In order to deliver, and bearing in mind 
the  momentum  imposed  by  the  recovery  and  the  accelerating  transitions,  educational  shift 
towards sustainability needs to become a reality affecting all age cohorts. 

64 Eurostat, online data code [educ_uoe_perp01] 
65 United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals, 2019, available at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300. 
66 Most progress has been made on SDG 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages), and on SDG 4 
(Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all). The EU has, however, 
moved away from SDG 10 (Reduce inequality within and among countries), while the latest UN report also showed that no 
country is on track to fulfilling the goals by 2030; Reflection Paper Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030, COM/2019/22 
final; Sustainable Development Report 2019: https://www.sdgindex.org/#page=22 
67 European Commission, Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030 (COM 2019/22 final) 
68 European Commission, Employment and social developments in Europe 2019, Sustainable growth for all : choices for the 
future of Social Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019 
69 Eurostat, online data code [cei_cie010] 

15 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
In  the  2019  Eurobarometer,  67%  of  respondents  identified  protecting  the  environment  and 
fighting climate change as the first priority for the EU in the years to come.70 However, there 
appears to be a gap between concern for the environment and actual action. The final report of 
the  European  Education  and  Training  Expert  Panel71 emphasised  the  need  to  move  beyond 
awareness  raising  to  building  understanding  about  sustainability  through  education,  and 
generating change in individual habits and behaviours.  

The European Green Deal and Climate Pact72 initiatives stress the importance of accelerating 
action  that  triggers  social  awareness  and  engagement,  and  highlight  the  role  of  schools  and 
universities where related knowledge and skills can be gained and put into practice. Initiatives 
stemming  from  the  European  Green  Deal,  as  for  example  the  Biodiversity  Strategy  to  2030 
and Circular Economy Action Plan, recognise the need for education and training to reap the 
benefits of green transition. The Expert Panel advocated that sustainable development needs 
to  be  at  the  heart  of  Europe’s  education  and  training  systems,  shaping  environmental 
awareness,  consumer  behaviour  and  new  skills  of  current  and  future  generations.  Curricula 
and study programmes should promote the acquisition of key sustainability skills (e.g. critical 
thinking  and  creativity),  cognitive  and  emotional  attitudes  (e.g.  respect,  responsibility  and 
empathy),  interdisciplinary  knowledge  and  community  learning.  The  Expert  Panel  also 
highlighted  the  importance  of  teacher  education  and  of  building  components  of  sustainable 
development into special programmes for teachers.  

According  to  Eurydice’s  report  on  citizenship  education 73 ,  education  for  environmental 
sustainability  is  now  often  considered  a  specialised  topic,  fit  for  higher  levels  of  school 
education, extra-curricular projects or non-formal learning. The Expert Panel pointed out that 
the nature of primary education (with flexible timetables) could allow teachers to integrate a 
sustainable development approach. In the secondary school system, curriculum areas such as 
civic and citizenship education, geography, science, health education, business studies, could 
provide opportunities for the integration of education for environmental sustainability.  

Schools  and  higher  education  institutions  play  an  essential  role  in  addressing  the  issue  of 
sustainable development by raising awareness and instilling the key competences needed for 
changing personal behaviours and empowering people to act in their respective communities. 
integrated  and 
Education  for  environmental  sustainability  development  should  be 
mainstreamed  across  all  disciplines  and  all  levels  in  education.  There  is  a  need  to  connect 
citizens  to  science  and  vice-versa,  to  strengthen  the  link  between  research  and  education, 
between  scientists  and  pupils,  and  to  engage  on  topics  such  as  climate  change,  sustainable 
development,  health,  and  other  issues  covered  under  the  European  Green  Deal.  Using 

70 Flash Eurobarometer 478, How to build a stronger, more united Europe? The views of young people, 2019 
71 For a full overview of recommendations, see European Commission,  Education and Training Expert Panel: Summary of 
findings  and  of  the  discussions  at  the  2019  Forum  on  the  Future  of  Learning,  Final  Report,  Publications  Office  of  the 
European Union, Luxembourg, 2019 
72 Communication From the Commission to The European Parliament, The European Council, The Council, The European 
Economic And Social Committee And The Committee Of The Regions The European Green Deal (COM/2019/640 final) 
73 European Commission, Eurydice, Citizenship education at school in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, 
Luxembourg, 2017 

16 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
education  for  environmental  sustainability  can  increase  the  performance,  interest  and 
motivation  for  students  to  study  STEM  with  an  interdisciplinary  STEAM  approach74 and  to 
pursue careers in STEM and/or sustainable development, which is more and more needed in 
an economy that respond to the current challenges.  

Systematic approaches within education institutions that support learning, teaching, research, 
community  engagement  and  campus  initiatives  with  dedicated  budget  allocations  and 
incentives are needed75.   

2.4. Social cohesion and democracy 

Each person has a contribution to make to democratic engagement in Europe; irrespective of 
their  background  everyone  deserves  a  chance  to  succeed  and  feel  that  they  are  valuable 
members  of  society.  Poverty,  youth  unemployment,  rising  inequality,  the  digital  divide, 
disinformation,  racism  and  discrimination  require  urgent  cooperation  and  action  across 
Europe,  as  do  the  attention  to  well-being  and  the  integration  of  migrants.  Education  and 
training systems  across  Europe can deliver the skills  that  people need to participate  fully in 
society, so Europe can remain globally competitive and innovative and be true to its common 
values in creating a more equitable and sustainable world. 

In 2018, across Europe, 23.4% of children under the age of 18 were at the risk of poverty or 
social exclusion.76 Youth unemployment in European regions ranges from 2.8% to 64%77 and 
only 50% of persons with disabilities that want to work have a job.78 Parental education still 
determines a student’s educational attainment to a large degree.79 Children from poorer areas 
and  families  often  begin  schooling  with  an  educational  disadvantage  and  make  slower 
progress  than  children  from  more  economically  advantaged  backgrounds.80 Vast  disparities 
can be seen in  levels  of  social  exclusion, poverty and unemployment of non-EU citizens as 
compared to home-country nationals. In 2018, nearly 40% of non-EU citizens were at risk of 
income poverty after social transfers, compared with only 15.3% of home-country nationals.81  

The  COVID-19  pandemic  exacerbated  inequalities  in  education,  affecting  in  particular 
learners  in  rural  and  remote  regions  and  disadvantaged  groups.  Learners  had  difficulties 

74 The STEAM approach for learning and teaching links STEM and other fields of study. It promotes transversal skills such 
as  digital  competencies,  critical  thinking,  problem-solving,  management  and  entrepreneurial  skills  as  well  as  cooperation 
with non-academic partners and responds to economic, environmental, political and social challenges. STEAM encourages 
the blending of knowledge that is required in the real world and natural curiosity. Definition by the Peer Learning Activity on 
STEAM education, Vienna, March 2020 
75 Mallow, S. et al., Higher Education and the 2030 Agenda: Moving into the ‘Decade of Action and Delivery for the SDGs’, 
IAU 2nd Global Survey Report on  Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development, International Association 
of Universities (IAU)/ International Universities Bureau, 2019 
76 Eurostat, online data code [ilc_peps01] 
77 Eurostat, Unemployment statistics at regional level, 2019 
78 Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee and the Committee of the Regions A Strong Social Europe For Just Transitions (COM/2020/14 final) 
79 OECD, Education at a Glance 2019, OECD Publishing, Paris, 2019, p.217. 
80 European Commission, Mind the Gap:  Education Inequality across EU Regions, NESSE network of experts, Publications 
Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2012 
81 European  Commission,  Eurostat,  Sustainable  development  in  the  European  Union  —  Monitoring  report  on  progress 
towards the SDGS in an EU context — 2020 edition, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020 

17 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
coping under the new circumstances, due to various reasons, including a less supportive home 
environment and motivational factors.  Learners with special education needs and vulnerable 
students  need  additional,  targeted  and  personalized  support,  as  they  are  likely  to  be  more 
prone  to  the  physical,  psychological  and  emotional  effects  of  the  lockdown  than  other 
learners. 

The  integration  of  people  with  a  migrant  background 82  bears  particular  relevance  for 
education  and  training,  especially  as  immigrants  are  more  likely  to  be  of  school  or  tertiary 
education  age.  Addressing  the  diversity  of  educational  needs  is  at  the  core  of  making 
education  systems  more  equitable  and  inclusive,  and  will  be  instrumental  for  the  successful 
integration of newcomers. 

Discrimination,  racism  and  intolerance  remain  a  persistent  problem.  In  2017,  29%  of 
respondents  to  a  large  scale  EU-wide  survey  on  migrants  and  minorities  felt  discriminated 
against based on their ethnic or immigrant background when looked for a job in the five year 
before  the  Survey. 83 Discrimination  is  not  limited  to  the  labour  market:  in  2019  65%  of 
respondents  to  a  Special  Eurobarometer  on  Europeans’  attitudes  toward  internal  security 
were  ‘concerned’  about  ‘the  possibility  of  being  exposed  to  online  material  that  promotes 
racial  hatred  or  religious  extremism.”  In  FRA’s  second  LGBTI  survey,  as  many  as  43%  of 
LGBT  respondents  felt  discriminated  against  in  2019  in  all  areas  of  the  survey  they  were 
asked about, as compared with 37% in 201284. 

Extremist  ideologies  and  violent  radicalisation  of  young  people  are  another  complex 
phenomenon  requiring  both  in-depth  knowledge  and  a  multi-faceted  response.    Factors 
furthering  radicalisation  include  personal  alienation,  injustice  or  humiliation  reinforced  by 
social  marginalisation,  xenophobia  and  discrimination.  Limited  education  and  employment 
possibilities or unstructured family ties also contribute to it.85 

Moreover,  issues  related  to  the  mental  health  and  well-being  of  students  require  urgent 
attention.  Around  10-20%  of  children  and  adolescents  experience  mental  disorders  such  as 
anxiety  and  depression,  which  may  severely  influence  their  development,  educational 
attainment  and  their  potential  to  live  fulfilling  lives.86 Schools  in  general,  and  educational 
attainment  in  particular,  are  recognized  amongst  the  fundamental  determinants  of  mental 
health of children and adolescents. 

82 See Sections 4.1.2 and 4.1.4. 
83 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Rights Report – 2020, Publications Office of the European 
Union, Luxembourg, 2020 
84 European  Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights,  A  long  way  to  go  for  LGBTI  equality,  Publications  Office  of  the 
European Union, Luxembourg, 2020 
85 Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  And  Social 
Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  supporting  the  prevention  of  radicalisation  leading  to  violent  extremism 
(COM/2016/0379 final) 
86 Joint Action for Mental Health and Well-being; Mental Health and Schools, 2016, available online 
World Health Organisation, Adolescent Mental Health in the European Region, Factsheet, available online, 2018 
http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/383891/adolescent-mh-fs-eng.pdf?ua=1 

18 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
Finally,  disinformation  has  a  disabling  effect  on  the  social  fabric  of  our  society.  While 
Member  States  tried  to  construct  and  implement  COVID-19  lockdown  measures  across 
Europe, the rise of the ‘infodemic’87 dominated the media. 7 in 10 people followed COVID-
19 news at least once a day, while 74% of respondents to a recent survey expressed concern 
about  the  presence  of  fake  news  and  85%  claimed  the  need  to  hear  more  from  scientists.88 
Tackling  disinformation  around  the  COVID-19  pandemic  is  of  particular  urgency  and 
education is the best way forward in helping (young) people understand and assess what the 
media presents. 

Young  people  have  a  vital  role  to  play  in  strengthening  democracy.  There  is  some  relief  in 
acknowledging  that  today’s  young  people  are  well  organised,  motivated  and  active.  The 
European  Green  Deal  was  preceded  by  a  global  call  to  action  of  young  people  across  the 
planet.  Turnout  of  young  people  (aged  18-25)  increased  by  50%  for  the  2019  EP  elections 
Their social and civic participation is impressive: 77% of 15-30 year olds have been actively 
engaged in some form of organised movement or volunteering.89  

2.5. The COVID-19 pandemic  

The  COVID-19  pandemic  has  played  a  role  in  each  of  the  above  mentioned  societal 
challenges.  It  is  evident that education  and training will play a key  role for the EU’s socio-
economic  recovery  and  long-term  growth  and  rightfully  has  a  prominent  place  in  the 
European  recovery  plan 90 .  For  that  reason,  it  is  important  to  focus  current  investment 
priorities  on  education  and  training  for  the  sake  of  wellbeing  and  personal  and  professional 
development of citizens and to build a resilient economy and society. 

On top of that, the crisis has exerted a specific and unprecedented pressure on education and 
training  systems  and  brought  about  a  drastic  shift  in  the  teaching  and  learning  process. 
According to UNESCO, at the end of March 2020, educational institutions shut down in 193 
countries,  affecting  approximately  91%  of  total  enrolled  learners  on  the  planet91.  To  ensure 
continuity of learning in the aftermath of physical closures, education and training institutions 
had to adapt rapidly to distance learning and teaching, in particular through the employment 
of  digital  solutions.  The  confinement  measures  presented  challenges  to  operational  matters, 
like admissions; end of the school/academic year; assessment; curricula; and student mobility, 
particularly affecting 170,000 young people involved in Erasmus+ or the European Solidarity 
Corps.  

To  mitigate  the  short  term  effects,  the  Commission  provided  possibilities  for  additional 
flexibility in the implementation of the Erasmus+ programme, as well as facilitation of further 

87 I.e.  the  influx  of  a  massive  amount  of  information  making  it  hard  for  people  to  find  trustworthy  sources  and  reliable 
guidance. World Health Organization, Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation Reports, 2020 
88 Edelman Trust Barometer, Special Report: Trust and the Coronavirus, 2020  
89 Flash Eurobarometer 478, How to build a stronger, more united Europe? The views of young people, 2019 
90 Council conclusions on countering the COVID-19 crisis in education and training (OJ C 212I , 26.6.2020, p. 9–14) 
91 UNESCO, Education: from disruption to recovery, Covid-19 impact on education, 2020 

19 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
possibilities  for  exchange  of  information  and  cooperation  between  Member  States. 92  In 
addition, the Commission put in place a number of tools to support the education and training 
community,  e.g.  through  an  online  Distance  Learning  Network  for  Member  States  ministry 
representatives,  the  School  Education  Gateway 93 online  platform,  the  e-Twinning94 online 
community,  the  EU  Code  Week  online  community95,  the  adult  learning  platform  EPALE96 
and the publication of guidelines97 to support education stakeholders in their future planning. 
The EU  funded  European network of Safer  Internet  Centres in  the Member States provided 
resources  for  teachers  and  parents  with  children  at  home  in  a  special  Covid-19-related 
campaign on the EU betterinternetforkids.eu portal. The Commission also launched a public 
consultation on the experience of citizens, institutions and organisations, public and private, 
with the switch to distance and online learning during the pandemic98. 

Nevertheless,  the  impact  of  the  pandemic  on  education  systems  in  Europe  will  be  long 
lasting99.  It  is  imperative that  temporary  challenges will not  turn into structural  weaknesses. 
While  the  rapid  switch  to  digital  teaching  and  learning  showed  enormous  resilience  and 
adaptability  of  teachers  and  learners,  it  also  manifested  the  irreplaceability  of  face-to-face, 
traditional educational practice, in particular for younger learners.  

The  heightened  challenge  of  social  inclusion  of  all  learners  during  the  COVID-19  crisis  is 
likely  to  leave  a  lasting  imprint.  Estimates  and  reports  from  selected  EU  countries  indicate 
that COVID-19 will not affect students equally.100 On average, students will suffer a learning 
loss  due  to  less  time  spent  in  learning,  experience  of  stress  symptoms,  changes  in  student 
interaction,  and  lack  of  motivation. 101  More  structured  communication  between  schools, 
parents  and  teachers,  which  emerged  during  the  crisis,  needs  be  maintained  to  ensure  equal 
opportunities. 

The  digital  shift  has  brought  different  challenges  to  learners,  their  families,  teachers  and 
trainers,  but  it  also  provided  a  valuable  learning  experience  while  accelerating  digital 
transformation  of  education  and  training  institutions.102 Distance  learning  as  an  emergency 
measure needs to be optimized and modified to prepare the ground for modern, blended forms 
of  teaching  and  learning.  This  could  eventually  lead  to  new  innovative  forms  of  learning 
which are more flexible, individualized and inclusive.  

92 Council conclusions on countering the COVID-19 crisis in education and training (OJ C 212I , 26.6.2020, p. 9–14) 
93 https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/index.htm  
94 https://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/index.htm  
95 https://codeweek.eu/ 
96 https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en  
97 https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/resources/publications/blended-learning-guidelines.htm  
98 See Commission Staff Working Document accompanying the new Digital Education Action Plan 
99 Work is ongoing in Member States and at EU level to provide sufficient data for a more complete analysis and evaluation 
of the impact of COVID-19 on education and training systems. 
100 European  Commission,  ‘The  likely  impact  of  COVID-19 on  education:  Reflections  based on the existing  literature  and 
recent international datasets’, JRC Technical Report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020 
101 Ibid.  
102 Council conclusions on countering the COVID-19 crisis in education and training (OJ C 212I , 26.6.2020, p. 9–14) 

20 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
The  pandemic  highlighted  the  importance  of  providing  teachers,  pupils  and  students  with 
adequate  digital  infrastructure  and  skills.  During  the  pandemic,  teachers  and  trainers  have 
faced  unprecedented  challenges  connected  with  the  required  skills  and  competences  to 
manage  digital  transitions  and  the  related  workload,  adapting  curricula.  The  pandemic  has 
reconfirmed that well-trained teachers constitute a driving force in enabling distance learning. 
European teachers and trainers are the cornerstones of the European Education Area, with a 
central role to play in promoting the European dimension of teaching, supporting learners in 
understanding and experiencing the sense of European identity and belonging.103  

3.  The legacy of European cooperation in education and training 

A  strong  European  Education  Area  rests  on  the  legacy  and  achievements  of  long-standing 
European  cooperation  in  education  and  training.  It  is  this  cooperation  which  laid  the 
groundwork for the creation of a European space in education, through the pursuit of shared 
objectives  and  targets,  mutual  learning,  building  a  common  knowledge  base,  and  new 
advances  in  evidence  building  and  analysis.  In  the  same  vein,  the  ongoing  European 
Education Area initiatives set the track for the work until 2025. 

3.1. European Education Area initiatives to date 

The launch of the European Education Area in 2018 was accompanied by the adoption of two 
packages of policy measures in the areas of skills development, languages, higher education 
and  student  mobility.  These  initiatives  remain  the  cornerstone  of  the  European  Education 
Area through their ongoing implementation. A summary table of progress on the initiatives is 
presented in the Annex. 

3.1.1.

  Key competences for Lifelong Learning 

In a rapidly changing and highly interconnected world, each person will need a wide range of 
skills and competences, to be developed continually throughout life. The key competences as 
defined  in  the  Council  Recommendation  on  Key  Competences  for  Lifelong  Learning, 
adopted  in  May  2018104,  aim  to  lay  the  foundation  for  achieving  more  equal  and  more 
democratic  societies.  They  respond  to  the  need  for  inclusive  and  sustainable  growth,  social 
cohesion  and  further  development  of  the  democratic  culture.  In  comparison  to  its  earlier 
edition,  the Recommendation updates the definitions of key  competences105 and stresses the 
need to develop teaching practices, assessment tools and innovative learning environments. 

The Recommendation proposes a Reference Framework as a reference tool for policy makers, 
education and training providers, educational staff, guidance practitioners, employers, public 

103 Council conclusions on European teachers and trainers for the future (OJ C 193, 9.6.2020, p. 11–19) 
104 Council Recommendation of 22 May 2018 on key competences for lifelong learning (OJ C 189, 4.6.2018, p. 1–13) 
105  The  reference  framework  sets  out  eight  key  competences:  1.  Literacy  competence,  2.  Multilingual  competence,  3. 
Mathematical  competence  and  competence  in  science,  technology  and  engineering  (STEM),  4.  Digital  competence,  5. 
Personal, social and learning to learn competence, 6. Citizenship competence, 7. Entrepreneurship competence, 8. Cultural 
awareness and expression competence. 

21 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
employment  services  and  learners  themselves;  it  supports  efforts  at  European,  national, 
regional and local level to foster competence development in a lifelong learning perspective. 

To  support  the  implementation  of  the  Key  Competence  Recommendation,  the  Commission 
has  focused  its  work  with  experts  and  stakeholders  on  developing  new  ways  to  organise 
learning and usage of different  learning approaches and environments.  For example, a large 
conference on the Learning Approaches and Environments in School Education was held in 
Brussels in November 2019.  

The Commission has also developed more detailed, specific frameworks for three of the eight 
key competences: Entrepreneurial (EntreComp)106, Digital (DigComp)107, and Personal, social 
and  learning  to  learn  competence  (LifeComp)108.  These  reference  tools  provide  additional 
help to our Member States and stakeholders for the promotion of competence-based education 
across the EU.  

As announced in the Communication on the European Green Deal, the Commission plans to 
deliver  a  multidisciplinary  competence  framework  on  climate  change  and  sustainable 
development  which  will  draw  on  the  Council  Recommendation  on  Key  Competences  for 
Lifelong  Learning with  a special  emphasis  on STEM, citizenship, entrepreneurship, and the 
personal, social and learning to learn competences.  

The work on the general Framework and the more detailed ones continues in view of laying 
the  foundation  for  the  ambitions  of  the  EEA,  as  concerns  the  development  of  progression 
levels,  assessment  tools,  innovative  pedagogies,  and  learning  environments  that  foster  the 
acquisition of the key competences by all European citizens, especially in the basic skills of 
reading, maths  and science where large deficiencies have been  found. This  effort  sits at  the 
core  of  the  overall  support  for  the  Member  States  provided  by  the  Commission  in  the 
aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. 

3.1.2.

  Promoting  common  values, 
dimension of teaching 

inclusive  education  and 

the  European 

In aiming to foster more fair and tolerant societies, the Council adopted the Recommendation 
on Promoting common values, inclusive education, and the European dimension of teaching 
in  2018.  The  Recommendation  indicates  ways  in  which  education  can  help  young  people 
understand the importance of and adhere to common values set out in Article 2 of the Treaty 
of the European Union and aims at strengthening social cohesion and contributing to fight the 
rise of populism, xenophobia, divisive nationalism and the spreading of fake news. It invites 
Member States to step up their efforts to promote more inclusive education systems, support 
educational staff and focus on the importance of common European values.  

106 European  Commission,  EntreComp:  The  Entrepreneurship  Competence  Framework,  JRC  Science  for  Policy  Report, 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2016   
107 European Commission, EU Science Hub, Digicomp: Digital competence framework for citizens, 2019 
108 European Commission, LifeComp: The European Framework for personal, social and learning to learn key competence, 
JRC Science for Policy Report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020 

22 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
Education,  culture,  youth  and  sport  are  effective  means  to  nurture  societal  resilience, 
pluralism  and  respect.  The  implementation  of  the  Recommendation  has  brought  together 
around  20  EU-level  actions  across  varies  policies  and  programmes  which  underscore  the 
importance  of  inclusion  and  provide  young  people  with  an  opportunity  to  make  a  positive 
contribution to our European democracies.  

In the  field  of education, such actions include the launch of the Jan Amos Comenius Prize, 
which  rewards secondary  schools  that  help  their  pupils  learn  about  the  European  Union  in 
inspiring  ways;  a  Network  of  Role  models  implemented  through  the  Erasmus+  National 
Agencies;  and  the  ongoing  work  of  eTwinning  relating  to  fostering  a  culture  of  democratic 
participation  in  schools.  Member  States  have  been  actively  engaging  in  mutual  learning 
activities through the ET 2020 Working Group on Common Values and Inclusive Education, 
on topics such as inclusive history education or the uses and abuses of modern media. 

In addition, several actions in the field of culture, youth and sport have been supporting the 
implementation  of  the  Recommendation.  This  includes  for  instance  the  Erasmus+  Virtual 
Exchange pilot project, which allows young people in Europe and the Southern Mediterranean 
to connect online improving inter-cultural awareness and soft skills. This initiative will reach 
over 25,000 young people by the end of 2020 and is expected to become an integral part of 
the  future  Erasmus  programme.  The  highly  successful  #BeInclusive  EU  Sport  Awards 
rewards organisations in Europe– public or private, commercial or not-for-profit – that have 
successfully  developed  sport  projects  aimed  at  supporting  social  inclusion.  To  sustain  the 
momentum of these achievements, the European dimension of teaching, anchored in common 
values should remain an intrinsic principle of the European Education Area.  

3.1.3.

  High quality early childhood education and care 

As the first step of the lifelong learning ladder, participation in early childhood education and 
care is recognised as an important factor for success in later life.109 It is therefore essential that 
the  European  Education  Area  addresses  the  provision  of  high  quality  early  childhood 
education and care, as defined in the EU Quality Framework, part of the May 2019 Council 
recommendation on high quality early childhood education and care systems110:  

  early  childhood  education  and  care  systems  should  be  accessible,  affordable  and 

inclusive;  

  all staff should be well qualified and benefit of continuing training;  

  curricula  should  be  in  place,  based  on  pedagogical  goals,  values  and  approaches  which 
enable children to  reach  their full potential addressing their social,  emotional, cognitive 
and physical development and their well-being;  

109 Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying The Document Proposal for a Council Recommendation on High 
Quality Early Childhood Education and Care Systems (SWD/2018/173 final - 2018/0127 (NLE)) 
110 OJ C 189, 5.6.2019, p. 4–14 

23 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
  monitoring and evaluation processes conceived in the best interest of the child should be 

in place at every level of the system; 

 

legislation, regulations and adequate funding should support progress towards a universal 
entitlement to high quality affordable early childhood education and care. 

To  support  the  Member  States  to  achieve  such  quality  systems,  the  Commission  has  been 
facilitating exchange of experiences and peer learning since 2018, in particular on the topics 
of staff recruitment and training as well as inclusion. The key deliverables of the dedicated ET 
2020 Working Group are the following: 1. an ECEC competence profile, presenting the core 
competences  which  ECEC  staff  should  possess;  2.  policy  and  practice  recommendations  on 
efficient strategies to raise the attractiveness of the profession; and 3. a tool-kit for inclusion 
in ECEC. 

3.1.4.

  Teaching and learning of languages 

The Council Recommendation on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of 
languages,  which  was  adopted  in  May  2019,  advocates  adequate  competence  levels  by  the 
end of compulsory education. This is based on the Commission’s vision to create a European 
Education  Area,  that  ‘by  2025,  all  young  Europeans  finishing  upper  secondary  education 
have  a  good  knowledge  of  two  languages,  in  addition  to  their  mother  tongue(s)’.111 This 
vision is reflected in the Recommendation in three ways: 

1)  First, it recommends Member States to raise the bar for language learning in general. All 
upper  secondary  school  graduates  should  master  the  language  of  schooling  and  another 
European  language  at  a  level  which  allows  them  to  use  these  languages  effectively  for 
social,  learning  and  professional  purposes.  All  graduates  should  also  be  able  to  fluently 
interact in any third language. 

2)  Second, the Recommendation underlines the importance of fully mastering the language 
of schooling as a basis for learning and educational  achievement, especially  for learners 
from  migrant,  minority  or  disadvantaged  backgrounds.  It  therefore  recommends  that 
teachers  of  all  subjects  should  be  supported  to  be  able  to  support  the  acquisition  of  the 
language of schooling. 

3)  Finally,  by  recognising  the  increased  linguistic  diversity  in  European  classrooms  as  a 
result  of  recent  waves  of  migration  and  increased  mobility  within  the  EU,  the 
Recommendation  stresses  the  importance  of  valuing  linguistic  diversity.  It  promotes  the 
assessment, validation and development of languages which are not necessarily part of the 
curriculum,  but  that  are  an  intrinsic  part  of  an  increasing  share  of  learners’  linguistic 
repertoires. 

111 Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  on  Strengthening  European  Identity  through  Education  and  Culture  (COM 
(2017) 673 final) 

24 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
The Recommendation strongly supported efforts to ensure that more language teachers benefit 
from opportunities to learn and study abroad; Erasmus+ can complement equivalent national 
programmes.  Actions  like  the  European  Language  Label  and  the  European  Day  of 
Languages112 provide further opportunities for Member States to  promote language teaching 
and learning at school level. 

Member  States  are  recommended  to  identify  and  promote  innovative,  inclusive  and 
multilingual  pedagogies,  using  European  tools  and  platforms,  such  as  the  School  Education 
Gateway113 and eTwinning114. A broad spectrum of such pedagogies is discussed in a recent 
report by the European Commission’s research network for the social and economic aspects 
of education, NESET, entitled  The future of  language education in  Europe:  Case studies of 
innovative practices115. 

In  order  to  support  the  implementation  of  the  Recommendation,  the  European  Commission 
published in June 2020 a report entitled Education begins with language116. It focuses on the 
main challenges and opportunities related to multilingualism in the context of the creation of 
the European Education Area.  

3.1.5.

  Digital Education Action Plan 

As  part  of  the  European  Education  Area 117,  in  January  2018,  the  European  Commission 
adopted  a  Digital  Education  Action  Plan118,  which  set  out  11  actions  over  a  three-year 
timeframe  (2018-2020)  to  help  Member  States  meet  the  challenges  and  opportunities 
stemming from the use of digital technologies in education and training.    

The  2018  Action  Plan  focused  on  formal  education  (i.e.  primary  and  secondary  schools, 
VET, and higher education) and presented a coordinated and action-oriented narrative on the 
use  of  digital  technologies  for  teaching,  learning  and  assessment.  Its  11  actions  were 
structured around three priority areas:  

 
 
 

Making better use of digital technology for teaching and learning (actions 1-3); 
Developing digital competences and skills (actions 4 to 8); 
Improving education through better data analysis and foresight (actions 9 to 11). 

112 https://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/multilingualism/european-language-initiatives_en 
113 https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/theme_pages/language_learning.htm 
114 https://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/index.htm 
115 European  Commission,  The  future  of  language  education  in  Europe:  Case  studies  of  innovative  practices,  NESET 
analytical report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020 
116 European Commission, Education begins with language, Publication Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020 
117 Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  on  Strengthening  European  Identity  through  Education  and  Culture 
(COM/2017/0673 final) 
118 Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the Digital Education Action Plan (COM/2018/022 final) 

25 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
Welcomed by Member  States, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions,  and 
stakeholders  at  large, the 2018 Action Plan brought  together for a  first  time after 5  years119 
various policy initiatives and activities on digital education, which raised their visibility and 
improved the overall coordination and coherence in the field at EU level.  

The  relevant  Communication  on  the  new  Digital  Education  Action  Plan  and  the 
accompanying Staff Working Document provides a detailed overview of the results achieved. 

3.1.6.

  Erasmus+ European Universities 

The  Erasmus+  European  Universities  initiative,  announced  in  the  European  Council 
conclusions of 14 December 2017120, is the flagship initiative of the European Education Area 
in  the  field  of  higher  education.  European  Universities  are  transnational  alliances  of  higher 
education  institutions  from  across  the  EU  that  share  a  long-term  strategy  on  education, 
research,  innovation  and  service  to  society.  European  Universities  strive  to  boost  the 
transformation  of  European  higher  education  to  enhance  its  quality,  inclusion,  digitalisation 
and  attractiveness  through  deeper  cooperation  between  institutions,  their  students  and  staff. 
Their  objective  is  to  pool  online  and  physical  resources,  courses,  expertise,  data  and 
infrastructure  to  leverage  their  strengths  and  intellectually  empower  the  next  generations  in 
tackling together the current challenges that Europe and the world are facing.  

The  Erasmus+  European  Universities  Initiative  has  been  tested  through  two  calls  for 
proposals in 2019 and 2020. Following the 17 European Universities selected in June 2019, 
24  more  alliances  were  selected  in  July  2020,  bringing  the  total  number  of  European 
Universities  to  41.  The  41  alliances  now  include  more  than  280  higher  education 
institutions  involved  across  all  EU  Member  States, and  Norway, Serbia,  Iceland, Turkey 
and  the  UK,  thereby  ensuring  a  fair  geographic  balance.  To  further  support  the  research 
dimension  of  the  Erasmus+  European  Universities,  Horizon  2020  –  the  EU’s  Research  and 
Innovation  programme  -  will  already  in  2020  complement  the  Erasmus+  European 
Universities initiative with a top-up for the research dimension. 

Key achievements of the selected European Universities alliances under the pilot calls: 

  A diverse spectrum of higher education institutions  

The  selected  alliances  include  a  wide  variety  of  types  and  sizes  of  higher  education 
institutions.  Under the second  call, almost  40%  of the selected higher education institutions 
are  either  a  university  of  applied  sciences/art  or  technical  and  medical  universities,  besides 
around 60% of comprehensive universities.  

  Transformational  impact:  trans-disciplinary  long-term  visions  and  knowledge  co-

creating teams  

119 Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Opening Up Education: Innovative teaching and learning for all through 
new Technologies and Open Educational Resources (COM/2013/0654 final) 
120 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/32204/14-final-conclusions-rev1-en.pdf 

26 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
impact.  Adopting  a  challenge-based  approach, 

The  selected  European  Universities  have  presented  a  common  long-term  strategy  on 
education, with links to research and innovation. As such, they aim for a systemic, structural 
and  sustainable 
they  will  establish 
transdisciplinary  and  transnational  knowledge  co-creating  teams  of  students,  professors, 
researchers,  and  a  wide  diversity  of  associated  partners  like  NGOs,  businesses  and  local  or 
regional  authorities.  Challenges  tackled  by  the  European  Universities  inter  alia  include  the 
United  Nations’  Sustainable  Development  Goals,  health,  climate  protection,  blue  growth, 
urban  coastal  development,  marine  and  maritime  sectors,  big  data/robotics  and  artificial 
intelligence, space, migration, and social sciences.  

  Diversity of innovative governance models  

In  the  framework  of  the  related  calls  for  proposals,  European  Universities  have  pledged  to 
structurally transform their institutions at all levels. They have created common management 
(e.g.  joint  high-level  boards/strategy  boards,  legal  entities)  and  support  (e.g.  joint  mobility 
offices,  libraries  and  ICT  tools)  structures.  They  will  also  become  stronger  by  pooling  and 
sharing  education  and  research  data  and  infrastructure.  European  Universities  are  moreover 
based  on  an  inclusive  co-creation  governance  model  and  consider  student,  staff  and 
stakeholder involvement as essential for success.  

  Embedded and seamless mobility 

The  European  Universities  will  come  forward  with  seamless  and  embedded  mobility  for 
students and staff through an integrated European campus. They will facilitate administrative 
steps  leading  to  physical,  virtual  and  blended  mobility;  and  they  will  ensure  that  mobility 
becomes  a  structural  part  of  student’s  learning  pathways.  They  will  work  towards  a  50% 
mobility target for students within the alliance, through a combination of physical, virtual or 
blended mobility and a mix of short and long-term mobilities.  

  Student-centred learning and teaching   

The European Universities will offer student-centred and flexible curricula. This includes for 
instance modular learning, and micro-credentials. This new flexibility will also accommodate 
the needs of professionals learners faced with changing job content and longer careers. Next 
to  flexibility,  innovative  pedagogies  supported  by  digitalisation  are  key.  Several  European 
Universities  will  for  instance  create  pedagogical  labs.  Teaching  will  be  informed  by 
outstanding  research  and  the  teaching  will  encourage  learners  to  engage  in  research  and 
creation of new knowledge. 

  Social inclusion 

The  European  Universities  will  focus  on  widening  access  for  diverse  student  and  staff 
populations,  facilitating  inclusive  admission  and  recruitment  policies,  and  attracting  and 
retaining successfully talent from less-represented groups. 

  Research excellence with a feedback loop to education  

27 

 
 
 
 
The  Erasmus+  European  Universities  initiative  aims  to  strengthen  and  reinforce  the  link 
between the European Education Area and the European Research Area by fostering a joint 
long-term  vision  and  strategy  to  integrate  education,  research,  innovation  and  service  to 
society across Europe.  

3.1.7.

  Student Mobility – The European Student Card Initiative 

The  European  Council  conclusions  of  14  December  2017  identified  the  European  Student 
Card Initiative as one of the key actions to further “promote student mobility and participation 
in  educational  and  cultural  activities”.  The  initiative  is  an  important  step  in  achieving  the 
objectives  of  the  European  Education  Area  by  2025,    and    aims  to  significantly  boost 
student mobility, be it physical, virtual or blended, and making it as easy as possible for both 
students and universities, so that no one is left behind. 

Through its key components, including the Erasmus+ Mobile App and the digitalisation of the 
student  mobility  management,  the  European  Student  Card  Initiative  constitutes  a  real 
revolution  for  the  simplification  of  the  way  universities  manage  the  student  mobility:  from 
information  provision  to  application  processes  and  settling  into  the  host  community  while 
abroad. The roll-out of the initiative will start with Erasmus+ student mobility, with the aim 
of gradually scaling it-up to cover all student mobility within Europe by 2025. By replacing 
the  current  paper  based  processes  used  across  Europe  by  higher  education  institutions  and 
students  with  digital  and  streamlined  processes,  the  initiative  substantially  changes  the 
management  of  student  mobility.  This  would  imply  a  major  simplification  for  all 
stakeholders, ensuring that higher education institutions are able to manage higher volumes 
of  student  mobility  while  also  enhancing  overall  quality  of  the  mobility  experience  for  the 
students.  

In  addition,  the  initiative  promotes  a  strong  European  student  identity  by  ensuring  that 
mobile  students  can  use  their  own  student  cards  when  abroad,  and  by  implementing  a 
European student eID for online cross-border authentication of students’ status and academic 
records in full respect of General Data Protection Regulation. A Eurobarometer conducted in 
2018 revealed that nine  in ten young Europeans think that the planned services offered 
by the European Student Card Initiative would be useful121. 

The European Student Card Initiative is thus also an essential element of the renewed Digital 
Education Action Plan and a main contribution to a Digital Erasmus, as it provides the key 
components  for  the  digital  infrastructure  required  for  the  organisation  and  recognition  of 
blended and virtual mobility, as well as online cooperation. 

The European Student Card Initiative entails four core elements that are inter-connected with 
each other: 

  A digital one-stop-shop for students: the Erasmus+ Mobile App  

121 Flash Eurobarometer 466: The European Education Area, 2018 

28 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
The Erasmus+ Mobile App App (originally launched in 2017 with over 85.000 downloads to 
date)  gives  students  a  single  online  point  of  access  to  all  the  information  and  services  they 
need before, during, and after their exchanges abroad. 

  A digital one-stop-shop for higher education institutions: the Erasmus Without 

Paper Network  

The objective is  to  simplify the management of  student mobility by  enabling universities to 
exchange  electronically  mobility  related  data  in  a  secure  and  streamlined  manner,  starting 
with Erasmus+ student mobility.  The aim is to make the use of the Erasmus Without Paper 
Network  gradually  mandatory  for  higher  education  institutions  in  the  context  of  Erasmus+ 
funded  student  mobility,  depending  on  the  state  of  readiness  of  the  IT-tools  of  higher 
education institutions.  

Over  2200  universities  are  currently  involved  in  testing  the  different  services,  and  their 
feedback is continuously sought to ensure the features meet their needs. Additionally, a large 
survey among higher  education institutions carried out  in  the  context  of  the initiative found 
that 90% of them support the concept122.  

  Turning existing student cards into European Student Cards 

The objective is to enable mobile students to access more easily services, museums, cultural 
activities  and  special  deals  when  abroad  by  adding  European  Student  Card  holograms  and 
other  branding  to  existing  student  cards,  effectively  turning  them  into  European  Student 
Cards. Around 2.3 million student cards have been turned into European Student Cards, with 
the total expected to grow significantly. 

  Enabling students to authenticate themselves online and have their national identity 
and status recognised automatically across Member States: European Student eID 

The  objective  is  to  ensure  the  “once  only  principle”  for  mobile  students  when  completing 
administrative steps or accessing services online at the host higher education institution in line 
with the vision on the Digital Education Action Plan 2018-2020. The development and roll-
out  of  the  technical  infrastructure  necessary  to  enable  the  European  Student  eID  is  funded 
with  the  support  of  the  Connecting  Europe  Facility  (CEF).  Within  the  framework  of  this 
action,  a  blueprint  for  a  European  Student  eID  for  higher  education  was  published  in  April 
2020 through the MyAcademicID project. 

3.1.8.

  Graduate Tracking 

As a follow-up to the Renewed Agenda for Higher Education and the 2016 Skills Agenda, the 
Commission proposed and the Council adopted a Recommendation on tracking graduates 
in  November  2017 123 .  The  objectives  are  to  encourage  Member  States  to  develop 
comprehensive  tracking  systems  for  tertiary  and  VET  graduates  at  national  level,  and  to 

122 European University Foundation, DESK RESEARCH Erasmus Without Paper, 2017 
123 Council Recommendation of 20 November 2017 on tracking graduates (OJ C 423, 9.12.2017, p. 1–4) 

29 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
improve the availability of comparable EU data to allow more in-depth comparative analyses 
of graduate outcomes. The expected impact is to contribute to a culture of continuous quality 
improvement and ensure that it becomes an inherent process both for policy-making purposes 
and for use by the higher education institutions themselves.  

To  support  Member  States  in  the  implementation  of  the  Council  Recommendation,  the 
Commission  concluded  a  pilot  European  graduate  survey  (2020) 124.  It  was  conducted 
among Bachelor, Master and tertiary short cycle graduates one and five years after graduation 
in  8  voluntary  countries  (Austria,  Croatia,  Czechia,  Germany,  Greece,  Malta,  Lithuania  and 
Norway). Results indicate that the pilot survey provides valuable insights, especially on skills 
acquisition and use, labour market  performance and personal  and social  outcomes of higher 
education.  

To assess the state of graduate tracking in Member States, the Commission also concluded a 
Mapping  study  on  graduate  tracking  practices  and  capacities  across  Member  States 
(2020) 125 .  The  study  shows  that  graduate  tracking  is  a  policy  objective  (e.g.  explicitly 
mentioned in adopted policy documents) in 24 countries and among them, a legal obligation 
in 14 countries. Two thirds of countries have  a relatively high level  of  compliance with  the 
Council Recommendation on graduate tracking, but only two countries comply fully.  

The Commission also set up an Expert group on graduate tracking in 2018, with a mandate of 
two  years.  The  group  is  working  on  improving  and  further  developing  national  graduate 
tracking  systems  as  well  as  on  making  EU-level  data  on  graduates  more  available  and 
comparable,  including  for  cross-border  graduates.  It  gathers  around  60  experts  representing 
Member States, social partners, stakeholder organisations and EU services and agencies with 
expertise in the area (JRC, Eurostat, Cedefop and ETF). 

3.1.9.

  Automatic mutual recognition 

The Commission, together with Member States is working intensively on reaching the goal of 
having the European Education Area becoming a reality by 2025. Despite work done in the 
context of the intergovernmental Bologna Process, learners still face hurdles of having their 
qualification  recognised  if  they  want  to  pursue  their  studies  abroad 126.  The  unanimously 
adopted Council Recommendation on promoting automatic mutual recognition of higher 
education and upper secondary education and training qualifications and the outcomes 
of learning periods abroad127 of 26 November 2018 is a big step towards this. 

124 European  Commission,  Eurograduate  pilot  survey:  Design  and  implementation  of  a  pilot  European  graduate  survey, 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020 
125 European Commission, Mapping the state of graduate tracking policies and practices in the EU Member States and EEA 
countries, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020 
126 According to the 2018 Bologna Implementation Report, automatic recognition of qualification is in place for all or some 
EHEA  countries  in  only  13  out  of  the  48  member  states.  European  Commission/EACEA/Eurydice,  The  European  Higher 
Education Area in 2018: Bologna Process Implementation Report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 
2018 
127 Council  Recommendation  of  26  November  2018  on  promoting  automatic  mutual  recognition  of  higher  education  and 
upper secondary education and training qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad (OJ C 444, 10.12.2018, p. 
1–8) 

30 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
In the Council Recommendation Member States agreed to  put  in  place  measures to achieve 
automatic  recognition  for  further  learning  by  2025.  Automatic  recognition  is  understood  in 
this context as follows: 

  a qualification at higher education level gained in one Member State is automatically 
recognised  in  any  other  Member  State,  for  the  purpose  of  granting  access  to  further 
studies; 

  all credits gained during the period of study abroad or during the virtual mobility – as 
agreed  in  the  Learning  Agreement  and  confirmed  by  the  Transcript  of  Records  - 
should be transferred without delay and counted towards the student’s degree without 
any additional work or assessment of the student; 

  an  upper  secondary  qualification  giving  access  to  higher  education  in  one  Member 
State  is  automatically  recognised  in  any  other  Member  State,  for  the  purpose  of 
granting access to higher education. 

The Council Recommendation proposes to launch a Union level cooperation process in school 
education  to  initiate  closer  cooperation  and  exchange  of  practices  among  Member  States  to 
foster  transparency  and  build  mutual  trust.  The  objective  is  now  to  start  implementing  the 
actions in the Council Recommendation, with a view to having the necessary steps in place by 
2025.  This  includes  working  with  relevant  stakeholders,  in  particular  on  the  creation  of 
guidance material and an online information service of school-leaving certificates in the EU. 
In upper secondary education, the Commission has started the implementation the Preparatory 
Action ‘Recognition of outcomes of learning periods abroad in general secondary education’, 
called for by the European Parliament. 

In the field of higher education, the Council Recommendation builds on and also enhances the 
further use of existing transparency tools that can support recognition, such as the European 
Qualifications  Framework,  the  Diploma  Supplement  and  the  European  Credit  Transfer  and 
Accumulation System (ECTS). The Commission supports the implementation of the Council 
Recommendation  by  working  closely  with  Member  States  in  the  context  of  the  ET  2020 
framework and through the Erasmus+ Programme. One of the main goals of this support is to 
strengthen the network of National Academic Recognition Centres (NARIC) and to encourage 
their work with capacity building, trainings and sharing best practice, by creating a Technical 
Support Team, among other measures.  

The recognition community quickly reacted to the challenges posed by the COVID - 19 crisis. 
It  prepared  a  reflection  note 128  on  the  effects  of  COVID-19  on  recognition.  One  of  the 
possible  solutions  identified  to  mitigate  the  negative  effects  of  the  crisis  is  the  full 
implementation of automatic recognition of qualifications.  

128 The Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee Bureau, ENIC-Bureau and the NARIC Advisory Board, Recognition of 
foreign qualifications in times of COVID-19, 2020 

31 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
3.1.10.

 Skills 

The  actions  below  are  being  implemented  as  part  of  the  2016  Skills  Agenda.  Most  were 
directly  defined  in  the  Skills  Agenda,  while  the  Centres  of  Vocational  Excellence  and  the 
quality framework for apprenticeships have been developed to implement the Skills Agenda 
initiative “Making VET a first choice”. 

To  address  the  problem  of  access  to  education  and  training  for  low-skilled  adults,  the 
European  Council  adopted 
the  Recommendation  on  Upskilling  Pathways:  New 
Opportunities for Adults in December 2016. In February 2019, The Commission published a 
Staff  Working  Document  to  take  stock  of  Member  States’  implementation  of  the 
Recommendation.  Uptake  in  most  Member  States  is  low  compared  to  adults’  upskilling 
needs.  The main messages from  the report were  taken up in  Council Conclusions that were 
adopted  in  May  2019.  An  evaluation  report  to  the  Council  on  the  impact  of  the 
implementation measures is due five years from the adoption (end of 2021). European Skills 
Agenda 2020 sets new indicators on adult participation in learning activities. 

In  2018,  the  Council  adopted  the  proposal  of  the  Commission  for  a  Recommendation  on  a 
European  Framework  for  Quality  and  Effective  Apprenticeships.  Its  main  aim  is  to 
increase the employability and personal development of apprentices and to contribute to the 
development of a highly skilled and qualified workforce, responsive to labour market needs 
and a cohesive society. In order to report on its implementation the Commission sent a survey 
in  June  2020  to  Member  States,  as  well  as  other  stakeholders  of  the  European  Alliance  for 
Apprenticeships.  Their  replies  will  provide  the  basis  of  the  Commission’s  reporting  on  the 
implementation  of  the  Council  Recommendation.  In  addition,  an  EMCO  light  review  on 
apprenticeships  planned  for  November  2020  and  the  first  results  of  the  benchlearning 129 
process will also feed into the reporting.  

The initiative on Centres of vocational excellence (CoVE) defines a bottom-up approach to 
excellence where VET institutions are capable of rapidly adapting skills provision to evolving 
economic  and  social  needs.  The  CoVE  initiative  supports  a  lifelong  learning-based  and 
innovation-driven approach to education and training, while contributing to the objectives of 
the  European  Education  Area,  by  bringing  together  a  wide  range  of  partners  from  different 
sectors  and  countries,  to  develop  a  skills  ecosystems  underpinned  by  high  quality  and 
inclusive  education  and  training  that  responds  to  the  individual’s  personal  development, 
labour market, and societal needs. 

In 2019, the Commission selected first five CoVE pilot projects under Sector Skills Alliances 
with  a  budget  of  EUR  5  million.  In  2020  this  was  boosted  with  further  7  fully-fledged 
Platforms running for 4 years, which closely resemble the future CoVE model to be supported 
in the Commission’s proposal for the Erasmus programme in the period 2021-2027. The call 

129 A  process  combining  benchmarking  and  mutual  learning:  in  the  apprenticeships  context,  the  aim  is  to  support  wider 
efforts to improve the quality and effectiveness of apprenticeships. 

32 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
attracted very strong interest with 55 quality from 52 countries and attracting more than 1300 
organisations.  

The  revised  European  Qualifications  Framework  Recommendation  of  22  May  2017 
(replacing  the  Recommendation  of  2008)  further  strengthened  the  mobility  and  recognition 
efforts of the European Education Area as well as its labour market relevance. By July 2020, 
36 countries had referenced their national qualifications frameworks or systems to the EQF. 
This includes 26 out of 27 EU Member States.  

The  revised  2017  EQF  Recommendation  invites  Member  States  to  review  and  update  their 
referencing  to  the  EQF  when  relevant,  which  helps  to  ensure  that  the  information 
underpinning  the  referencing  is  accurate,  transparent  and  reflects  any  relevant  changes  at 
national  level.  All  countries  have  now  adopted  National  Qualifications  Frameworks,  and  in 
the  majority  of  countries  the  NQF  is  now  in  an  advanced  operational  stage,  meaning  that 
NQFs  have  become  an  integrated  part  of  national  education  and  training  systems  and  are 
based on learning outcomes.  

The new Europass platform130 was launched by the Commission on 1 July 2020 as the first 
stage  in  the  modernisation  of  Europass  as  the  EU  tool  for  communicating  skills  in  Europe. 
The  new  Europass  also  underlies  the  efforts  of  the  European  Education  Area  to  support 
peoples’ careers and lifelong learning in the context of green and digital transitions. 

The new Europass offers online tools and information that help people to present their skills 
and  qualifications  and  to  plan  their  learning  and  their  career.  With  new  Europass  Digital 
Credentials, graduates and job-seekers will be able to share their qualifications quickly and 
securely, and employers and recruiters can make faster, more confident decisions. As of 2020, 
18  countries  are  piloting  Europass  Digital  Credentials;  more  countries  and  education  and 
training institutions will be able to preview the tools shortly as we roll-out the tools for further 
use. 

Under the blueprint for sectoral cooperation on skills, one of the key initiatives of the 2016 
Skills Agenda, stakeholders work together in sector-specific partnerships, called alliances for 
sectoral cooperation for skills, which develop and implement strategies to address skills gaps 
in these sectors. Strengthening the employability efforts in the European Education Area, each 
blueprint alliance will develop a sectoral skills strategy to support the overall growth strategy 
for  the  sector,  which  will  then  be  rolled-out  at  national  and  regional  level.  Until  now  15 
Blueprint alliances have started work, with funding from the Erasmus+ programme under the 
activity Sector Skills Alliances. While all alliances are still in progress, the experience gained 
will  provide  the  basis  for  upscaling  the  Blueprint,  in  the  context  of  the  Pact  for  Skills 
envisaged in the European Skills Agenda. 

The  2012  Council  Recommendation  on  validation  of  non-formal  and  informal  learning 
asked Member States to take action, at the latest by 2018, so that everybody could have their 

130 www.europa.eu/europass 

33 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
skills validated to access further learning or improve their career. The evaluation, released on 
1 July 2020 together with  the European Skills  Agenda131, has found  that  all Member States 
have  taken  action  and  there  is  evidence  of  significant  progress,  with  increased  validation 
practices and a higher policy profile in all Member States. However, the ambitious objectives 
of  the  Recommendation  have  not  been  fully  achieved.  In  particular,  a  clear  lesson  is  that 
providing more validation opportunities is not enough,  there is  a need to  provide support to 
individuals  to  take  them  up.  This  requires  more  strategic  coordination  among  relevant 
stakeholders,  closer  cooperation  between  guidance  and  validation  services,  and  coordinated 
implementation  of qualification and validation policies, also  to  take into account  innovative 
skills recognition practices such as micro-credentials.   

In  2018,  the  Commission  launched  the  Digital  Opportunity  Traineeships,  where  students 
from any discipline work as a trainee in a company with digital technologies such as digital 
marketing,  programming,  artificial  intelligence,  cybersecurity  etc.  In  two  years  more  than 
10,000 students have taken this opportunity to get hands-on digital work experience. The pilot 
initiative is financed via Horizon 2020 and channelled through Erasmus+. Due to its success it 
will be expanded in the Digital Education Action Plan and also include VET students. 

3.2. Achievements of the Open Method of Coordination in education and training 

3.2.1.

  The Open Method of Coordination in education and training 

The  expiring  strategic  framework  for  European  cooperation  in  education  and  training  (ET 
2020) was the operational format of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in education 
and  training.  It  helped  promote  mutual  learning  in  education  through  common  strategic 
objectives, create a shared understanding of issues and build consensus on solutions and their 
practical  implementation.  In  2015,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  published  a  Joint 
Report132  on the implementation of the strategic framework – in line with the commitment to 
cyclical  reporting  –  which  represents  an  important  milestone  in  the  evolution  of  the  OMC. 
The Joint Report established direct links between technical work and strategic priorities and 
introduced  new  and  innovative  forms  of  mutual  learning.  Through  the  exchange  of  good 
practice between EU Member States and other participants, ET 2020 contributed to improving 
European education policies and helped set the stage for the European Education Area.  

The principal forum for mutual learning as well as technical working formation of ET 2020 
were  the  Working  Groups,  composed  of  representatives  of  Member  States,  experts,  the 
members of the European Free Trade Association and the EU candidate countries, and other 
stakeholders.  Between  2015  and  2020,  they  contributed  to  the  implementation  of  6  priority 
areas and 30 concrete issues, as highlighted in the 2015 Joint Report. In 2020, there are five 

131  Commission  Staff  Working  Document  Evaluation  of  the  Council  Recommendation  of  20  December  2012  on  the 
validation of non-formal and informal learning (SWD/2020/121 final) 
132  Joint  Report  of  the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  the  implementation  of  the  strategic  framework  for  European 
cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) (OJ C 417, 15.12.2015, p. 25–35) 

34 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
sector-focused 133  and  two  issue-focused 134  Working  Groups  in  operation.  The  mid-term 
evaluation of ET 2020135 and other assessments136 revealed that a majority of Member States 
appraised  mutual  learning  as  one  of  the  most  valued  element  of  ET  2020,  in  particular  the 
peer learning activities and peer counselling.  

The  cooperation  framework  ET  2020  comprised  seven  EU  benchmarks  adopted  by  the  EU 
Member States. Once a year, the Commission published the latest data on all the benchmarks 
and its accompanying analysis of the state of education in the EU137.  

ET 2020 links with European  and international  cooperation  processes  in  education  and 
training  likewise  set  the  stage  for  the  future  global  dimension  of  the  European  Education 
Area  and  enabled  deepened  sectoral  cooperation.  These  include  international  organisations 
such  as  OECD,  UNESCO,  Council  of  Europe,  but  also  Europe-wide  intergovernmental 
processes,  such  as  the  Copenhagen  Process  and  the  Bologna  Process.  Via  the  Erasmus+ 
programme, the Commission co-financed national education reviews and studies implemented 
by  the  OECD,  and  cooperated  on  “Education  Policy  Outlook”  country  profiles  or  thematic 
research studies (such as the ‘School Resources Review’ or HEInnovate138). The Commission 
works closely with the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education,139 which 
provides  evidence-based  recommendations  to  support  inclusive  educational  policies  and 
practices regarding learners with disabilities and/or special educational needs. 

Supporting policy reforms corresponding to national priorities was one of the key functions of 
the OMC. Peer counselling was introduced in 2015 as a demand-driven and tailor-made tool 
to  support  policy  development,  implementation  and  evaluation  at  national  level.  It  provided 
high  quality,  country-specific  and  concrete  policy  advice  by  peers  from  other  national 
administrations, European stakeholder organisations as well as, optionally, from independent 
experts. A total of 13 peer counselling events took place since 2015 across a wide range of 
policy  areas.  Evidence140 showed  clear  Member  State  support  to  the  peer  learning  and  the 
peer  counselling  activities.  They  have  had  national  impact  and  follow-up  and  prompted 
active dissemination of successful practices.  

133 Schools,  Higher  Education  (HE),  Early  Childhood  Education  and  Care  (ECEC),  Adult  Learning,  Vocational  Education 
and Training 
134 Working  Group  on  Promoting  Common  Values  and  Inclusive  Education  and  Working  Group  on  Digital  Education, 
Learning, Training and Assessment (DELTA) 
135 European Commission, Interim evaluation of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training 
(ET 2020), Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2015 
136 The 2018 Member States and stakeholders surveys, as  well as in the 2019 assessment of tools and deliverables and the 
2020 mutual learning survey (see Procedural annex) 
137 See the European Commission’s annual analytical report on education and training, the Education and Training Monitor.  
138  A  guiding    framework    to  support  higher  education  institutions  and  systems  to  develop  their  innovative  and 
entrepreneurial potential (https://heinnovate.eu/en) 
139 https://www.european-agency.org/  
140 Targeted consultation event in 2019, the Member State survey, and a 2019 non-paper endorsed by 15 Member States 

35 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
Instrument/ tool 

Impact 

Example 

Peer counselling 

Tailored support to policy 
development, design, policy 
implementation and evaluation at 
national level 

Mutual learning 

Impact  on  planning,  designing  and 
implementing 
new 
initiatives/programmes  at  national 
level 

Shared  understanding, 
vocabulary 
transparency at EU level 

and 

common 
increased 

Policy 
(reference 
guidance) 

deliverables 
and 
tools 

Impact 
organisational capacity building 

individual 

on 

and 

Impact on policy action and reform 

Monitoring  (benchmarks 
and indicators) 

Impact on agenda-setting 

Setting national targets 

Improvement  of  national  data 
collection mechanisms 

Czechia revised its system for allocating funding 
to  higher  education  institutions  in  2018  building 
on recommendations from a peer counselling held 
in  2015.  The  change  aims  to  improve  quality, 
diversification  of  institutions  and  programmes  as 
well as completion rates. 

ET  2020  peer  learning  activities  impacted  the 
digitalisation  of  basic  education  in  Austria, 
notably  the  development  of  a  European  Social 
Fund  (ESF)  call  to  makethe  training  of  adult 
education  providers 
in  basic  education  a 
profession;  the  Austrian  state  prize  for  adult 
education in the thematic area of digital literacy; 
and the initiation of EBmooc, an adult education 
Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). 

(NL), 

In  Belgium 
the  High-performance 
learning:  20 
apprenticeships  &  work-based 
guiding  principles  (2015)  provided  guidance  for 
the  elaboration  of  a  dual  learning  framework  in 
Flanders. 

Finland reported that a benchmark on ECEC was 
frequently  cited  in  the  national  level  policy 
debates. Awareness of the Finnish performance in 
comparison  to  other  countries  was  one  of  the 
policy  factors  in  their  ECEC  legislation  reforms 
and related political debates. 

Table 1. The policy impact of ET 2020.  
Source: Triangulation of results of the interim evaluation (2014), Member State Survey (2018), External Assessment of ET 
2020 tools and deliverables (2019) and report of relevant Commission services 

The ET 2020 and the European Semester have worked closely together to support Member 
State reforms in education and training. Education and training have been closely monitored 
under  the  Semester,  drawing  to  a  large  extent  on  the  analytical  work  under  ET  2020,  in 
particular 
the  Education  and  Training  Monitor.  The  Semester  Country  Specific 
Recommendations addressed a series of issues linked to ET 2020 priorities and benchmarks, 
guiding EU investment  and support to  Member  State reforms.  In particular, building on the 
Semester’s  findings,  Member  States  have  benefitted  from  technical  support  to  design,  
implement and/or monitor reforms of their national education and VET systems through the 
Commission’s  Technical  Support  Instrument  (TSI  –  former  Structural  Reform  Support 
Programme)141 Through the SRSP and TSI, MS have been provided with relevant expertise as 

141 COM(2020) 409 final 

36 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
well  as  with  a  variety  of  mutual  learning  activities  building  on  Member  States’  relevant 
practices  and  experiences.  Between  2017  and  2020,  64  requests  for  support  from  different 
Member States were selected in the area of education, addressing reforms in early childhood 
education  and  care,  school  education,  VET  and  adult  learning,  higher  education,  digital 
education,  monitoring/governance,  professional  development  and  careers  of  teachers, 
inclusive  education,  and  Roma  inclusion.  Examples  of  the  supported  requests  include: 
development  of  a  support  system  for  the  implementation  of  the  comprehensive  curricular 
reform    (HR),  public  loan  support  system  in  higher  education  (CY),  support  for  digital 
education  (EL),  development  of  criterion-  referenced  tests  at  primary  and  lower  secondary 
education (SK), monitoring and evaluation system for the implementation of the Strategy for 
the Inclusion of Roma Minority Romanian Citizens 2014-2020 (RO), reforming the network 
of  teacher  training  institutions  (LT),  early  identification  of  students  at  risk  of  early  school 
leaving (MT), supporting the improvement of quality in inclusive education (PL), support to 
improve  the  quality  of  dual  VET  (ES),  setting  up  a  national  quality  framework  on  early 
childhood  education  and  care  (BG),  accompany  the  conversion  of  the  professional  paths 
through  “occupation  and  qualification  campuses”  for  a  better  access  to  the  labour  market 
(FR), and evidence-informed decision-making processes in education (CZ). 

The  close  alignment  between  investments  under  European  Structural  and  Investment 
Funds, the European Semester and the policy priorities under ET 2020 helped Member 
States  make  progress  towards  agreed  strategic  priorities.  The  interim  evaluation  of  the 
European  Social  Fund  confirmed  a  strong  coherence  between  EU  funds,  the  European 
Semester,  and  ET  2020  policy  priorities.  For  example,  early  school  leaving  was  monitored 
under the European Semester and addressed in the country-specific recommendations. It was 
also  subject  of  an  ex-ante  conditionality  under  ESIF,  requiring  Member  States  to  prepare 
comprehensive national  strategies on early school leaving. At the same time Member States 
were also supported by policy guidance and mutual learning activities under ET 2020 on the 
topic.  These  concerted  efforts  gave  an  important  push  to  Member  States’  policies  to  reduce 
early school leaving and allowed the EU as a whole to reach the ESL target by 2020. Similar 
effects could be seen in other policy areas, such as digital education. 

Civil society and social partner organisations were important actors in building ownership 
in  ET  2020  and  ensuring  that  policy  actions  are  anchored  at  local  level,  reflecting  concrete 
needs.  They  have been  members of the ET 2020 Working Groups, and actively involved in 
some of the Erasmus+ policy experimentations (in particular the European Schoolnet), where 
the relevant Working Group served as an incubator to prepare these projects.  Many of these 
organisations  have  been  at  the  forefront  of  implementation  of  EU  policies,  for  instance 
providing digital learning to migrants or finding solutions for a rapid integration of migrants’ 
children into the host community before a national policy was in place. EU-wide networks of 
organisations  have  helped  engage  the  education  community  through  own  initiative  events 

37 

 
 
 
 
(example: Lifelong Learning Week142) or in support of large EU events, such as the European 
Education and Training Forum and the European Education Summit.  

The ET 2020 committed to the dissemination of results among all relevant stakeholders and 
the public. All ET 2020 working groups have planned dissemination activities as part of their 
mandates.  Working  groups’  outputs  were  published  on  the  EU  publications  portal  and 
promoted through the Commission’s regular dissemination channels (social media, web sites, 
direct mailing, etc.). Annual Education and Training Monitor publications (see Section 2.1.7) 
were promoted in dedicated EU-level and, occasionally, national events. A dedicated ET 2020 
newsletter  provided  in-depth  updates  on  the  Working  Groups’  and  Directors’  General 
activities.  

Future cooperation 

The  assessment  of  ET  2020  concluded  that  although  OMC  and  mutual  learning  are  well 
established  across  education,  there  was  room  for  improvement  as  concerns  improving 
coordination; exploring future policy synergies and methods of cooperation; sharing of good 
practices  and  evidence  of  what  works  well  and  strengthening  communication  and 
dissemination  of  outputs.  Despite  high  ambitions  laid  out  in  the  mid-term  evaluation  of  ET 
2020,  the  2019  external  assessment  found  that  the  peer  review  format  was  used  much  less 
frequently than other OMC tools. 

Peer counselling and peer learning activities’ impact was, however, limited by the opportunity 
for dissemination and could have benefitted from stronger links to the other elements of the 
cooperation  framework.  Evidence  also  pointed  to  strong  Member  State  interest  in  a  more 
innovative and future-oriented perspective of support to reforms, through a concrete focus on 
specific current challenges, benefitting all Member States.  

3.2.2.

 Evidence and monitoring 

An  important  part  of  the  Open  Method  of  Coordination  in  education  is  the  systematic 
collection  and  analysis  of  internationally  comparable  data.  In  addition,  in  the  past  twenty 
years,  international  surveys  gained  weight  in  the  policy  discourse  in  education.  Under  ET 
2020,  several  avenues  were  exploited  to  gain  better  knowledge  of  education  and  training 
across the EU: 

  EU  benchmarks,  or  quantitative  targets  to  be  reached  by  the  EU  as  a  whole,  and 
agreed  with  Member  States  as  a  means  of  monitoring  progress  and  identifying 
challenges 

  Policy data on the structure and functioning of the EU education systems 
  Cooperation with knowledge providers on education, such as for example the OECD, 
or the International Association for the Evaluation of International Achievements 

  The use of thematic studies and academic networks 

142 LLL Week - http://lllplatform.eu/events/lll-week/ 

38 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
Every  year,  the  Commission  published  a  rich  analytical  report,  the  Education  and  Training 
Monitor143, which brought together the latest comparable and country evidence on education 
and training. The analysis  in  the Monitor also  served as  a support to  the  analytical  exercise 
under the European Semester.  

The set of ET 2020 benchmarks in education and training represent the EU contribution to the 
monitoring  of  Sustainable  Development  Goal  4  on  quality  education  for  all.  Some  of  the 
indicators of ET 2020 were also used as main and secondary indicators under the Scoreboard 
of the European Pillar of Social Rights. 

The  ET  2020  comprised  seven  benchmarks 144,  six  of  which  were  regularly  reported  and 
analysed in the annual Education and Training Monitor. The objective of the benchmarks was 
to: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

increase  tertiary  educational  attainment  of  those  aged  30-34  to  at  least  40%.  The 
tertiary  educational  attainment  in  the  EU-27  has  steadily  increased  over  the  past 
decade and reached 40.3% in 2019145.  

increase  participation  in  early  childhood  education  to  at  least  95%.  With  94.8%  of 
children  from  age  of  4  to  the  start  of  primary  education  enrolled  in  early  childhood 
education  and  care,  participation  in  this  crucial  education  level  is  by  now  almost 
universal in the EU.  

reduce  early  leaving  from  education  and  training  to  below  10%.  The  rate  of  young 
adults  (aged  18-24)  leaving  education  and  training  without  obtaining  an  upper 
secondary diploma reached 10.2% in 2019.  

Increase the employment rate of recent  graduates to at least 82%. After reaching the 
lowest  point in 2013 (75.4%), the employment rate of recent  EU  graduates has been 
continuously improving. With 80.9% in 2019, the rate has however not reached yet the 
2008 level of 81.8%. 

reduce  underachievement  in  basic  skills  to  below  15%.  The  OECD  PISA  2018  data 
showed  that  one  in  five  pupils  failed  to  complete  basic  tasks  in  reading  (22.9%); 
mathematics (22.9%); and science (22.3%).  

increase the rate of adult learning to at least 15%. The rate of adult learning, measured 
as participation in education and training in the last 4 weeks, has increased slowly over 
the past decade, and only reached 10.8% in 2019. 

The seventh officially adopted benchmark is on learning mobility in higher education and in 
initial vocational education. Learning mobility in higher education was estimated at 13.5% in 

143 https://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/strategic-framework/et-monitor_en  
144 Even though it was officially developed and proposed, the benchmark on foreign languages has not been adopted, due to 
political sensitivities across some Member States and the lack of data sources. 
145 All ET 2020 benchmarks were set on the basis of EU-28 data. The newest data reported in this Communication are EU-27 
averages, thus without UK. 

39 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
2018 (ET 2020 target 20%)146.  The major outstanding obstacle to calculating this benchmark 
is  the  fact  that  data  on  degree  mobile  graduates  from  the  EU  need  to  be  collected  by  the 
concerned receiving countries, including those outside the EU. The data on mobile graduates 
by  origin  is  collected  by  EU  countries  but  not  available  in  several  non-EU  countries  that 
attract significant inflows of foreign students147. 

The  2018  Member  State  Survey  revealed  that  ET  2020  indicators  and  benchmarks  have 
served  as  reliable  sources  of  information  for  countries  to  measure  and  improve  the 
performance of their education systems. This view is broadly supported by the stakeholders’ 
survey, which showed that the benchmarks help focus national policy discussions and support 
grassroots-level policy initiatives. The independent assessment of ET 2020 confirmed that the 
benchmarks  have  been  valuable  in  encouraging  national  policy  dialogues  and  ensuring 
impetus  for  reforms148.  The  ET  2020  benchmarks  helped  signalling  political  priorities  and 
assessing convergence149.  

The benchmarks provide comparative, high-quality quantitative evidence. Their analysis also 
require  the  use  of  qualitative  information  on  structure  and  functioning  of  education 
systems150. In addition, there are important factors in education that cannot be captured by a 
single quantitative indicator – for example the quality of teaching. This is why the monitoring 
of  ET  2020  also  relied  on  ‘structural  indicators’  (or  ‘policy  indicators’)  collected  by  the 
Eurydice  network.  Further  qualitative  evidence  was  collected  in  cooperation  with  expert 
networks such as EENEE (European Expert Network on Economics of Education) or NESET 
(Network  of  Experts  working  on  the  Social  dimension  of  Education  and  Training);  EU 
agencies  (such  as  Cedefop,  European  Training  Foundation);  and  networks  of  national 
education information services (such as Eurydice or National Academic Information Centres). 

This  combination  of  qualitative  assessments  and  the  quantitative  analysis  of  key  education 
system  developments  is,  so  the  stakeholders  report,  considered  useful  in  providing  a  more 
evidence-based  approach  to  education  and  training  policy  changes/reforms.  This  was  the 
approach  of  the  annual  Education  and  Training  Monitor,  with  its  EU  analysis  and  country 
profiles.  For  example,  it  featured  extensive  analysis  of  demographic  change  and  economic 
crisis  (2012);  investing  in  skills  and  qualifications  (2013);  migration  (2016);  citizenship 
education  (2018);  teachers  and  teaching  (2019).  The  2020  edition,  under  preparation,  has  a 
particular focus on digital education and digital skills.  

146 Education and Training Monitor 2020 (forthcoming) 
147 For  further  insights  on  the  methodology  adopted  to  calculate  this  indicator  and  data  issues,  please  see  Flisi,  S.  and 
Sánchez-Barrioluengo, M. Learning Mobility II. An estimation of the benchmark, Publications Office of the European Union, 
Luxembourg, 2018 
148  European Commission (ICF and Technopolis), Assessment of tools and deliverables under the framework for European 
cooperation  in  education  and  training  (ET  2020)  Final  Report,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg 
2019, p. 51. 
149 ET 2020 benchmarks are reference levels of EU average performance.  Cf. Annex I of the Council conclusions of 12 May 
2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (‘ET 2020’) (OJ C 119, 28.5.2009, p. 2–
10) 
150 European Commission (ICF and Technopolis),  Assessment of tools and deliverables under the framework for European 
cooperation  in  education  and  training  (ET  2020)  Final  Report,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg 
2019, p. 22-23. 

40 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
Stakeholders  confirm  the  importance  of  an  annual  Commission  publication  (the  Education 
and  Training  Monitor)  analysing  and  setting  out  the  progress  made  towards  the  ET  2020 
benchmarks. Member States used evidence provided in the report as a comparative reference 
point  and  to  inform  the  national  policy  debate  and  the  dialogue  with  stakeholder 
organisations.  

4.  Towards the European Education Area 

The challenges identified in section 2 call for new solutions from education and training. At 
the same time, the  strategic priorities defined in  the cooperation framework remain relevant  
In  the  years  ahead,  education  systems  will  need  to  continue  working  on  core  tasks,  such  as 
strengthening  quality,  inclusiveness  and  lifelong  learning,  but  will  also  need  to  address  the 
green  and  digital  transitions,  account  for  increasingly  pressing  demographic  changes  and 
adapt  to  new  modes  of  learning.  In  the  Member  States,  these  adaptations  will  take  place 
during  the  recovery  period,  in  which  investment  in  education  is  likely  to  face  a  squeeze 
caused by the economic crisis. 

ET 2020 has set the foundations: it has generated shared understanding of common issues and 
contributed  to  the  emergence  of  communities  of  policy  practice.  Europe  now  needs  a  step 
change in European cooperation in education. Moving beyond a challenge based-perspective, 
EU action should be set in motion based on the positive principles of the freedom to learn and 
work  together  across  borders,  a  commitment  to  common  European  values,  and  to  support 
reforms in Member States. Guided by an understanding of a changing global landscape, the 
European leaders have decided to increase the ambitions of EU cooperation in education and 
training and work toward a European Education Area. 

As outlined in section 3, this step-change was launched through the first European Education 
Area and other education and training initiatives. As the ET 2020 draws to a close, the time is 
right  to  align  the  enabling  framework  and  common  goals  to  make  the  European  Education 
Area a reality and work toward a permanent governance framework. 

4.1. Future priorities and issue areas 

This section identifies the areas and thematic issues where further work is proposed to meet 
the ambitions and objectives of the European Education Area. The selection of the issue areas 
is  based  on  an  extensive  consultation  with  Member  States  and  stakeholders,  including  the 
European  Education  and  Training  Expert  Panel.  The  consultations  confirmed  the  continued 
relevance  of  long-term  strategic  priorities,  such  as  making  lifelong  learning  and  mobility  a 
reality or improving the quality and efficiency of education and training. Member States and 
the  education  and  training  community  have  also  called  to  focus  EU  action  on  emerging 
challenges  and  opportunities,  such  as  the  ones  presented  by  the  green  and  the  digital 
transitions.  The  topics  presented  below  inform  the  different  work  strands  of  the  European 
Education Area, including EU-level initiatives, mutual learning, cooperation and co-creation. 

41 

 
 
 
 
4.1.1.

  Early childhood education and care 

Covering the whole period from birth to primary school, early childhood education and care 
(ECEC) supports early acquisition of basic skills and the development of social and cognitive 
skills,  hence  facilitating  later  acquisition  of  knowledge  and  a  fruitful  citizen’s  life.  The 
number  of  children participating  in  early  childhood  education  and  care  has  been  on  a 
steady  rise  for  the  last  decade.  The  EU27  average  of  children  from  4  years  old  to  the 
compulsory primary school age remains floating just below the target of 95%: from 94.9% in 
2016 and 2017 to 94.8% in 2018. Under the age of 3, the picture changes somewhat, with an 
EU  average  of  56.1%  enrolled  in  early  childhood  education.  Children  at  risk  of  poverty  or 
social  exclusion  have  participation  rates  in  education  and  formal  childcare  that  are  11 
percentage points lower than their peers from non-disadvantaged families for the group aged 3 
or  more  (e.g.  Roma  participation  in  ECD  is  only  42%);  and  the  gap  is  even  greater  for 
children aged 0-2.  

An expanding body of research associates ECEC attendance with positive cognitive and non-
cognitive outcomes that stretch into adulthood, and can be particularly beneficial to children 
from disadvantaged backgrounds. Data from OECD supports these findings as children who 
attended ECEC tend to score higher in reading at the age of 15.  

However, supply of and access to high-quality provision remain a challenge. Across the EU, 
the  offer  of  early  childhood  education  and  care  is  characterised  by  a  great  variation  in 
financing,  participation  rates,  starting  age,  quality  and  duration  of  programmes  and 
organisation151. Participation, affordability  and quality remain uneven within and between 
countries. In many countries, the early childhood education and care sector faces difficulties 
to recruit and retain well-qualified and competent staff. It is therefore necessary to make the 
profession more attractive and to improve initial and continuing training of all staff involved 
in  the  sector.  A  range  of  strategies  and  good  practices  are  also  being  discussed  to  increase 
inclusiveness of early childhood education and care systems and settings. 

In  the  context  of  the  COVID-19  crisis,  the  Commission  is  particularly  attentive  to  the  risks 
incurred  by  the  early  childhood  education  and  care  sector,  which  might  hinder  the  quality 
process described above. In particular, it is important that early childhood education and care 
services remain available, in spite of financial difficulties, and that qualified staff is retained 
and keeps being recruited. It is also important to make sure that investment in the sector keeps 
increasing,  and  that  the  educational  impact  of  these  services  is  not  overshadowed  by  the 
importance of the  childcare dimension  which has been  evidenced by the  crisis.  Finally, due 
attention will need to be paid to the processes needed to ensure learning continuity with very 
young children, for whom digital learning is not an easy or desirable option, if / when early 
childhood education and care services need to close for long periods.     

151  European  Commission,  Eurydice,  Key  Data  on  Early  Childhood  Education  and  Care  in  Europe:  2019  edition, 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019   

42 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
4.1.2.

  Key challenges to achieve school success for all 

School education plays a twofold role in promoting social fairness and prosperity. First, it can 
strengthen social cohesion. Second, it can make the EU economy more resilient. A growing 
body of research has demonstrated that access by children and young people from low-income 
groups to good quality education helps tackle unemployment and break the intergenerational 
transmission  of  poverty.  Thus,  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  should  give  all  citizens  the 
competences needed to adapt to globalisation and technological change. 

School education must now address the following challenges:  

a.  Giving all young people the chance to develop their key competences.  

The progress in reducing underachievement of 15 year-old pupils in basic skills in the last 
decade has been disappointing. The OECD PISA test shows that around one in five 15 year-
olds  in  the  EU  (22.5%  in  reading,  22.9%  in  mathematics  and  22.3%  in  science)  were 
underachievers 
the  EU 
in  2018.  While  differences  between  countries  exist, 
underachievement has increased in reading and science, and remained persistently above the 
benchmark in mathematics over the past decade152. Socio-economic background and migrant 
background strongly affects pupils’ performance and their academic expectations in most EU 
countries.  Gender  differences  in  underachievement  are  rather  small  in  mathematics  and 
science,  but  remain  sizeable  in  reading,  where  girls  strongly  outperform  boys  in  many 
countries.  A  wide  performance  gap  in  reading  also  exists  between  pupils  in  general 
education and those in vocational programmes.  

in 

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

EE IE FI PL DK SI SE PT DE CZ FR BE HR LV EU IT NL LT HU LU EL SK MT RO BG

2018

2009

Benchmark

Figure 4. Long-term change in underachievement rate in reading, 2009 – 2018 [%] 

Source: OECD: PISA 2018.  

152 See  a  more  detailed  report  in  European  Commission,  PISA  2018  and  the  EU:  Striving  for  social  fairness  through 
education, 2019 

43 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
PISA data also shows that overall, countries with small proportions of underachievers tend to 
have also high proportions of top performers. This means that education systems can pursue 
excellence and equity at the same time. 

On the side of basic digital skills, the International Computer and Information Literacy Study 
(ICILS) compares the results of pupils in the 8th grade on Computer and Information Literacy, 
as well as Computational Thinking.  The survey, conducted in 14 EU Member States, shows 
that being born in a digital world does not necessarily make one digitally competent. Contrary 
to  the  common  view  of  the  young  generation  of  today  as  a  generation  of  ‘digital  natives’, 
findings  from  the  first  two  cycles  of  ICILS  indicate  that  young  people  do  not  develop 
sophisticated  digital  skills  just  by  growing  up  using  digital  devices.  In  9  out  of  14  Member 
States participating in ICILS, more than one third of the pupils achieved scores below level 2 
on the ICILS CIL scale, which can be defined as the threshold for underachievement in digital 
competence. Yet, there is greater variation within than across countries.  

Unlike  the  basic  key  competences  in  the  area  of  science,  maths,  and  reading,  there  are  no 
commonly  accepted  principles  for  developing  the  Environmental  Sustainability 
competence.  Different  Member  States  use  different  tools  and  stress  different  aspects  of 
education  for  environmental  sustainability.  These  differences  are  clearly  observed  in 
educational practice in regions, districts and individual schools as well as in academic studies 
and commentaries153. There is  no  common language with  agreed-upon understanding  of the 
objectives  and  the  pedagogical  methodology  in  use.  This  state  of  the  education  for 
environmental  sustainability  across  the  EU  makes  it  difficult  for  students  and  teachers  to 
cooperate and exchange ideas and best practices. 

Therefore,  as  stated  in  the  Green  Deal,  the  Commission  will  propose  a  European 
competence framework on climate change and sustainable development. It will build on 
the  revised  Recommendation  on  Key  Competences  for  Lifelong  Learning,  which  describes 
the  key  competences  that  underpin  the  drive  towards  environmental  sustainability,  i.e. 
science, citizenship education, entrepreneurship as well as the personal, social and learning to 
learn key competences. The goal of the Framework is to establish a shared understanding and 
a  conceptual  model  of  the  competences  to  be  acquired  by  learners  with  guidelines  for 
implementation.  The  common  definition  and  practical  guidelines  should  ultimately  support 
the education for environmental sustainability in Member States’ school and higher education 
systems. 

b.  Minimising  the  number  of  young  people  who  leave  education  without  at  least  an 

upper secondary degree.  

The rate of young adults  (aged 18-24) leaving education and training without obtaining 
an upper secondary diploma decreased continuously over the last decade, down from 14.0% 

153  Jucker,  R.,  Mathar,  R.,  Schooling  for  Sustainable  Development  in  Europe:  Concepts,  Policies  and  Educational 
Experiences at the End of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, Springer International Publishing, 2016 

44 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
in 2009 to 10.2% in 2019. Despite this progress, early school-leavers154 still represent around 
10%  of  young  people  in  the  EU  and  only  83.5%  (aged  20-24)  have  completed  upper 
secondary education. Men are more likely than women to leave school with low educational 
attainment.  There  is  a  pronounced  gap  between  the  migrant  and  native  population,  with 
migrant youth being more than twice as likely, at EU average, to leave education prematurely. 
Leaving education without an upper secondary diploma exposes youth and adults to a lower 
employment  rate,  lower  earnings,  and  lower  rates  of  adult  learning.  Leaving  no  one  behind 
would require additional efforts in bringing down the rate of early leaving from education and 
training. 

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

2019

2009

Europe 2020 target

Figure 5. Change in the rate of early leavers from education and training, 2009-2019 

Source: Eurostat, EU Labour Force Survey. Online data code: [edat_lfse_14]. 
Note: Break in time series in 2014. 

c.  Creating supportive learning environments for groups at risk of underachievement 

and students with special learning needs. 

Educational segregation occurs in at least half of all EU Member States,155 despite evidence 
that all pupils can benefit when disadvantaged, underachieving and special needs pupils share 
school with more advantaged peers.  

The PISA isolation index measures whether certain groups of pupils are more concentrated in 
some schools compared to the rest of the pupil population. The isolation index has revealed 
that  the  percentage  of  underachievers  in  reading  tends  to  be  higher  in  EU  countries  where 
underachieving  pupils  are  more  concentrated  in  some  schools.  The  same  association  exists, 

154 The indicator is defined as the percentage of the population aged 18-24 with at most lower secondary education and who 
were not in further education or training during the last four weeks preceding the survey 
155 European  Commission,  School  segregation  of  immigrants  and  its  effects  on  educational  outcomes  in  Europe,  EENEE 
Analytical Report No. 30, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2017 

45 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
though to a somewhat lesser extent, between the percentage of underachievers in reading and 
the concentration of socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils in some schools.  

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[CELLRANGE] 

[CELLRANGE] 

[CELLRANGE] 

[CELLRANGE] 

[CELLRANGE] 

[CELLRANGE] 

[CELLRANGE] 

[CELLRANGE] 
[CELLRANGE] 

[CELLRANGE] 

[CELLRANGE] 

0,00

0,05

0,10

0,15

0,20

0,25

0,30

0,35

0,40

Isolation index of underachieving students in reading vs all other students 

Figure 6. Isolation index of underachieving students in reading vs all other students 

Source: PISA 2018, OECD. 

These  findings  are  consistent  with  the  literature  on  the  effects  of  school  segregation:  some 
performance  differences  between  schools  stem  from  the  composition  of  the  pupil 
population.156 Students  enrolled  in  segregated  facilities  usually  display  a  lower  educational 
performance  compared  to  the  national/local  average.  Closely  linked  to  a  high  dropout  rate, 
segregated  schools  also  register  a  lower  share  of  students  continuing  studies  in  higher 
educational  facilities.  Socio-economic  status  affects  academic  expectations  of  the  students: 
the difference between advantaged students who expect to enrol in tertiary education and their 
disadvantaged peers exceeds 30 percentage points in the majority of Member States157. 

Due to specific correlations between socio-economic status and other factors of disadvantage, 
such  as  insufficient  familiarity  with  the  language  of  instruction  or  discrimination;  children 
belonging to ethnic minorities and students with a migrant background are in particular at risk 
of underachievement. 

Non-enrolment,  early  school  leaving,  dropping-out  and  irregular  attendance  are  common 
challenges for the many education institutions across Europe when it comes to Roma children. 
Few young people from Roma ethnic background obtain an academic qualification at the level 
of  secondary  education:  while  a  10.2%  of  the  general  population 158  leave  school  before 
completing secondary education, the figure scales up to 72% among the Roma population159, 
amounting to a  gap of 61.8 percentage points. Participation of Roma children (3+) in Early 

156 Reardon, S. and Owens, A., ‘60 years after Brown: Trends and consequences of school segregation’,  Annual Review of 
Sociology, Vol. 40/1, 2014, pp. 199-218. 
157 Data  from  OECD  PISA  2018  survey,  analysed  in  European  Commission,  PISA  2018  and  the  EU:  Striving  for  social 
fairness through education, 2019 
158 Eurostat, LFS, online data code [edat_lfse_14] 
159 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey Roma – 
Selected findings, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2016 

46 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
 
 
 
Childhood education and care is  42%160, compared to  94.8% in  the  general  population  (3+) 
161.  

Children  with  a  migrant  background  perform  worse  at  school  in  the  majority  of  Member 
States, even after controlling for socioeconomic status and gender. When it comes to pupils 
born in the EU with immigrant parents, their performance shows improvement compared to 
the first generation, but the proportion of underachievers among these students remains higher 
than among their peers with native-born parents (Figure 7). 

%

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

EE

IE

FI

SE DK DE

SI

BE

FR AT

PT NL LU HR IT

EL MT CY

Non-immigrant students

Second generation

First-generation immigrant students

Figure 7. Underachievers in reading by migrant background, 2018 

Source: OECD PISA 2018. Note: The countries are sorted in the ascending order of the underachievement rate among the 
native pupils. Data on reading performance not available for ES. Countries where less than 5% of the pupils have a migrant 
background are not included in the chart.  

Moreover,  5%  of  the  European  learners162 are  defined  as  persons  with  Special  Educational 
Needs  (SEN).  This  includes  learners  with  disabilities  as  defined  by  the  Convention  on  the 
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (United Nations, 2006), but also other groups of learners 
who have educational needs that require specific and extra support and related resources. 

In order to address the performance gap between groups at risk of underachievement and the 
general  population  and  to  enable  all  students  to  reach  their  full  potential,  comprehensive 
support  and  responding  flexibly  to  the  circumstances  and  needs  of  students  in  mainstream 
settings is essential, as embodied by the so-called “whole school approach”. 

d.  Ensuring pupils’ well-being at school.  

Ensuring pupils’ well-being at school is important for pupils’ school performance, and feeling 
of  respect  and  of  safety.  PISA  data  shows  that  pupils’  sense  of  belonging  at  school  is 

160 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey Roma – 
Selected findings, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2016 
161 Eurostat, online data code [educ_uoe_enra10] 
162 It concerns all the 31 countries members of the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. Number of 
learners with an official decision of SEN / The number of learners who are enrolled in all formal educational settings x 100. 
Countries have different  forms of official decision-making, often  relating to differing  mechanisms for accessing  additional 
resources to meet SEN. 

47 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
declining  and  bullying  is  widespread.  More  than  one  third  of  pupils  across  14  EU  Member 
States  do  not  feel  that  they  belong  at  school  and  the  situation  has  worsened  in  most  EU 
Member States between 2015 and 2018. Moreover, in a majority of EU countries, more than 
one  in  five  report  that  they  are  bullied  at  least  a  few  times  a  month 163.  Promoting  and 
supporting  a  culture  of  wellbeing  for  all  at  school  could  be  beneficial  also  for  teachers  and 
staff.  10-20%  of  children  and  adolescents  experience  mental  disorders  such  as  anxiety  and 
depression, which may severely influence their development, educational attainment and their 
potential  to  live  fulfilling  lives 164.  Cooperation  between  the  health,  social  and  education 
sectors  in  the  management  of  mental  disorder  prevention  and  mental  health  and  well-being 
promotion,  is  therefore  pressing. Scientific  evidence and best  practices  are available, efforts 
should  now  be  concentrated  on  communication  and  engagement  of  stakeholders  for  an 
effective and wide uptake of successful measures. 

The  COVID-19  pandemic  can  only  add  to  the  relevance  of  these  challenges.  Research  has 
consistently  shown  that  school  interruptions  are  much  more  detrimental  to  disadvantaged 
pupils, who are already more at risk of underachieving in basic skills and leaving education 
prematurely.  The  health  crisis  can  also  increase  stress  levels  among  pupils  and  undermine 
their well-being even when they will come back to regular schooling. Therefore its effects on 
pupils’ educational outcomes may persist over the next few years.  

4.1.3.

  Challenges in acquiring and upgrading competences for adults 

On  the  side  of  adults,  adult  learning  benefits  the  individual  (personal  development, 
employment, health), the economy (sustainable productivity and competitiveness), as well as 
society (democracy, fairness and resilience, less poverty, more social cohesion). Despite some 
progress in participation in learning, the EU is far from reaching the 15% objectives (10.7% in 
2019). However, far too many adults (aged 25-64) are low-qualified, having achieved only a 
lower  secondary  education  (21.6%  of  the  EU  population,  ranging  from  6%  in  Czechia  to 
47.8%  in  Portugal)165.  Similar  proportions  of  adults  are  low-skilled,  meaning  they  struggle 
with reading, writing, simple calculations and/or using a computer (‘basic skills’), according 
to OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC)166.  

Low  levels  of  skills  and  qualifications  are  a  risk  to  future  economic  and  social  growth  and 
sustainability.  People  with  low  skills  levels  have  lower-paid  and  more  precarious  jobs,  are 
more likely to be unemployed, in poor health, and have lower levels of well-being, problems 
which  have  been  accentuated  during  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  thus  widening  social 
inequalities they experience. 

163 Data  from  OECD  PISA  2018  survey,  analysed  in  European  Commission,  PISA  2018  and  the  EU:  Striving  for  social 
fairness through education, 2019 
164 Joint Action for Mental Health and Well-being; Mental Health and Schools, 2016, available online 
World Health Organisation, Adolescent Mental Health in the European Region, Factsheet, available online, 2018 
http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/383891/adolescent-mh-fs-eng.pdf?ua=1 
165 Eurostat LFS, online data code: [edat_lfse_03] 
166 OECD, Skills Matter: Additional results from the survey of adult skills, OECD Publishing, Paris, 2019 

48 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
The  changing  nature  of  work  is  expanding  the  role  of  higher  education  systems  in  lifelong 
learning. This  is  also  mirrored in  European policies and priorities. European skills  forecasts 
foresee a significant growth in high-skilled occupations167, well beyond the current European 
40%  tertiary  education  attainment  target  that  has  been  reached  by  most  EU  countries. 
However,  the  knowledge  and  competences  acquired  through  formal  education  must  be 
updated  in  a  rapidly  changing  society  undergoing  environmental,  technological,  and  social 
transformations. 

Innovations in learning pathways and learning environments in higher education institutions 
are  a  pre-condition  to  better  accommodate  the  needs  of  a  wider  range  of  learners 168,  by 
complementing traditional degrees with new and shorter forms of provision that fit the needs 
of a wider range of learners, including working  adults. A growing number of adults, with  a 
higher  education  degree  or  lower,  will  need  to  reskill  and  upskill  through  more  flexible 
alternatives than a full degree in order to overcome the gap between the learning outcomes of 
initial formal qualifications and emerging skills needs in the labour market. Furthermore, the 
current  COVID-19  pandemic  illustrates  the  urgency  of  creating  more  transparency  in  the 
continuing  education  and  training  offer.  It  is  expected  that  the  demand  for  short  learning 
options and their recognition and validation will increase. It is currently unclear how quickly 
the economy will be able recover, but it is likely that people will look for more upskilling and 
re-skilling options. Also, the COVID-19 crisis showed the digital skills gap in society, which 
may also increase the demand for training in this field. 

Continuous  learning  through  alternative  credentials  (certificates,  digital  badges,  micro-
credentials)  is  a  means  to  overcome  skills  mismatches,  increase  the  efficiency  of  higher 
education  systems,  encourage  innovation  in  provision,  and  thereby  reach  new  learners, 
including  those  from  disadvantaged  backgrounds.  Higher  education  institutions  have  a  key 
role in offering alternative credentials, which can help learners acquire new skills, and update 
their  existing  skills  in  changing  labour  markets169.  Short  learning  courses  leading  to  micro-
credentials  can  be  useful  not  only  for  professionals,  but  also  for  students  at  Bachelor  and 
Master level, in particular to develop transferable skills that students from all disciplines need 
for their future careers. 

However,  different  constraints  are  currently  limiting  the  potential  impact  of  alternative 
credentials.  There  is  a  lack  of  common  formats  and  quality  assurance  measures  attached  to 
alternative  credentials,  and  the  recognition  process  is  not  always  transparent  and  reliable. 
Even  though  micro-credentials  are  a  relatively  new  phenomenon170,  they  can  play  a  strong 
complementary  role  to  higher  education  degrees  by  creating  flexible  pathways  into 

167 Cedefop, Skills Forecast: key EU trends to 2030, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2018 
168 McGrath,  C.  H.  et  al.,  Governance  and adaptation  to  innovative  modes  of  higher  education,  Education,  Audiovisual  & 
Culture Executive Agency of the European Union, 2016 
169 Kato, S., Galán-Muros, V. and Weko, T., ‘The emergence of alternative credentials’, OECD Education Working Papers, 
No. 216, OECD Publishing, Paris, 2020 
170 Ibid. 

49 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
tertiary education and by offering attractive solutions to up-skilling and reskilling matched to 
the needs of the labour market171.  

In  2019,  recent  graduates  from  education  and  training  had  the  best  employment  prospects 
since the beginning of the decade. 80.9% of those who graduated during the past three years 
were in employment, not too far from the 82% objective set under ET 2020. Furthermore, in a 
number of EU Member States, the employment rate of recent graduates was higher than the 
employment  rate of the general population with  comparable level of education and training. 
Still,, challenges persist in some EU Member States and among some population groups.  In 
particular, only 62.8% of those young people who recently entered the labour market holding 
a general upper-secondary degree, i.e. without acquiring a vocational qualification or tertiary 
education, were in employment in 2019. From a policy perspective, the ET 2020 benchmark 
remains relevant as not all population groups face a smooth transition from education to the 
labour market yet.  

In  most  countries,  graduates  from  VET  at  upper-secondary  level  have  higher  employment 
rates  and  lower  unemployment  rates  than  graduates  from  general  programmes  at  the  same 
education level, but lower employment rates (and wages) than university graduates. 

4.1.4.

  Linguistic and cultural diversity 

Europe’s  student  population  is  becoming  increasingly  culturally  diverse  and  multilingual. 
Global  and  regional  migration,  learning  mobility  and  the  internationalisation  of  higher 
education  all  contribute  to  this  growing  diversity.  Diversity  in  and  by  itself  is  an  asset, 
enriching  Europe’s  talent  pool.  However,  recent  episodes  of  humanitarian  migration  (2015-
2016) have highlighted the challenges of education of people with a migrant background.  

There is a great variation EU Member States when it comes to the heterogeneity of the student 
population. In 21 Member States, pupils with a migrant background represent at least 5% of 
the  student  body  –  proportions  range  between  5.8%  (Finland)  and  54.9%  (Luxembourg).172 
The integration and inclusion of people with a migrant background173 in education continues 
to  present  challenges  in  Member  States  with  a  significant  number  of  new  arrivals  and 
traditional  immigrant  destinations.  Roma  children’s  inclusion  to  mainstream  education 
remains a challenge particularly in Central and Eastern European countries. There are 44% of 
Roma (6-15 years old) attending schools where most or all children are Roma.174 Linguistic 

171 On-line  interview  with  Dr  Sean  Gallagher,  North  Eastern  University,  Insight  Centre,  the  Future  of  Education,  Boston 
Mass., 14th April, 2019 
172 European Commission, PISA 2018 and the EU: Striving for social fairness through education, 2019 
173 The concept of “people with a migrant background” includes both immigrants and their native-born children (the so-called 
“second generation”). In the EU legal context, we refer to the integration challenges of third-country nationals, i.e. those born 
outside  of  the  EU  (and  their  children).  Notwithstanding,  EU  mobile  citizens  and  especially  their  children  may  experience 
difficulties similar to those of non-EU migrants when adapting to the education system of another Member State. The OECD 
definition for pupils with a migrant background comprises all foreign-born students (both EU and non-EU), as well as native-
born students with foreign-born parents. It is important to be mindful of the background concept when interpreting OECD 
PISA data.  
174 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey Roma – 
Selected findings, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2016 

50 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
diversity in schools is also linked to inequalities and persistent deficiencies in reading literacy, 
as the latest PISA results convey175.  

Being able to speak foreign languages is a key condition for studying and working abroad. It 
also  enables  learners  to  fully  discover  Europe's  cultural  diversity  and  truly  benefit  from  a 
genuine European learning space. However, there is a lack of qualified language teachers in 
many countries, also for English. Furthermore, many teachers of all subjects feel ill prepared 
for managing linguistic and cultural diversity in school. On the other hand, language teachers 
play an important role for the internationalisation of schools, and tend to be keener than their 
peers to use IT tools and digital platforms to enhance their teaching176. 

4.1.5.

  The multi-dimensional issue of gender in education 

Gender  equality  challenges  in  education  are  multifaceted.  Boys  have  higher  early  school 
leaving  rates  and  lower  tertiary  education  attainment  rates;  they  participate  less  in  lifelong 
learning; and are more likely than girls to fail to meet the minimum standard required in all 
three PISA subjects. At the same time, although the numbers of girls entering the universities 
are reported to be at a ratio of 65-35 (65% girls as compared to 35% boys); and  despite the 
fact  that  women’s  tertiary  education  attainment  is  higher  than  men,  the  employment  rate  of 
female  graduates  is  lower  than  men.177   Also,  women  only  represent  17%  of  people  in  ICT 
studies  and  careers  in  the  EU-27178,  despite  the  fact  that  girls  outperform  boys  in  digital 
literacy179.  

Another  gender  issue  is  the  strong  gender  imbalance  in  the  teaching  profession.  In  the  EU, 
women represent 96.6% of pre-primary, 84.9% of primary and 64.7% of secondary teachers. 
The aim should be to reflect the diversity of society and to create a sense of belonging for all 
students independent of gender, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation180. 

In  higher  education,  the  EU  is  approaching  gender  balance  among  doctoral  students. 
However, the proportion of women among doctoral graduates still varies among the different 
fields of education; in 2018, women doctoral graduates in the EU-27 were over-represented in 
education  (67%),  but  under-represented  in  the  field  of  information  and  communication 
technologies  (22%)  and  the  fields  of  engineering  and  manufacturing  and  construction 

175 See section 4.2.1. 
176 OECD, 2018 TALIS results (Volume II): Teachers and School Leaders as Valued Professionals, OECD Publishing, Paris, 
2020 
177 European  Commission,  Eurostat,  Sustainable  development  in  the  European  Union  —  Monitoring  report  on  progress 
towards the SDGS in an EU context — 2020 edition, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020, p. 109 
178 European Commission, Women in the Digital Age, Publications Office of the European Union, 2018. Eurostat data source: 
[educ_uoe_enra03] 
179 International  Association  for  the  Evaluation  of  Educational  Achievement,  Preparing  for  Life  in  a  Digital  World:  IEA 
International  Computer  and  Information  Literacy  Study  2018  International  Report,  Springer,  2018.  “Female  students 
demonstrated higher CIL achievement than male students” and “The average CIL scores of female students was statistically 
significantly  higher  than  that  of  male  students  in  10  of  13  countries  and  benchmarking  participants  that  met  the  ICILS 
technical requirements (chapter 3, p. 51). 
180 OECD, ‘Gender imbalances in the teaching profession’, Education Indicators in Focus, OECD Publishing, Paris, 2017 

51 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
(29%)181. As they move up the academic ladder, women are less represented. The proportion 
of women among heads of institutions in the higher education sector in the EU increased from 
20.1%  in  2014  to  21.7%  in  2017  (EU-28)182.  However,  the  picture  is  mixed  at  the  national 
level, where several countries experienced a decrease in women heads of institutions. As the 
next  step,  specific  attention  should  be  given  to  women  in  decision-making  positions  at 
universities,  the  promotion  of  gender  balance  in  academic  careers  and  study  choice,  and 
integration of a gender dimension in university curricula.  

It is not easy for education institutions to address gender issues; there is little evidence-based 
guidance on how to reverse trends. Hence, a new approach is needed to find the appropriate 
means  of  tackling  the  interlinking  aspects  of  gender  in  education  and  education  for  gender 
equality.  Specific  gender  issues  related  to  underachievement  and  gender  stereotypes  in 
education and educational careers, and bullying and sexual harassment should be tackled in a 
holistic manner, including through the promotion of gender sensitive teaching.  

4.1.6.

  Teachers, trainers and school leaders 

Among  all  factors  in  the  school  environment,  teachers  and  school  leaders  have  the  greatest 
impact  on  students’  learning  outcomes.  At  the  same  time,  65%  of  public  expenditure  in 
education in the EU is spent on teachers183. Any policy effort seeking to improve educational 
outcomes – or the efficiency of education and training – is bound to take a close look at the 
role of teachers and school leaders and look for ways to help them excel in their demanding 
profession. Teachers also play a key role in ensuring inclusive education. 

Across the entire EU, education systems are confronted with a number of challenges relating 
to teachers and school leaders: their recruitment, retention, and regeneration (self- and peer 
development).  

Regarding  recruitment  (joining  the  profession)  and  retention  (remaining  in  the  profession 
for  a  number  of  years),  several  countries  already  face  or  are  about  to  face  shortages  of 
teachers, either across the board or in particular subject areas (typically science, technology, 
engineering  and  maths);  or  in  particular  geographical  areas.  In  view  of  the  proportions  of 
teachers aged 50 or plus, EU countries will have to  renew  about  one third of their teaching 
population in the next decade or so and at least five EU countries will have to renew around 
half of their secondary school teachers.    

New evidence from the OECD TALIS 2018 survey sheds more light on how EU teachers see 
their profession184. Only 18% of lower secondary school teachers consider their profession as 
valued  by  society;  and  their  proportion  lowers  with  longer  years  of  teaching  experience. 
Similarly, the share of teachers would still choose to work as teachers declines significantly, 

181  UNESCO/OECD/Eurostat  data  collection,  Graduates  by  education  level,  programme  orientation,  sex  and  field  of 
education, online data code: [educ_uoe_grad02] 
182 European Commission, She Figures 2018, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019 
183 Eurostat, online data code: [gov_10a_exp] 
184 European Commission, Education and Training Monitor 2019, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 
2019 

52 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
in  several  EU  countries,  among  more  experienced  teachers.  There  are  also  shortages  of 
teachers  with  specific  profiles.  According  to  TALIS  2018,  nearly  40%  of  school  heads  in 
lower secondary schools in the EU declare that the shortage of teachers teaching students with 
special needs hinders the quality of instruction at their school.  

Salaries of teachers do not  always  compare favourably to  salaries of other equally qualified 
professionals. Among EU countries with available data, in four countries (Czechia, Slovakia, 
Italy and Hungary) teachers at all education levels earn less than 80% of what other tertiary-
educated workers do. In most Member States, primary (and especially pre-primary) teachers 
earn  less  than  secondary  level  teachers.  In  secondary  education,  teachers’  statutory  salary 
tends to be higher at upper-secondary level than at lower-secondary level. 

In addition, there is a specific challenge in attracting men into teaching; and particularly so for 
pre-primary and primary education, where the proportion of female teachers reaches 85% and 
96%  respectively.  At  secondary  level,  65%  are  women.  In  upper-secondary  vocational 
education, across the EU, about 60% are women.  

Throughout  their  careers,  teachers  and  school  leaders  should  be  motivated  and  have  the 
opportunities  to  develop  their  competences  –  and  those  of  their  peers  –  in  a  collaborative 
effort to support the regeneration of their own profession against an evolving technological 
and demographic background. These competences include embracing cultural and linguistic 
diversity in the classroom, integrating the use of digital technologies, pedagogical approaches 
to  in-school  and  distance  environments,  uptake  of  new  competences  (as  ESD),  sharing  and 
developing  practices  with  the  education  community,  and  the  ability  to  manage  their  own 
career  progression.  While  92%  of  teachers  surveyed  in  TALIS  2018  report  regular 
participation in professional development, 21% of them declare a further need for training on 
teaching  students  with  special  needs;  16%  report  a  further  need  for  training  on  the  use  of 
information  and  communication  technology  (ICT)  for  teaching;  and  about  13%  report  a 
further need for training in teaching in multilingual and multicultural environments.   

4.1.7.

  The need for higher education transformation 

Over  the  past  10  years,  Europe  experienced  a  sizeable  increase  in  tertiary  educational 
attainment.  In  2009,  31.1%  of  the  population  of  30-34  year  olds  in  the  EU  held  a  tertiary 
degree.  The  rate  now  stands  at  40.3%  and  has  thus  reached  the  ET  2020  target.  However, 
despite  the  continuing  policy  focus  on  inclusion,  the  evidence  from  Eurostudent185 and  the 
Bologna  Process  Implementation  Report 186  shows  persisting  under-representation  of 
students with disadvantaged background in higher education.  

Women's tertiary  educational  rate is  on average in Europe 10 percentage  points higher than 
men's,  with  this  gap  increasing  year  after  year,  except  in  2019.  Generally  speaking,  the 

185 German  Centre  for  Higher  Education  Research  and  Science  Studies  (DZHW),  Eurostudent  VI:  Overview  and  selected 
findings, Social and economic conditions of student life in Europe, eurostudent.eu, 2018 
186  European  Commission/EACEA/Eurydice,  The  European  Higher  Education  Area  in  2018:  Bologna  Process 
Implementation Report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2018 

53 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
tertiary  educational  attainment  rate  is  higher  in  the  native  population  than  in  those  with  a 
recent  migration  history.  With  the  expansion  of  the  higher  education  sector,  it  is  timely  to 
examine  the  role  of  higher  education  institutions  in  society,  and  the  composition  of  their 
students, researchers and staff. 

In  addition,  while  increased  internationalisation  of  higher  education  offers  opportunities 
tohigher  education  institutions  in  Europe,  it  also  challenges  them  to  be  able  to  compete 
internationally. While Europe has many strong universities, very few of them are considered 
to  be among the world’s best  in  the post-Brexit situation in  international  rankings187.  Even 
though  rankings  need  to  be  interpreted  with  caution  due  to  the  methodologies  used, 
international  competitiveness  remains  key  for  higher  education  institutions  in  Europe. 
Evidence  shows  that  high  quality  education,  especially  where  students  are  exposed  to  an 
activating learning environment and work-based learning, prepare higher education graduates 
the best to enter the labour market188. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that  deeper  cooperation  across  borders,  disciplines 
and cultures is the only way to recover from the crisis and to build resilience. Nevertheless, a 
lot of potential remains untapped. A recent survey conducted by the Commission among the 
more  than  110  higher  education  institutions  engaged  in  the  first  17  Erasmus+  European 
Universities shows that all of them feel that they would have been better prepared to face the 
COVID-19 pandemic if their European University had already been fully operational by the 
time  of  the  pandemic’s  outbreak  last  winter.  But  more  than  60%  of  them  are  already  well 
advanced and consider that being part of a European University has already been helpful and 
crucial in addressing the current difficulties linked to the COVID-19 crisis. 

The  COVID-19  pandemic  has  also  accelerated  the  digital  transformation  of  higher 
education institutions, as programmes moved online in an emergency response to lockdowns 
throughout  Europe189.    While  the  pandemic  has  had  an  impact  on  specific  areas  in  higher 
education,  such  as  funding190,  digitalisation  and  equitable  access  to  digital  infrastructure, 
innovative pedagogies and student-centred learning, inclusion, student and staff support, and 
mobility191, higher education was already in a process of transformation.   

A  lot  of  potential  for  cooperation  currently  remains  untapped.  Even  though  a  lot  of 
cooperation is already taking place between higher education institutions in Europe, according 
to a survey, it appears that partners in only 8% of these transnational partnerships share their 

187 E.g. Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020, QS World University ranking 
188 European  Commission,  Eurograduate  pilot  survey:  Design  and  implementation  of  a  pilot  European  graduate  survey, 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020 
189 Surveys carried out in 2020 by European Universities Association (Survey on “digitally enhanced learning”, preliminary 
results) and European Students Union (Student life in the EHEA during the COVID-19 pandemic) show the scale and impact 
of the switch. 
190  European University Association, The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on university funding in Europe, 2020 
191  See  results  from  the  surveys  carried  out  by  the  European  University  Association  ((Survey  on  “digitally  enhanced 
learning”, preliminary results) and the European Students Union (Student life in the EHEA during the COVID-19 pandemic) 
on the initial impact of COVID-19 on higher education. 

54 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
assets.  Only  9%  have  shared  and  common  campuses 192.  Moreover,  according  to  another 
survey193,  around  65%  of  the  partnerships  do  not  offer  any  mobility  schemes  at  Bachelor 
level,  and  embedded  mobility  is  mainly  offered  at  Master  level.  It  appears  also  that  the 
majority of cooperation occurs mainly only at department/faculty level, on specific topics, and 
that only a bit more than 40% of the respondents indicated that their partnership involved the 
entire organisation.  

In addition to other funding possibilities for higher education institutions at the national and 
European  level,  Member  States  and  stakeholders  asked  for  sustainable  and  adequate 
funding  of  European  Universities  at  both  European  and  national  levels,  as  well  as  for 
synergies  between  European  programmes  and  funds (Erasmus, Horizon, Digital Europe, 
structural  funds,  EFSI/InvestEU)  and  national  funds.  At  the  same  time,  stakeholders  and 
Members  States  called  on  the  Commission  during  consultation  meetings  to  foster  an 
enabling  operational  environment  allowing  for  deeper  and  seamless  transnational 
cooperation.  

Mutual  trust  in  Member  States’  education  systems  is  indispensable  to  achieve  the 
objectives  of  the  European  Education  Area,  which  is  built  on  transparent  quality  assurance 
systems  and  automatic  recognition  of  qualifications  and  learning  periods  abroad.  Work  has 
already  started  on  European  and  Member  State  level  with  the  adoption  of  the  Council 
Recommendation  on  Automatic  Recognition194 and  the  transparency  and  quality  assurance 
tools for higher education developed in the European and Bologna Process context.  

transnational  cooperation.  Although 

Deeper cooperation models, such as the European Universities, have shown the limits of the 
current quality assurance systems that are often not adapted and not flexible enough to such 
deep 
is  part  of  each 
universities’  activities,  they  are  still  firmly  embedded  within  their  country’s  policies  and 
legislation.  According  to  a  survey  of  the  European  University  Association,  59%  cite 
administrative  obstacles  to  deeper  cooperation  due  to  different  institutional  structures  and 
processes195. The COVID-19 crisis further emphasised the need for transnational cooperation 
in quality assurance.  

international  cooperation 

Notwithstanding progress in this area196, brought  about by for example the Bologna process 
and  the  European  Universities  initiative,  several  legal  and  administrative  barriers 
remain197. This was recognised both by the higher education institutions and Member States. 

192  European  University  Association,  International  strategic  institutional  partnerships  and  the  European  Universities 
Initiative: results of the EUA survey, 2020 
193 European  Commission,  ‘Mapping  of  European  Transnational  Collaborative  Partnerships  in  Higher  Education’,  JRC 
science for policy report, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2018 
194 Council  Recommendation  of  26  November  2018  on  promoting  automatic  mutual  recognition  of  higher  education  and 
upper secondary education and training qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad (OJ C 444, 10.12.2018, p. 
1–8) 
195 European University Association, The future of the European Universities Initiative, 2020 
196 European Commission/EACEA, Implementing Joint Degrees in the Erasmus Mundus action of the Erasmus+ programme, 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, forthcoming 
197  As  evidenced  in  a  recent  survey  performed  by  the  European  University  Association,  The  future  of  the  European 
Universities Initiative, 2020 

55 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
Several  national  legislation  and  administrative  practices  are  still  hampering  the  effective 
delivery of joint degrees and programmes across many countries in Europe. This concerns, for 
example, the accreditation of joint programmes, quality assurance, language requirements and 
formal requirements to diplomas issued. 

This  situation  creates  difficulties  in  developing  sustainable  cross-border  cooperation 
between  higher  education  institutions  across  Europe.  Currently,  an  enabling  policy 
framework for transnational cooperation between higher education institutions across Europe 
is  not  yet  fully  available,  hampering  the  development  of  deeper  and  closer  cooperation 
models. For this reason,  further work is needed for European University alliances and other 
types of university alliances to be able to flourish.  

4.1.8.

  Relevance of learning mobility for improved outcomes 

Learning  mobility  is  associated  with  future  mobility,  higher  earnings  and  lower 
unemployment.  It  improves  transversal  skills  such  as  communication  and  foreign  language 
skills  that  are  key  for  adaptation  to  the  globalised  economy  and  labour  market.  Despite  the 
gaps in data availability on learning mobility, it can be observed that in 2018, 13.5% of higher 
education graduates in the EU were mobile. These means that these graduates studied abroad, 
partly  or  entirely.  Overall  in  the  EU,  9.1%  of  the  graduates  had  a  temporary  experience 
abroad, known as ‘credit mobility’, and 4.3% graduated in a country which was not the one 
where they received their upper secondary school diploma, known as ‘degree mobility’198.  

Erasmus+  is  Europe’s  flagship  programme  providing  people  with  lifelong  learning  mobility 
opportunities.  Over the last three decades, more than 10 million  people have participated in 
Erasmus+  or  its  predecessor  programmes.  However,  the  2014-2020  Erasmus+  programme 
was  unable  to  meet  the  high  demand:  only  a  minority  of  young  people  aged  16-30  could 
benefit  from  the  “Erasmus  experience”  –  less  than  4%  of  young  people  living  in  Europe 
today.  In  addition,  the  mid-term  evaluation199 of  the  programme  and  stakeholder  feedback 
have pointed to the need to reach out to individuals with fewer opportunities even better and 
to facilitate the participation of smaller and grassroots organisations to make the programme 
more accessible.  

In  addition,  many  students  and  learners  across  Europe  still  face  a  wide  range  of  obstacles 
when  they  embark  upon  transnational  mobility,  in  particular  if  they  participate  in  mobility 
schemes  other  than  Erasmus+.  The  Mobility  Scoreboard 200 revealed  that  information  and 
guidance on learning mobility and foreign language preparation for prospective participants in 

198 Estimation  by  DG  EAC  based  on  extractions  from  Eurostat,  UOE,  and  OECD.  Online  data  codes:  [educ_uoe_grad01], 
[educ_uoe_mobg02] and [educ_uoe_mobc01] for graduates, degree-mobile graduates and credit-mobile graduates in the EU, 
EFTA,  EEA  and  candidate  countries.  Special  extraction  from  the  OECD  of  international  graduate  data  for  degree-mobile 
graduates of EU origin who graduated in non-European countries (Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Israel, Japan, Korea, 
New Zealand, Brazil and Russia). Eurostat, UOE, data extracted on 5 June 2020 and OECD data on 11 May 2020. For an 
overview of the procedure for estimating graduate mobility, see European Commission, Learning Mobility II: An estimation 
of the benchmark. JRC Science for Policy Report, Publications Office of the European Union, 2018 
199  Commission  Staff  Working  Document  on  the  Mid-term  evaluation  of  the  Erasmus  Programme  (2014-2020), 
COM/2018/050 final 
200 https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/en/mobility-scoreboard  

56 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
mobility schemes is uneven, not all countries allow full portability of public grants and loans, 
not all countries fully recognise learning outcomes and qualifications, and significant progress 
is needed in supporting disadvantaged learners. Furthermore, the outbreak of the COVID-19 
pandemic  has  posed  unprecedented  challenges  to  learning  mobility  including  travel 
restrictions, social distancing requirements and the fast adoption of online learning practices.  

4.1.9.

  Non-formal and informal learning and volunteering  

Volunteering  and  solidarity  activities  are  an  important  tool  for  strengthening  cohesion  and 
solidarity  among  Member  States  and  beyond,  bringing  together  different  people,  supporting 
communities,  reinforcing  the  work  of  non-profit  organisations,  and  developing  young 
people’s skills and personality thus increasing their employability. Youth having participated 
in European Voluntary Service (EVS)201 projects report that the experience was beneficial to 
their  personal  development  (96%)  gaining  insights  about  themselves  and  their  abilities,  to 
their  language  skills  (93%),  interpersonal  and  social  competences  (75%),  and  helped  them 
identify  their  professional  future  and  clarify  what  they  want  to  do  in  their  life  and  career 
(80%)202.  Involving  more  young  people  in  solidarity  could  also  decrease  social  effects  of 
exclusion, inactivity, and unemployment that lead to negative sentiments, such as frustration 
and loneliness increase of which has been reported among the youth. Seeing that volunteering 
has  such  varied  and  positive  benefits  it  is  important  to  involve  more  young  people  in 
solidarity and volunteering activities. 

The European Education Area should take into account the full scope of learning, as more and 
more learning takes place outside schools and without the support of formal institutions and 
teachers203. 7.9% of the  young people  (aged 15-19) in  the EU had taken part in  non-formal 
education and training over the last 4 weeks in 2009, where they were 14.1% in 2019204. 

Non-formal and informal learning through youth work or solidarity activities supported by the 
European Solidarity Corps provides unique learning opportunities to many young Europeans. 
While  these  opportunities  are  important  for  all  young  people,  they  can  be  particularly 
beneficial to those who are at an educational disadvantage205. The Impact Study on European 
Volunteers from 2017206 showed that 63% of young volunteers participating in the European 
Voluntary  Service  (EVS)  mentioned  benefits  for  their  career  prospects  as  part  of  their 
motivation. Especially those with fewer opportunities said to engage in EVS to improve their 

201 EVS, formerly part of Erasmus+, converged along with other programmes into the European Solidarity Corps, established 
in  2018  as  a programme  in  its own  right,  with  a  view  to  providing  a  greater  number  of  opportunities  for  young  people to 
express solidarity through volunteering and with an extended scope.   
202 European Commission,  Study  on  the  Impact   of  Transnational Volunteering   through  the   European  Voluntary  Service, 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2017 
203  European  Commission,  Youth  work  and  non-formal  learning  in  Europe's  education  landscape,  European 
Commission, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2017 
204 Eurostat, online data code [yth_educ_060] 
205 Commission Staff Working Document on The situation of the young people in the EU (SWD/2018/169 final) 
206 European Commission,  Study  on  the  Impact   of  Transnational Volunteering   through  the   European  Voluntary  Service, 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2017 

57 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
career  prospects  and/or  enhance  their  employability.  The  pilot  European  Graduate  survey207 
also shows that voluntary work carried out during one’s study period increases the likelihood 
of finding a job that matches well the level and field of graduation. 

The  evolution  of  the  mobility  landscape,  the  introduction  of  the  European  Solidarity  Corps 
and  other  societal  changes  such  as  digitalisation,  provide  strong  reasons  for  reviewing  and 
modernising the current policy framework which is which is mainly set by the 2008 Council 
Recommendation  on  the  mobility  of  young  volunteers 208.  A  recent  study  on  obstacles  to 
volunteering 209  pointed  notably  to  obstacles  regarding  fragmentation  in  information  and 
outreach,  lack  of  portability  of  social  welfare  support  and  recognition,  all  of  which  mostly 
would  deter  young  people  from  disadvantaged  background  to  join  the  European  Solidarity 
Corps. This comes in addition to evidence210 showing a growing interest among young people 
to be active in solidarity. 

4.1.10.

 The European Education Area in the world 

The role of education in EU external policy is growing.  EU programmes, Erasmus+ and the 
Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions in particular, are internationally well known, recognised and 
cost effective and have the potential to carry Europe’s messages and fundamental values far 
beyond  its  borders.  They  are  the  vehicles  for  implementing  our  policies,  as  they  provide  a 
solid  basis  for  people-to-people  cooperation,  project  a  positive  image  of  Europe  around  the 
world  and  reach  out  to  large  numbers  of  stakeholders,  including  civil  society.  There  is  a 
potential  for  the  various  alumni  associations  of  students  and  researchers  having  benefitted 
from  EU  funding  through  Erasmus+  and  the  MSCA  to  act  as  ambassadors  of  the  EU,  its 
programmes  and  values,  notably  through  people-to-people  contacts  and  education-science 
diplomacy. 

Within Erasmus+, there are a number of international cooperation actions covering the whole 
world.  Two actions promote the mobility of students, and academic staff for either short term 
“credit”  mobility,  or  longer  term  Master  degree  mobility.  In  addition,  Erasmus+  funds 
capacity  building  actions  (around  150  projects  every  year).  These  mutually  beneficial 
partnerships  with  European  partners  help  modernise  and  internationalise  higher  education 
institutions  and  systems  in  partner  countries,  and  strengthen  the  role  that  higher  education 
plays  in  the  economy  society  in  general.  Every  year  Erasmus+  funds  cooperation  projects 
between  Europe  and  the  rest  of  the  world  worth  around  EUR  400  million.  Jean  Monnet 
actions  aim  to  promote  excellence  in  teaching  and  research  in  the  field  of  European  Union 
studies  worldwide.  With  over  90  countries  throughout  the  world  and  more  than  1000 

207 European  Commission,  Eurograduate  pilot  survey:  Design  and  implementation  of  a  pilot  European  graduate  survey, 
Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020 
208 Council Recommendation of 20 November 2008 on the mobility of young volunteers across the European Union (OJ C 
319, 13.12.2008, p. 8–10) 
209 European  Commission,  Study  on  removing  obstacles  to  cross-border  solidarity  activities,  Publications  Office  of  the 
European Union, Luxembourg, 2020 
210 Flash Eurobarometer 478, How to build a stronger, more united Europe? The views of young people, 2019 

58 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
universities offering Jean Monnet courses as part of their curricula, these actions have become 
truly global, strongly contributing to promoting EU values worldwide. 

In  addition  to  short  term  academic  exchanges 211,  Erasmus  is  committed  to  excellence  in 
teaching and promoting joint degrees.  As such, the Erasmus Mundus action offers around full 
Master scholarships, typically for two years, to the best and brightest students from around the 
world.    These  students  study  in  at  least  two  European  countries  and  graduate  with  a  world 
class joint or multiple Master degree.  In more than fifteen years of activity, Mundus consortia 
have offered more than 28,000 scholarships to students from 183 countries around the world.  
The  action  has  showcased  the  excellence  of  European  Higher  Education  around  the  world, 
with “Mundus” becoming a byword for life-changing scholarships, resulting in vibrant alumni 
communities in all corners of the globe, who are the best advertisement for European Higher 
Education. 

While the Mundus action has always been open to non-European university partners, to date 
these partners, present in more than half of all consortia, have played an auxiliary role, largely 
limited to offering short training opportunities and input into the design of Master curricula.  
From  2021  this  will  change  and  non-European  partners  are  invited  to  play  a  full  part  in 
consortia: they will be able to host students for up to half the length of the Master degree and 
will  be  expected  to  issue  joint  or  multiple  degrees  alongside  their  European  counterparts.  
This is a significant change and reflects the global ambitions of universities in Europe to form 
consortia committed to excellence in teaching, wherever the excellence is found. 

International  cooperation  is  also  a  very  important  feature  of  the  Marie  Sklodowska-Curie 
Actions (MSCA), allowing HEIs setting-up strategic and sustainable partnerships worldwide, 
notably for the development of innovative doctoral programmes. MSCA are also instrumental 
for attracting foreign talents in Europe and for providing European researchers with access to 
unique expertise, facilities, testing environments or data available only outside Europe. 

In addition to the programme opportunities afforded by Erasmus+, the Commission maintains 
active policy dialogues with key strategic partners.  Separate regional dialogues are held with 
Eastern  Partnership,  South  Mediterranean,  and  Western  Balkan  countries,  and  individual 
dialogues  engage  strategic  partner  countries  such  as  China,  Japan,  or  South  Africa.    These 
dialogues  cover the widest  range of educational  issues of interest  to  the  EU and the partner 
countries: from early childhood education and care; through digitisation in secondary school 
teaching; and best practice in VET and higher education focusing particularly on twenty-first 
century skills and relevance to the labour market. 

The  European  Education  Area  enabling  framework  should  also  help  address  the  role  of  the 
EU  in  the  Western  Balkans.  The  strategy  “A  credible  enlargement  perspective  for  and 
enhanced  EU  engagement  with  the  Western  Balkans”  adopted  in  2018,  recognised  the 
European future of the region and called for significant enhancement of the EU’s political, 

211 The International Credit Mobility (ICM) action has supported over 200 000 participants since 2015 including students and 
staff. 

59 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
technical  and  financial  support,  to  boost  the  economic  growth  and  support  the  reforms 
required to move forward on the EU path. The strategy called for significant enhancement of 
the EU’s political, technical and financial support to the region, including concrete actions in 
education and training, like the doubling of the Erasmus+ funds allocated to the region for the 
period 2019-2020. 

All  Western  Balkan  countries  but  Kosovo 212 are  members  of  the  EHEA  and  are  making 
steady progress in the implementation of the Bologna process. With the exception of Kosovo 
and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the remaining partners of the region  already  participate in  the 
different Working Groups of the Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education 
and Training (ET 2020), which however remains uneven both at regional and national level. 
Alongside strengthening the implementation of the Bologna process in the framework of the 
EHEA, it will be important to prepare the region to also benefit in the long-term of the EEA.  

4.2. Working  together  towards  the  European  Education  Area  –  a  new  enabling 

framework 

Experience  from  ET  2020  points  to  clear  avenues  for  improvement  that  the  European 
Education Area enabling framework can take forward, including stronger political guidance, 
more policy innovation and flexible mutual learning arrangements. 

In a targeted consultation in 2019, Member States emphasized the need to strengthen the link 
between  discussions  at  the  political  level  and  the  implementation  at  the  operational  level 
(working groups, peer learning activities, etc.). The ET 2020 implementation further showed 
varying levels of participation on the part of Directors-General, which the later consultations 
showed was the result of varying levels of policy relevance to the participants. These findings 
were supported in a separate non-paper endorsed by 15 Member States, as well as the external 
assessment  of  ET  2020.  The  European  Education  Area  enabling  framework  should  address 
this challenge.  

The Member States prefer to  maintain  working  groups as a central avenue for operational 
cooperation and policy learning in the future. At the same time, they emphasized the need for 
strengthening  cooperation  between  education  and  training  sectors  and  levels,  as  well  as 
cooperation between other economic  and social  policies. Peer counselling and peer learning 
activities’ impact was, however, limited by the opportunity for dissemination and could have 
benefitted from stronger links to the other elements of the cooperation framework. Evidence 
also  pointed  to  strong  Member  State  interest  in  a  more  innovative  and  future-oriented 
perspective  of  support  to  reforms,  through  a  concrete  focus  on  specific  current  challenges, 
benefitting all Member States.  

Future cooperation arrangements should continue to build on clear mandates, though not to 
the detriment of the flexibility that allows them to be relevant for most Member States. The 

212 This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the 
Kosovo Declaration of Independence 

60 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
working  groups’  mandates  should  remain  practice-oriented  and  focused  on  concrete  issues, 
but  greater  care  should  be  taken  with  respect  to  the  definition  of  concrete  objectives  of 
meetings,  and  the  elaboration  of  deliverables.  The  future  working  arrangements  should 
likewise share clear agreed outputs.  

The  ET  2020  external  assessment  addressed  the  use  of  Yammer  digital  cooperation 
platform between 2016 and 2018. It found that Yammer was mostly used as an information 
sharing platform, rather than for collaborative work and webinars. While this did not meet the 
initial  expectations,  the  existence  of  a  ready-made  platform  and  the  experience  in  its  use 
helped set the stage for the use of Yammer as a cooperation platform during the COVID-19 
lockdown. These collaborations helped support the policy responses to the crisis.  

Cooperation  in  the  European  Education  Area  will  need  to  support  reforms  in  the  Member 
States. In this regard, the European Semester plays an important role in the context of crisis 
response and recovery and as a driver of just transitions to a more digital and greener Europe. 
The 2020 European Semester country specific recommendations covered education and skills 
in  23  Member  States.  The  significant  funding  made  available  through  the  Recovery  and 
Resilience Facility is also expected to add further impetus to education reform and investment 
in  education.  Voluntary  EU  cooperation  to  establish  and  develop  the  European  Education 
Area is  separate from  the European Semester but  the two nevertheless share  common  goals 
through  alignment  with  the  Sustainable  Development  Goals,  the  European  Pillar  of  Social 
Rights and other EU strategies. Future European Education Area efforts will therefore need to 
work hand in hand with the European Semester.  

Despite strong potential for synergy and complementarity, EU-level cooperation in ET 2020 
remained  largely  separate  from  that  in  the  fields  of  research  and  innovation.  Joint  efforts  – 
such as through shared meetings or calls for funding – remained an exception rather than the 
norm.  The  2019  external  assessment  and  the  Member  State  non  paper  both  emphasized  the 
need  for  stronger  cooperation  in  the  future.  The  European  Education  Area  should  therefore 
strengthen links with the European Research Area. 

The ET 2020 mid-term evaluation and the 2019 external assessment found mixed  results of 
dissemination efforts in ET 2020, a concern shared also by Member States and stakeholders. 
For  example,  there  was  a  lack  of  consistent  dissemination  at  the  Member  State  level,  and 
language accessibility was mentioned as a challenge213. The stakeholder survey emphasized in 
particular  the  importance  of  maintaining  a  dedicated  annual  stakeholder  forum,  both  as  a 
dissemination  and  a  co-creation  opportunity.  The  2019  external  assessment  of  ET  2020 
recommended more regular and systematic dissemination  of  the  cooperation  deliverables, 
potentially in several languages, and a common portal where all stakeholders could  find the 
dates,  agenda  and  other  documents  of  different  meetings.  It  likewise  recommended 
developing  a  communication  strategy  consisting  of  general  and  key  dissemination  roles 
between the European Commission and Member States.  

213 The national analysis portion of the Education and Training Monitor being a notable exception. 

61 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
Preparing for a new generation of targets 

As  regards  future  work  on  targets,  monitoring  and  evidence,  Member  States  supported  the 
overall approach of EU targets but voiced the request214 to keep the number limited in order to 
maximise  their  effectiveness.  They  also  called  for  continuity  to  the  current  cooperation 
framework.  Beyond  this,  Member  States  emphasised  the  importance  of  subsidiarity  on 
common  targets,  to  varying  degrees.  They  have  also  expressed  an  interest  in  a  continued 
annual  review of education and training policy updates across the EU,  as well as continued 
cooperation among Member States experts in evidence-based policy making in education and 
training (the SGIB).  

To  match  these  requests,  starting  from  2017,  the  European  Commission  has  engaged  in 
technical  preparatory  work  for  developing  a  new  set  of  education  and  training  targets,  in 
cooperation  with  experts  from  Member  States  in  the  Standing  Group  on  Indicators  and 
Benchmarks (SGIB). The exercise consisted in reviewing the policy priority and robustness of 
international  data  in  twelve  areas,  including  the  Europe  2020  headline  targets  in  education 
(early leaving from education and training and tertiary educational  attainment), all the other 
ET  2020  benchmarks  (see  section  3.2.2)  and  other  emerging  priorities  (multilingualism; 
digital  competence;  participation  in  vocational  education  and  training;  entrepreneurship 
education;  expenditure  in  education).  For  each  area,  existing  measurement  tools  and 
possibilities for indicator development were explored. 

The European Commission proposes a set of targets to be achieved by the EU as a whole by 
2030 in the following areas: 

The share of low-achieving 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics and science  

This  indicator  captures  an  essential  element  of  quality  of  school  education  and  puts  the 
spotlight  of  one  the  main  challenges  that  education  faces  today  –  ensuring  high  learning 
outcomes  for  all.  To  note  that  qualifying  as  an  underachiever  in  PISA  means  failing  to 
complete  basic  tasks  and  is  essentially  a  measure  of  educational  poverty.  Underachieving 
pupils  will  likely  have  difficulty  building  on  knowledge  and  skills  that  are  more  advanced, 
developing critical media literacy and, later in life, finding and maintaining work. 

The data source for this target is the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA), 
as collected and administered by the OECD215 every three years. The benchmark measures the 
share of 15-year-olds who fail to reach level 2 on the PISA scale for reading, mathematics or 
science (three separate measures). The  share  of  low-achieving  eight-graders  in  computer 
and information literacy  

It  is  no  longer  enough  to  consider  mathematics,  reading  and  science  as  basic  skills.  Digital 
skills  are a requisite for  learning, interacting  and working  –  and the covid-19 pandemic has 

214 Through  the  external  assessment  of  ET  2020  tools  and  deliverables,  and  through  the  Standing  Group on  Indicators  and 
Benchmarks. 
215 http://www.oecd.org/pisa/ 

62 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
only increased what was an already ongoing digital transformation of life and work. Out of 14 
countries  who  participated  in  the  first  two  rounds  of  the  International  Computer  and 
Information Literacy Survey, only one had a share of underachieving pupils lower than 15% 
(CZ,  tested  in  2013).  Therefore,  the  proposal  is  to  construct  a  package  of  ‘basic  and  digital 
skills’ and set an equivalent threshold level for the two. 

The  indicator  is  based  on  the  Computer  and  Information  Literacy  (CIL)  measure  from  the 
International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) executed by the International 
Association  for  the  Evaluation  of  Educational  Achievement  (IEA)  every  five  years.  The 
scientific soundness and international comparability of the data collection is undisputed. 

Participation  of  children  between  three  years  old  and  the  age  for  starting  compulsory 
primary education in early childhood education (or ISCED 0.2). 

Participation  in  high  quality  early  childhood  education  correlates  with  better  learning 
outcomes  and  increased  social  mobility  later  in  life.  Its  positive  contribution  proves 
particularly  beneficial  for  children  from  disadvantaged  socio-economic  backgrounds.  While 
participation in early childhood education is overall high in Europe for children above the age 
of 4, there is scope to broaden the age range to the 3+ group. In that group, 12 EU countries 
are below the 98% participation target. Setting a target in ECEC would also help maintaining 
a high policy attention on this particularly important education level. 

Data  for  monitoring  enrolments  in  early  childhood  education  are  collected  by  Eurostat 
(UNESCO-OECD-Eurostat or UOE data collection)216. 

The share of people aged 20-24 with at least upper secondary education  

People with low levels of education are exposed to lower employment rates, lower earnings, 
and  lower  rates  of  adult  learning.  Under  ET  2020,  there  was  an  indicator  on  early  leaving 
from education and training. The objective was to bring the EU average below 10% by 2020. 
In the last years, this proportion has moved slowly  – often by .1 per year. Keeping virtually 
everyone  in  education  at  least  until  they  complete  upper  secondary  schooling  is  a  main 
objective of the EU’s strategy for sustainable growth and employment (Europe 2020). Hence, 
the EC is proposing monitoring upper secondary achievement. This places a greater emphasis 
on  completion  of  formal  education  and  also  points  to  the  idea  that  completing  upper 
secondary education progressively became ‘a minimum standard’. To note also that the new 
indicator gets rids of distortions created in the ELET indicator by participation in short-term 
training  experiences.  The  threshold  level  was  set  as  a  reference  to  the  latest  EU  average, 
which is 83.5% (2019 data).  

The data source used for evaluating Member States’ progress with regard to this benchmark is 
the EU Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS), administered on a yearly basis by Eurostat. 

216 UOE  Statistics  are  compiled  based  on  national  administrative  sources,  reported  by  Ministries  of  Education  or  National 
Statistical offices according to international standards, definitions and classifications. 

63 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
The share of 30-34 year-olds with tertiary educational attainment  

A changing European labour market needs more people with tertiary education that can easily 
up-skill  and  re-skill.  In  addition,  graduates  from  higher  educational  levels  can  better 
contribute to economic and societal innovation. Higher educational attainment is associated to 
higher  earnings,  lower  unemployment  risk,  better  health  and  more  active  participation  in 
society.  Setting  a  target  on  tertiary  education  will  help  countries  continue  to  invest  in  this 
education sector, which  also  risks being hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The message that 
the EC  intends  to  give is that participation in  education and educational  attainment  matters. 
The  2018  Monitor  has  demonstrated  that  it  matters  not  only  for  employability  reasons,  but 
also for the degree of an active participation in democratic life. 

The indicator is based on the EU Labour Force Survey, covering all EU countries217. Boosting 
smart investment 

Scholarly  discussion  is  still  ongoing  on    quality  investment  in  education  and  training, 
balancing  effectiveness  and  efficiency  and  smart  investment  approaches.  Nevertheless, 
evidence shows that certain policy choices have a higher impact on education outcomes. For 
example,  high  quality  early  childhood  education  and  care  (ECEC)  sets  the  foundations  for 
children’s lifelong development and success in education218. Making the teaching profession 
more attractive, enhancing school autonomy and preventing or redressing school segregation 
stand  out  as  promising  measures  to  increase  the  effectiveness  and  equity  of  school 
education219. Nevertheless, more work is needed to support smart investment in education 
and the Council has invited more work in this regard at the EU level220. 

In order to respond to the COVID-19 crisis that affected Europe in the first half of 2020, the 
European  Commission  has  decided  to  present  a  reinforced,  ambitious  and  innovative  EU 
long-term  budget  for  a  European  recovery  in  May  2020221.  The  new  package  updates  the 
original  proposal  for  a  reinforced  Multi-annual  Financial  Framework  for  2021-2027,  and 
puts  forward  a  European  Recovery  Instrument  (“Next  Generation  EU”)  that  will 
temporarily boost the EU budget  with  new financing raised on the financial markets.  Funds 
will  be  channelled  through  EU  programmes  to  underpin  the  immediate  measures  needed  to 
get the economy back on its feet and foster sustainable and resilient growth. 

217 The time series is not comparable for Austria due to the reclassification of the qualification upon successful completion of 
higher technical and vocational colleges, from level 4 in ISCED 1997 to level 5 in ISCED 2011. 
218 Schoon, I. et al., The Impact of Early Life Skills on Later Outcomes, UCL Institute for Education, London, 2015 
219 European Commission, Education and Training Monitor 2019, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 
2019 
220  The  Council  Resolution  on  further  developing  the  European  Education  Area  calls  on  the  Member  States  and  the 
Commission  “to  promote  cooperation  and  sharing  of  evidence  of  the  benefits  of  investing  in  education  and  training,  as 
improved  knowledge,  data  and  analysis  regarding  the  benefits  of  efficient  public  investment  in  education  and  training  can 
help  Member  States  to  develop  more  inclusive,  effective  and  responsive  education  and  training  systems,  while  avoiding 
additional administrative burdens on the Member States” (OJ C 389, 18.11.2019, p. 1–6). 
221 Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European Parliament,  The  European  Council,  The  Council,  The  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  on  The  EU  budget  powering  the  recovery  plan  for 
Europe (COM(2020) 442 final) 

64 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
The  reinforced  Multiannual  Financial  Framework  2021-2027  and  the  Next  Generation  EU 
channel  more  funds  than  ever  before  into  education  and  training,  as  well  as  digital  skills, 
through  several  programmes.  The  new  Erasmus  Programme 222  will  be  a  key  funding 
instrument  in  achieving  the  European  Education  Area  by  2025  through  learning  mobility 
opportunities to all generations, facilitating digital transformation, strengthening cross-border 
cooperation  and  policy  innovation,  and  supporting  educational  institutions  at  all  levels. 
Together  with  other  EU  flagship  programmes,  such  as  Horizon  Europe  or  Digital  Europe, 
Erasmus  will  help  drive  the  EU-level  work  on  the  European  Education  Area.  The 
Commission  has  also  announced  support  to  education  and  training  reforms  in  the  Member 
States through the Recovery and Resilience Facility223, the Technical Support Instrument 
TSI),  and  the  European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds,  including  the  European  Social 
Fund Plus (ESF+)224 and the European Regional and Development Fund (ERDF)225. The 
InvestEU programme226 will be another possibility to mobilise public and private investment 
to further strengthen support to education and training. 

CONCLUSIONS  

Education  and  training  is  a  powerful  tool  for  transcending  challenges  and  opening  new 
frontiers.  Learning  throughout  one’s  life  is  a  fundamental  human  experience  that  is  a 
critical ingredient of 21st century European society and economy. It enables children and 
young  people  to  thrive,  no  matter  their  circumstances;  and  equips  adults  with  the  skills 
that they need to succeed in the job market and foster innovation, creativity and resilience 
across  all  aspects  of  life.  The  benefits  of  education  transcend  the  individual,  but  also 
purely material considerations – they resonate through our society and culture. 

Providing  quality  and  inclusive  education  for  all  is  a  shared  endeavour  for  EU  Member 
States  –  while  respecting  and  cherishing  the  diversity  of  their  educational  traditions. 
Transformational  trends,  such  as  demographic  change,  digitalisation  and  technological 
advancement,  the  transition  to  a  sustainable  economy  and  society;  present  additional 
demands as well as opportunities for education and training. The Covid-19 pandemic has 
amplified the need for building future-oriented education and training systems as well as 
for  strengthened  European  cooperation  to  tackle  old  and  new  challenges  alike. 
Importantly,  it  is  crucial  to  prevent  that  measures  introduced  perpetuate  or  further 
entrench structural inequalities in educational settings. 

The  European  Education  Area  encapsulates  a  coherent  vision  for  education  and  training 
that  adapts  to  and  evolves  with  the  changes  of  our  times,  but  keeps  a  focus  on  learners, 
teachers  and  institutions  –  the  human  dimension.  Actions  at  European  level  enable 
students, teachers, trainers, school leaders, youth workers, schools and tertiary institutions 

222 COM(2018) 367 final 
223 COM(2020) 408 final 
224 COM(2018) 382 final and COM(2020) 447 final 
225 COM(2018) 372 final and COM(2020) 452 final 
226 COM(2020) 403 final 

65 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
to  embark  on  a  mobility  experience,  associate  with  each  other  and  engage  in  deeper 
cooperation.  Further  initiatives  and  tools  support  the  recognition  of  qualifications  for 
further learning and skills for the labour market. Another category of European Education 
Area initiatives provide policy guidance for educational authorities and institutions on key 
competences, teaching and learning languages, high quality early childhood education and 
care  and  embracing  common  values in  classrooms.  These  actions,  together  with the  new 
ones proposed in the Communication, will continue to form the constituent elements of a 
genuine European space of learning. 

Based  on  the  results  of  assessments  and  consultations  with  Member  States  and 
Stakeholders,  the  expiring  Strategic  Framework  on  European  Cooperation  in  Education 
and  Training  (ET  2020)  has  delivered  on  its  objectives  to  engage  participants  in  mutual 
learning,  and  to  contribute  to  the  collection  of  internationally  comparable  data  and  the 
creation of a common knowledge base in European education and training.  Together with 
guidance  through  the  European  Semester  and  other  policy  support  tools,  it  has  also 
effectively contributed to policy reforms in national contexts. As such, the legacy of two 
decades  of  strategic  cooperation  provides  a  fertile  ground  for  continued  cooperation  and 
for  further  implementing  the  European  Education  Area.  The  consultations  have  also 
revealed that stakeholders support a more flexible approach when it comes to the tools of 
cooperation  and  learning,  tailored  to  policy  needs  and  emerging  challenges.  They  also 
confirmed  the  need  to  reinforce  political  ownership,  maintaining  strong  links  with 
research,  business  and  civil  society;  and  ensure  a  better  dissemination  of  the  results  of 
European  cooperation.  The  preparatory  technical  work  on  ET  2020  indicators  and  other 
areas of analysis has prepared the ground for a new generation of indicators and targets.  

The  analysis  of  key  trends  in  education  and  training,  and  the  inputs  from  stakeholders 
have  enabled  the  European  Commission  to  identify  a  number  of  issue  areas  where 
European action can bring added value. These include, inter alia, ensuring that all pupils 
have  a  fair  chance  to  succeed  in  school;  supporting  adults  in  acquiring  and  upgrading 
competences;  supporting  and  valorising  the  teaching  profession;  supporting  the  ongoing 
transformation  in  higher  education;  promote  effective  practices  for  gender  equality;  and 
enhancing the external dimension of the European Education Area. 

66 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEXES   

67 

 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX I – SUMMARY TABLE OF EUROPEAN EDUCATION AREA INITIATIVES  

Overview of European Education Area initiatives 

Initiatives 2016-2020: 

Title of the initiative  Title of EU act(s) announcing or 

Adoption 

Progress 

Upskilling Pathways / 
New Skills Agenda for 
Europe 

Revised European 
Qualifications 
Framework 

Graduate Tracking 
Initiative 

implementing the action 
Council Recommendation of 19 
December 2016 on Upskilling 
Pathways: New Opportunities for 
Adults 
Council recommendation of 22 May 
2017 on the European Qualifications 
Framework for lifelong learning and 
repealing the recommendation of the 
European Parliament and of the 
Council of 23 April 2008 on the 
establishment of the European 
Qualifications Framework for 
lifelong learning 
Council Recommendation of 20 
November 2017 on tracking 
graduates 

19 December 
2016 

22 May 2017 

20 November 
2017 

European Student 
Card Initiative 

European Council conclusions of 14 
December 2017 

14 Dec 2017 

All countries have now adopted National Qualifications Frameworks, and in the majority 
of countries the NQF is now in an advanced operational stage, meaning that NQFs have 
become an integrated part of national education and training systems and are based on 
learning outcomes. 

An Expert Group on graduate tracking was set up in 2018 with the objective to propose 
recommendations on how best to collect comparative EU data on graduate outcomes. 
They will be presented in a report in autumn 2020. In June 2020, the results of the Pilot 
European graduate survey were published, as well as the study mapping graduate tracking 
practices in Member States, UK and EEA member countries. Based on the findings of the 
study, the survey and the work of the Expert Group, The Commission services have 
launched capacity-building activities to support Member States in their further efforts, 
through the Erasmus+ programme. The capacity building kicked-off on 25 June 2020. In 
2021, a call will be launched for further roll out of the European graduate survey to 16 
countries and in 2022, the Commission will take stock of progress made in implementing 
the recommendation. 
Starting in 2015, the digital infrastructure, services and various functionalities necessary to 
achieve  paperless  Erasmus+  mobility  administration  have  been  developed  step  by  step 
through  Erasmus+  cooperation  projects  and  are  now  being  piloted  by  over  2000 
universities  across  Europe.  This  is  being  done  via  the  Erasmus  Without  Paper  Network 
which connects universities’ various IT systems together. 

68 

 
 
 
 
 
The  full  roll-out  with  the  objective  of  having  all  5000+  higher  education  institutions 
participating  in  the  new  Erasmus  programme  connected  will  start  in  2021,  by 
implementing  the  digital  administrative  workflows  and  seamlessly  exchange  of  mobility 
data.  

During the piloting phase, around 2.3 million student cards have been produced with the 
‘European  Student’  hologram  by  150  entities  in  15  Member  States.  As  a  next  step,  a 
digital  version  will  be  developed  which  mobile  students  can  display  in  the  Erasmus+ 
Mobile  App  (which  to  date  has  over  85,000  downloads).    Another  step  is  to  enable 
students to authenticate themselves online using their national electronic identities through 
the eIDAS system or home university credentials, wherefore DG EAC cooperates closely 
with  DG  CNECT,  which  is  supporting  the  development  of  the  necessary  technical 
infrastructure  for  the  higher  education  sector  through  the  Connecting  Europe  Facility 
(CEF)  funding  mechanism,  by  the  development  and  rollout  of  the  EU  Student  eCard 
digital  service  infrastructure  for  the  integration  of  eIDAS  authentication  in  cross-border 
student  services.  A  blueprint  of  the  European  Student  eID  for  higher  education  was 
published in April, and the concept is now being piloted by connecting the eID scheme to 
the  Erasmus+  Mobile  App  and  Erasmus  without  Paper  Network,  which  should  be  in 
production  by  the  end  of  2020.  With  the  support  of  the  Erasmus,  Connecting  Europe 
Facility  and  Digital  Europe  programmes,  the  Commission  will  start  a  gradual  rollout  of 
these  services  starting  with  Erasmus  students  in  2021  with  the  aim  of  benefitting  all 
mobile students in Europe by 2025, pending the . 

17 January 
2018 

Implementation ongoing until the end of 2020. Update under preparation and scheduled 
for adoption in September 2020. 

15 March 2018 

Implementation report forthcoming 2021. 

22 May 2018 

The promotion and further development of the framework is ongoing:  
1. A conference was held on 12-13 Nov. 2019 in Brussels: Supporting Key Competence 
Development: Learning approaches and environments in school education 
2. A new European Framework for Personal, Social and Learning to Learn Key 

69 

Digital Education 
Action Plan 

European Framework 
for Quality and 
Effective 
Apprenticeships 
Key Competences for 
Lifelong Learning 

Communication from the 
Commission to the European 
Parliament, the Council, the 
European Economic and Social 
Committee and the Committee of the 
Regions on the Digital Education 
Action Plan 
Council Recommendation of 15 
March 2018 on a European 
Framework for Quality and Effective 
Apprenticeship 
Council Recommendation of 22 May 
2018 on key competences for lifelong 
learning 

 
 
 
 
 
Promoting common 
values, inclusive 
education and the 
European dimension 
of teaching 
Automatic Mutual 
Recognition 

22 May 2018 

26 Nov 2018 

Council Recommendation of 22 May 
2018 on promoting common values, 
inclusive education, and the 
European dimension of teaching 

Council Recommendation of 26 
November 2018 on promoting 
automatic mutual recognition of 
higher education and upper secondary 
education and training qualifications 
and the outcomes of learning periods 
abroad 

Competence (LifeComp) was developed (June 2020). 
3. Two projects for 2020/21 with JRC have been signed, i.e. on the “Implementation of the 
LifeComp competence framework (LifeCompintoPractice)” and on the “DigCompEdu 
Self-Reflection tool for Teachers in compulsory education (DigCompEduCheck-in)”. 

The implementation of the Recommendation brings together around 20 actions across 
various policies and programmes in education, youth, culture and sport, including the 
work of the ET 2020 Working Group on Promoting common values and inclusive 
education. 

In higher education, the Recommendation builds on the progress already made in the 
context of the Bologna Process, the Lisbon Recognition Convention, and between groups 
of Member States (Benelux, Nordics, Baltics). Giving effect to the Recommendation 
requires the use of existing tools that support recognition, such as the European 
Qualifications Framework, the Diploma Supplement and the European Credit Transfer and 
Accumulation System. 

In  school  education,  less  concrete  preparatory  work  exists  between  the  Member  States. 
The Recommendation therefore proposes to launch a Union level cooperation process with 
Member States and stakeholders to foster transparency and build mutual trust.  

Work is taken forward through: 
-  The new Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) now includes automatic 
recognition as a key commitment which the involved higher education institutions 
have to respect in order to have access to the Erasmus programme. 

-  Peer learning activities, involving National Academic Recognition Information 
Centres, higher education institutions and ministries, to focus on good practice in 
implementing the recommendation.  

-  Creation of a dedicated page on ENIC (European Network of Information Centres in 
the European Region) - NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centres 
in  the  European  Union)  website  and  use  of  ENIC-NARIC  and  Erasmus+  social 
media to promote automatic recognition. 

-  Cooperation  with  the  existing  network  of  National  Academic  Recognition 
Information  Centres  (NARICs);  creation  of  guidance  material  and  an  online 
information service of school-leaving certificates in the EU. 
Implementing a two-year European Parliament preparatory action on recognition of 
secondary study periods abroad.  

- 

-  The  activities  on  quality  assurance  in  the  ET  2020  Working  Group  Schools  (peer 

70 

 
 
 
 
 
learning  activities,  outputs  with  key  messages  and  country  examples)  support  the 
implementation of the Recommendation. 

-  Erasmus+  call  for  proposals  for  National  Authorities 

to  support  projects 
implementing  the  Council  Recommendation.  The  Erasmus+  Call  for  the  National  
Academic  Recognition  Information  Centres  (NARIC)  was  launched  in  December 
2019. In July 2020, 13 projects were selected worth up to EUR 2 million. The main 
focus  of  the  selected  projects  is  on  implementing  automatic  recognition.  The 
projects will run from 2020 till 2022. The NARIC Call also supports the creation of a 
Technical  Support  Team  to  strengthen  the  network  of  National  Academic 
Recognition  Centers  (NARIC)  and  support  their  work  with  capacity  building, 
trainings and sharing best practice. 

1 July 2020 

In a pilot phase, a first Erasmus+ call was launched in 2019 to support 5 small scale 
projects. This was then followed by another Erasmus+ pilot call in 2020 to support 7 large 
scale projects. 

The Commission proposal for the Erasmus+ Regulation in the period 2021-2027, includes 
a specific action to support the Centres of Vocational Excellence. 

1 July 2020 

The 2020 Commission proposal for Council Recommendation on vocational education 
and training, calls for action both at member state as well as EU level to support the 
initiative on CoVEs. 

25 May 2018 

22 May 2019 

Implementation seminars with Peer Learning Activities in 2019, progress report published 

71 

Centres of vocational 
excellence / New Skills 
Agenda for Europe 

A comprehensive 

Proposal for a Council 
Recommendation on vocational 
education and training (VET) for 
sustainable competitiveness, social 
fairness and resilience 

Communication from the 
Commission to the European 
Parliament, the European Council, 
the Council, the European Economic 
and Social Committee and the 
Committee of the regions: European 
Skills Agenda for sustainable 
competitiveness, social fairness and 
resilience 

Communication from the 
Commission to the European 
Parliament, the European Council, 
the Council, the European Economic 
and Social Committee and the 
Committee of the regions: Building a 
stronger Europe: the role of youth, 
education and culture policies 
Council Recommendation of 22 May 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
approach to the 
learning and teaching 
of language 
High quality early 
childhood education 
and care systems 

Erasmus+ European 
Universities  

2019 on a comprehensive approach to 
the teaching and learning of 
languages 
Council Recommendation of 22 May 
2019 on High-Quality Early 
Childhood Education and Care 
Systems (including its annex, the EU 
Quality Framework) 
Call for proposals 2019 
Call for proposals 2020 

in June 2020: Education begins with language.  

22 May 2019 

2019 and 2020 
for the selection 
of European 
Universities and 
full roll out in 
2022  

The Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) ET 2020 Working Group has been 
reflecting and exchanging experience since November 2018 on the best practices to 
implement the EU Quality Framework for ECEC. By the end of 2020, it will publish an 
Inclusion Tool-kit as well as Policy recommendations to a) increase attractiveness of the 
profession b) further professionalise ECEC staff. 
Pilot launched:  
-  Two  Erasmus+  pilot  calls  launched  in  2019  and  2020,  with  41  "European 
Universities"  alliances  selected,  involving  more  than  280  diverse  higher  education 
institutions across the EU and beyond. 

-  Full  roll-out  under  the  next  Erasmus  programme,  in  synergy  with  other  EU 

instruments, such as Horizon Europe and the structural funds. 

72 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PROCEDURAL  ANNEX  –  SYNOPSIS  REPORT  OF  STAKEHOLDER 
CONSULTATIONS 

Procedural Annex: Synopsis report of stakeholder consultations 

A comprehensive stocktaking exercise on the future of European education and training took 
place  between  2018  and  2020.  It  has  captured  viewpoints  on  the  challenges,  role  and 
objectives  of  the  future  of  European  education  and  training,  while  getting  input  about  the 
tools, governance arrangements and funding options that can best help reforms on the ground. 
It consisted of the following stakeholder consultation activities: 

  Targeted Member State and stakeholder surveys; 
  Member State consultation in High Level Group meetings; 
  Three  workshops  organised  by  Member  States  on  key  topics  for  cooperation  in 

education and training; 
Informal consultations at ET 2020 Working Group meetings; 

 
  A survey of ET 2020 Working Group members on mutual learning; 
  An external assessment of the ET 2020 tools and deliverables;  
  An education and training Expert Panel;  
  Three  targeted  consultations  with  the  Commissioner  for  Innovation,  Research, 

Culture, Education and Youth (Rectors, youth organisations, MEPs); 

  Public events, such as the Forum on the Future of Learning, the Second European 

Education Summit and the Civil Society Day;  

  Two Eurobarometer surveys; 
  An opinion of the Advisory Committee on Vocational Training; 
  A report of the Standing Group on Indicators and Benchmarks. 

In addition,  results of the public consultation  for the updated Digital  Education Action Plan 
concerning  the  experience  with  Covid-19-provoked  disruptions  on  education  and  training 
systems,  as well as  ad hoc feedback and position papers submitted to the Commission have 
also  informed  the  Commission’s  proposal.  This  includes  a  non-paper  on  the  post-2020  EU 
strategic framework for cooperation in education and training, coordinated by the Netherlands 
and endorsed by 15 Member States. 

Consultation strategy and methodology: 

Member  State  authorities  at  national  and  regional  level,  stakeholder  organisations  in 
education  and  training,  social  partners,  representatives  of  youth  organisations,  leaders  of 
higher  education  institutions,  members  of  the  European  Parliament,  and  experts  and 
academics were consulted in a targeted way. The public stakeholder events and conferences 
gathered  feedback  from  teachers  and  trainers  at  all  levels;  pupils  and  students;  parents; 
education  and  training  providers;  civil  society  organisations;  social  partners  and  business 

73 

 
 
 
 
organisations; beneficiaries of EU funding programmes; international organisations; research 
institutions and academics; as well as the wider public. 

Stakeholders  who  were  expected  to  provide  direct  input  into  the  process  of  policy-making, 
were  consulted  in  a  targeted  and  structured  manner,  for  instance  in  the  form  of  working 
groups established via formal mandates. Stakeholders that have a wide membership base, as 
well as individuals participating in education and training either as providers or learners were 
given the opportunity to express their views at dedicated public events. The targeted surveys 
ensured a broad coverage: the stakeholder questionnaire was made available to approximately 
a hundred civil society organisations and social partners, selected based on involvement in ET 
2020 processes and structures and  working history,  while the Member State survey  reached 
82% of the target group. 

Scoping questions: 

1.  What should be the key objectives for the future of European education and training, 

including the development of the European Education Area? 

2.  What will be the most important issues for national systems over the next decade?  

3.  How  can  education  and  training  help  tackle  the  main  challenges  in  today’s  and 

tomorrow’s societies? 

4.  How has the ET 2020 cooperation framework performed? 

5.  How can cooperation at the European level add value to the development of education 

and training policies in Member States? 

74 

 
 
 
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS OF KEY RESULTS 

Detailed  findings  from  consultation  activities  are  presented  in  the  respective  sections  of  the 
Staff Working Document.  A summary of key findings is presented below.  

  ET 2020 has delivered on its objectives 
  Future  European  cooperation  should  pursue  a  holistic  approach  to  education  and 

training, across all levels and sectors and modes of learning 

  The  new  cooperation  framework  should  support  the  implementation  and  further 

development of the European Education Area 

  Objectives  should  be  focused  on  quality,  inclusive  and  future-oriented  education 

systems anchored in a lifelong learning perspective 

  The  governance  of  European  cooperation  in  education  and  training  should  include 
strengthened political guidance, flexible working methods and effective dissemination 

IMPACT AND RESULTS OF ET 2020 

Member States  and stakeholder have unequivocally pointed to the usefulness  and impact  of 
ET  2020  across  all  consultation  activities.  While  several  suggestions  were  made  for  further 
improvement  of  the  tools  and  methods  of  cooperation,  the  consultation  activities  raise  no 
doubt about a globally positive assessment, which confirms that the framework has delivered 
on its objectives. 

In the external assessment of ET 2020, Member States praised the pronounced focus of life-
long learning in ET 2020, and the setting of clear, ambitious and concrete common long-term 
goals.  In general, the majority (92%) of Member States considered ET 2020 very useful for 
preparing, testing and implementing reforms, although a handful of them saw no immediate 
link  to  national  reforms  (DK,  IE,  NL  and  SE).  All  Member  States  highlighted  the  value  of 
mutual learning and sharing of good practices facilitated by the Commission, as well as the 
networking  that  resulted  from  it.  Working  groups  and  peer  learning  activities  succeeded  in 
bringing policy closer to different stakeholders and raised awareness of other Member States’ 
education  systems,  promoting  high  quality  discussion  and  a  deeper  understanding  of  the 
challenges and opportunities in education today. ET 2020 was commonly seen as promoting 
increased transparency in education policy, encouraging a common vocabulary, developing a 
common knowledge base and facilitating the transfer of good practices across countries.  

The  non-paper  on  the  post-2020  EU  strategic  framework  for  cooperation  in  education  and 
training, prepared by the Netherlands supported by 14  Member States, reconfirmed the added 
value of European cooperation in education and training and reported a clear improvement in 
comparison to ET 2010 in terms of coordination and tools, echoing the findings of the earlier 
survey of Member States.  

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With  regard  to  the  role  of  individual  tools  and  deliverables  of  ET  2020  for  reforms  on  the 
ground, the external assessment has found that they have had impact on the planning, design 
and  implementation  of  new  initiatives/programmes  at  the  wider  country  level.  While  it  is 
often difficult to establish direct causality between a concrete ET 2020 activity and national 
policy reforms, 40% of Member States cited concrete ET 2020 effects at the national level. In 
cases  when  impact  was  not  reported,  it  was  often  an  issue  of  timing  (the  national  reform 
preceding  the  ET  2020  discussion)  rather  than  misalignment.  ET  2020  has  had  strong 
influence on the organisational level, in particular on discussions and on the development of 
new  initiatives.  On  the  wider  systemic  level,  the  direct  influence  of  ET  2020  was  less 
pronounced, nevertheless Member States cited several examples of the influence of ET 2020 
deliverables  in  the  elaboration  and  revision  of  national  legislation  and  policy.    Peer 
counselling and peer learning activities have proven to be particularly influential in terms of 
national  impact  and  follow-up  and  prompted  an  active  transfer  and  dissemination  of 
successful practices. Benchmarks and indicators were equally found useful for both agenda-
setting and monitoring. The Education and Training Monitor is widely considered by Member 
States and stakeholders as providing a regular and reliable source of evidence about education 
and training systems in a comparative perspective. 

Stakeholder organisations  and social  partners praise ET 2020’s fostering of cooperation and 
proximity  between  governments  and  civil  society.  This  is  mainly  achieved  through  the 
Working  Groups,  which  promote  dialogue  and  help  connect  civil  society  organisations  and 
government  representatives  at  different  levels.  Another  valuable  path  for  dialogue  was  the 
Education, Training and Youth Forum. 

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING 

Complementary to the public events where all stakeholders were consulted on the topic of key 
issues  and  challenges  in  education  and  training;  a  dedicated  Expert  Panel  composed  of  18 
international experts was set up in 2018, with the mandate to assess the impact of six societal 
challenges on the future of education and training227. Emerging themes from the findings of 
the  experts,  as  well  as  from  discussions  with  Member  States,  education  and  training 
stakeholders, civil society and the wider public were the following. 

Demographic  changes,  including  ageing  societies,  declining  birth  rates  and  migration  are 
found among the greatest challenges in Europe. Stronger action is needed on the accessibility 
of lifelong learning and  adult learning opportunities  –  including upskilling  and reskilling of 
all  citizens  –  as  response 
informal  and 
intergenerational  learning  should  be  reinforced,  for  example  through  engagement  in  civic 

these  challenges,  while  non-formal, 

to 

227 The six topics were based on the JRC’s work on global challenges: demographic challenges; challenges of inclusion and 
citizenship;  technical  change  and  the  future  of  work;  digitalisation  of  society;  environmental  challenges  and  challenges  of 
investment, reforms and governance 

76 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
community  action. Making targeted efforts  to  support learners with  a migration background 
should also be promoted. 

On the theme of inclusion and citizenship, the following issues were highlighted: diversity of 
mindsets and identities, enduring and persisting inequalities that need to be tackled, and risk 
of  alienation  from  democratic  institutions.  In  response  to  these  challenges,  encouraging 
inclusive  teaching  methods  and  creating  inclusive  community  learning  spaces  seem 
important,  whereas  citizenship  education  should  build  on  common  values,  aligned  with  the 
European reference framework for democratic culture and the European reference framework 
of key competences for lifelong learning. 

Technology  is  rapidly  and  continuously  changing  all  aspects  of  today’s  society  and  will 
continue to do so in the near future. Both digitalisation and further technological advancement 
will have a significant impact on several aspects of our lives, particularly on the very concept 
of a ‘career’. Following the upcoming changes of the world of work, a shift in learning that 
will  transform  education  and  training  and  foster  cooperation  between  public  and  private 
education and training providers on the one hand and business on the other should be actively 
supported.  Encouraging  adult  learning  by  meeting  individualised  learning  needs,  re-
examining  education  and  training  systems  and  promoting  VET  are  of  high  importance,  in 
order to provide individuals with the right skills and competences. 

Digitalisation,  also  referred  to  as  digital  transformation,  is  a  multi-layered  topic  because 
different  types  of  digital  technologies  and  the  practices  that  are  related  to  their  use  have 
significant  implications  for  society.  The  recent  rapid  digital  transformation  of  the  economy 
and society means that all EU citizens need increasing levels of digital skills and competences 
in all aspects of their lives, both at work and at home. Digitalisation can be also challenging 
for educational systems simply because of the speed at which it is advancing, which makes it 
difficult  for  educational  systems  to  adapt.  In  response  to  the  digitalisation  of  society, 
narrowing  the  digital  skills  gap  by  the  development  of  digital  competence  in  a  lifelong 
learning perspective, based on both formal and non-formal education and training is vital.  

Sustainability  is  a  wide  concept  that  is  not  restricted  to  environmental  issues,  but  can  and 
should also be framed in broader economic and social terms. Of course, climate change is one 
of  the  greatest  challenges  of  our  time  and  its  adverse  impacts  undermine  the  ability  of  all 
countries  to  achieve  sustainable  development.  In  response  to  that,  it  is  important  to  support 
the acquisition of sustainability skills through formal and non-formal learning opportunities. 
A  holistic  approach  to  environmental  sustainability  should  be  communicated  through  all 
education  sectors  and  levels.  Furthermore,  it  is  of  high  importance  to  broaden  the  scope  of 
sustainability education, including social and economic dimensions of societies. 

Education  systems  are  complex  by  nature,  and  governing  multilevel  education  and  training 
systems has become an increasingly important issue in political and policy agendas. Complex 

77 

 
 
 
 
changes such as the increasing internationalisation and decentralisation of decision-making in 
education  and  training,  increasing  focus  on  both  quality  and  responsiveness  to  individual 
needs of learners, and changes in available resources have raised significant questions about 
the  governance  traditions  in  different  sectors  and  countries,  and  their  need  to  modernise. 
Education  and  training  funding  mechanisms  have  also  grown  in  complexity.  In  response  to 
the challenges of governance, there should be targeted and evidence-based policymaking built 
on research, transparency, communication and collaboration. There is a role for indicators and 
benchmarks  to  measure  performance  and  establish  good  practices.  As  regards  the 
implementation of reforms, peer learning, mutual observation and discussion are options that 
could be explored further in order to support reforms, both at the level of institutions and of 
systems. Finally, in accordance with investment in education and training systems, there is no 
one-size-fits-all approach applicable, although reforms should be supported with appropriate 
financial investment. 

FUTURE PRIORITIES FOR EUROPEAN EDUCATION AND TRAINING 

The  strategic  objectives  and  priority  areas  set  by  ET  2020  strategic  framework  were 
commonly  deemed  flexible  and  broad  enough  to  encompass  all  national  situations  and 
confirmed the wide consensus in favour of continuity in strategic objectives and priority areas 
by all Member States and several stakeholder organisations. As far as the level of innovation 
needed for the future cooperation is concerned, it was pointed out that many priorities of the 
current  strategic  framework  are  still  relevant,  but  mechanisms  for  facing  new  challenges 
should be foreseen: evolution and not revolution is needed. Member States would also prefer 
a  smaller  number  of  priorities  and  asked  for  aligning  objectives  more  closely  with  other 
international frameworks, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

A  majority  of  stakeholder  groups  called  for  a  holistic  approach  to  education  and  training, 
which  would  support  the  establishment  of  seamless,  continuous,  learner-centred  and 
collaborative  learning  opportunities  in  all  education  sectors.  In  addition,  the  need  for  an 
inclusive, lifelong-learning-based and innovation-driven approach to education and training is 
considered as inevitable, while increased European cooperation is seen as another key factor 
to support quality education and training for all. Synergies across different policy areas (with 
areas such as employment, industry, research) were also considered as inevitable by Member 
States for a successful cooperation on a European level.  In this regard, Member States have 
repeatedly called for a close link between the development of the European Education Area 
and  the  continuation  of  voluntary  cooperation  between  Member  States,  the  latter  taking 
forward the implementation of the EEA and setting the ways of working together. 

Regarding the focus of the period ahead, it was generally suggested by all stakeholder groups 
involved in public consultation activities that a common understanding on core, overarching 
goals  should  be  reached,  but  the  strategic  objectives  for  future  cooperation  should  be  more 
flexible,  forward  looking  and  focused  on  urgent  challenges,  in  addition  to  more  common 
78 

 
 
 
 
education-specific issues. Stakeholder groups also suggested that strategic goals and priorities 
should  reflect  common  EU  challenges  and  have  a  clear  EU  added  value,  as  well  as  a  clear 
value  and  impact  for  citizens,  and  should  be  determined  based  on  evidence.  It  was  also 
highlighted  in  the  public  consultation  activities,  that  not  only  labour  market  relevance,  but 
also the societal dimension of education and training should be taken more into account. In a 
2019  Eurobarometer  on  youth,  more  than  half  of  young  Europeans  consider  education  and 
skills  as  the  top  priority  that  the  EU  should  tackle.  Environmental  protection  and  fighting 
climate  change  come  second,  followed  by  employment,  and  the  management  of  migratory 
flows and integration of refugees. 

Stakeholders  consider  that  the  main  priorities  for  European  cooperation  in  education  and 
training over the upcoming years should focus on supporting the development of responsive, 
high-quality,  efficient  education  and  training  systems,  with  a  special  focus  on  teachers  and 
trainers as the main driver of education and training, as highlighted by the European Expert 
Panel and the professionals in the field. In order to better support teachers and find solutions 
to  existing challenges,  it is  important  to  initiate  a closer dialogue  with  teachers and trainers 
and  involve  them  in  the  co-creation  process.  Promoting  participation  in  formal  and  non-
formal learning activities shall remain a priority across all age groups, while closely linking 
the validation of non-formal and informal learning  -  as  well as  prior learning  - with  overall 
education and training policies is a key way to recognise and encourage this participation.  

Based on several consultation activities with Member States, education and training providers 
and civil society organisations, providing quality education and training for all, strengthening 
key  competences  and  skills  recognition,  addressing  changes  in  skills  demand,  developing 
transversal  and  transferable  skills,  narrowing  the  digital  skills  gap  and  supporting  language 
learning  shall  be  treated  as  top  priorities  in  education  and  training.  Furthermore,  promoting 
social  inclusion,  thus  developing  innovative  and  inclusive  teaching  methods,  acquiring 
sustainability skills, building citizenship education on common values and strengthening the 
European  identity  should  be  at  the  centre  of  future  initiatives  in  the  field  of  European 
education and training. According to Eurobarometer survey results and consultation activities 
with  civil  society  organisations,  international  mobility  and  volunteering  opportunities  could 
highly contribute to the achievement of these objectives. 

In order to  provide individuals with  the right  skills  and competences, European cooperation 
should  support  a  shift  in  learning  that  will  transform  education  and  training,  and  foster 
cooperation  between  public  and  private  education  and  training  providers  and  business.  It  is 
also  fundamental  to  develop  a  coherent  and  coordinated  approach  that  link  the  world  of 
education  and  the  world  of  work,  giving  value  to  the  full  range  of  learners’  skills  and 
competences, including critical thinking, entrepreneurship and financial competences, and not 
only those which immediately correspond to short-term labour market demands. Finally, more 
attention  should  be  paid  to  investment  in  education  and  training  systems  and  school 

79 

 
 
 
 
infrastructure  development  at  European  level,  supported  by  an  integrated  approach  between 
policy, pedagogy and investment. 

GOVERNANCE  STRUCTURE  OF  FUTURE  EUROPEAN  COOPERATION  IN  EDUCATION  AND 
TRAINING 

Member States and stakeholders alike found the tools and methods of cooperation under ET 
2020  appropriate  and  effective  in  addressing  the  ET  2020  objectives  and  priorities,  and 
expressed the desire to continue the formats and working configurations following a bottom-
up approach based on mutual learning, exchange of information and evidence building. At the 
same  time,  Member  States  called  for  stronger  political  guidance  in  order  to  ensure  better 
alignment  between  national  priorities  and  European  objectives  in  education  and  training,  as 
well  as  to  assure  coherence  across  deliverables  and  tools.  Member  States  and  stakeholders 
also  wish  to  strengthen  the  monitoring  and  dissemination  components  of  the  governance 
structure in the future. 

Political guidance 

Consultations  with  Member  States  revealed  an  expressed  desire  to  reconceptualise  the 
governance framework with the aim of further strengthening the link between European tools 
and  deliverables  and  national  priorities.  Discussions  at  the  political  level  should  have  a 
stronger focus on links to the broad EU context and other international fora (OECD, UN). 

Member  States  emphasised  the  need  to  better  define  the  roles  of  different  bodies  of 
governance and ensure a stronger alignment between steering at the political level (Council, 
Education  Committee,  High  Level  Group)  and  implementation    at  the  technical  level 
(working  groups,  PLAs,  etc.).  Especially,  a  strengthened  political  guidance  for  the 
implementation of the cooperation framework by the Education Ministers’ Council (prepared 
by the Education Committee) was pointed out as important. A stronger mandate as well as a 
revised membership of the High Level Group was also proposed, with the aim to strengthen 
its  political  steering  role.  Links  with  the  European  Semester  process  as  well  as  with  EU 
financial instruments are to be further clarified. 

The  idea  of  a  high-level  rapporteur  to  assure  a  link  between  expert  groups  and  the  Council 
was supported by a number of Member States, whereas the procedure of appointment and the 
mandate  remained  an  open  and  highly  debated  question.  With  regard  to  the  appointment  of 
the rapporteur, a possible role for the outgoing Presidency Trio  was brought  up. A scenario 
with a strategy-building European Education Area summit did not gain broad support at the 
Member State workshops. 

80 

 
 
 
 
Working methods and tools 

Following the principles of continuity, flexible architecture and transparency, Member States 
consider  that  PLAs,  Peer  Counselling  and  Working  Groups  (WG)  should  be  maintained. 
There is a sense of agreement surrounding the structure of the Working Groups, especially in 
relation to the composition of sectoral groups. The mandates of the WGs need to continue to 
have a clear focus on a limited number of strategic issues of core interest to a critical mass of 
Member States.  

However,  a  fast  track  peer  counselling/learning  option  to  cover  immediate  political  needs 
could be introduced. This could take shape for instance in the form of sub-groups, or a fast-
track peer counselling/learning option, whereby 3-4 Member States (MS) work on one topic, 
supported by the European Commission, for a period no longer than 6-8 months. The goal is 
to  introduce a more innovative and future-oriented perspective, through a concrete focus  on 
specific  current  challenges,  benefitting  all  Member  States.  Furthermore,  a  need  to  explore 
synergies across activities through more connectivity between the Working Groups and more 
flexibility in instruments and monitoring methods was expressed.  

The quality of membership and participation in working configurations, tools and deliverables 
were  highlighted  as  a  critical  point.  Continuous  and  stable  WG  membership  with  increased 
involvement of external experts and stakeholders are favoured to promote in-depth and data-
driven discussions. 

Monitoring and evidence 

Stakeholders  agreed  that  the  use  of  qualitative  and  quantitative  evidence  to  underpin 
cooperation  in  education  and  training  should  be  further  supported.  Member  States  are  in 
favour  of  the  continued  use  of  the  annual  Education  and  Training  Monitor  reports  and 
common  European  benchmarks  and  indicators.  This  should  be  accompanied  by  a  more 
qualitative  analysis  of  the  education  and  training  systems’  context.  Member  States,  social 
partners and stakeholder organisations also recommended greater alignment between EU data 
and  the  data  provided  by  international  frameworks,  including  UN  Sustainable  Development 
Goals, the Bologna and the Copenhagen processes. 

There  is  a  general  agreement  among  Member  States  on  the  use  of  common  European 
quantitative targets (benchmarks) are effective in driving policy change and therefore should 
be  continued.  Benchmarks  should  be 
in  number,  politically  relevant  and 
limited 
methodologically sound. 

As  part  of  the  evaluation  of  the  ET  2020  Monitoring  Framework,  an  expert  group  (the 
Standing Group on Indicators and Benchmarks) performed a technical analysis of existing and 
possible future benchmarks and indicators for the post-2020 period. According to the Expert 

81 

 
 
 
 
Group:  i)  not  all  areas  of  indicators  and  benchmarks  are  equally  policy-relevant  and 
benchmarkable; ii) the number of benchmarks should be kept in single digits; iii) several ET 
2020  indicators  and  benchmarks  are  very  valuable  and  should  be  continued  (early  leavers 
from  education  and  training;  tertiary  educational  attainment;  early  childhood  education; 
underachievers; and adult participation in learning);  iv) further development should be done 
on  indicators  on  learning  mobility,  digital  competences,  entrepreneurship  competence  and 
VET;  and  v)  it  would  be  important  to  report  on  equity  aspects  (gender,  social/migrant 
background, regional aspects) as far as possible for every indicator/benchmark.  

Dissemination and communication  

Member  States  and  other  stakeholders  shared  the  view  that  the  dissemination  and 
communication  of  the  results  of  European  cooperation  in  education  and  training  should  be 
strengthened.  This  could involve a communication strategy, the translation of key messages 
and  outcomes  into  national  languages,  and  establishing  an  interactive  online  platform  to 
increase the accessibility and transparency of deliverables. A strong emphasis was placed on 
dissemination at the national level. 

Procedure, methodology and key results of each consultation activity 

The presentation of the activities follows a chronological order. 

1.  Member State survey on ET 2020 (2018) 

24 replies from 23 Member States228 were received on the activities and tools of the ET 2020 
framework (strengths, weaknesses, improvements) and Member States’ interests regarding the 
successor framework. 

  Positive outcomes:  

o  Lifelong learning approach; 
o  Framework helps to orient national agendas; 
o  Mutual learning and exchange of experiences, building up of networks; 
o  Creation of a common conceptual framework and knowledge base; 
o  Awareness-raising of current challenges 
o  Visibility of indicators helping to steer national policy 

  Points for improvement: 

o  Need to improve links between: 

technical and political levels; 

 
  various subject-specific working groups; 
  workstreams led by different COM DGs; 

o  Dissemination effort at COM and MS level; 

228 Belgium submitted two replies. 

82 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
o  Support for increased participation of stakeholders; 
o  Support for learning from failure as well as successes; 
o  Need for enhanced PLAs with more intense follow-up 

  Priorities for the future framework:  

o  A few common, clear, ambitious, long-term goals; 
o  Continuity, building on existing experience; 
o  Based on global challenges, not traditional approaches; 
o  Nuanced approach to indicators and benchmarks; 
o  Alignment  with  international  frameworks,  including  UN  SDGs,  Bologna 

and Copenhagen processes; 
o  Platform(s) for dissemination 

2.  Survey of stakeholder organisations and social partners on ET 2020 (2018) 

The responses to this survey are the result of a query sent out from DG EAC to stakeholder 
organisations and social partners, many of whom participated in the Education and Training 
2020 Framework (ET 2020) working groups, or were recipients of Erasmus+ funding. 

In this survey, two questions were asked:  

(1) In what way do stakeholder organisations and social partners consider the activities 
under the scope of ET 2020 to have been helpful to their goals and mission so far? 

(2)  In  what  way  do  they  think  ET  2020  would  need  to  change  in  order  to  better 
respond to present and future challenges? 

19  stakeholders  replied  to  the  survey,  out  of  91  (21%).  Other  stakeholder  organisations  did 
not  reply  as  their  contributions  were  included  under  that  of  umbrella  organisations,  such  as 
the Lifelong Learning Platform. Five social partners replied to the survey, out of six (83%). 

  Positive outcomes: 

o  Fostering cooperation between governments and stakeholders 
o  Systematic collection of information 
o  Mutual learning and compendia of good practices 

  Points for improvement: 

o  The Education, Training and Youth Forum needs to include stakeholders again 
o  Greater civil society participation in mutual learning 
o  Dissemination strategy 
o  Streamlining the bureaucracy of Erasmus+ 
o  Collection of information should be more qualitative and contextual 
  ET 2020 monitor shadow report through civil society’s eyes 

  Priorities for the future framework: 

o  Tuning the balance between a focus on the job market and holistic education 
o  More Joint Working Group meetings and Peer Learning Activities 

83 

 
 
 
 
o  Greater  focus  on  non-formal  and  informal  education,  as  well  as  on  lifelong 

learning 

  This is particularly useful to integrate migrants and refugees 
o  Greater mobility of younger students as well as teachers and VET students 
o  Greater focus on the digital dimension of learning 

  Greater  focus  on  MOOCs  and  blended  learning,  especially  in  higher 

education 

o  Combating  low  skills,  as  lifelong  learning  often  does  not  reach  low-skilled 

individuals 

3.  Flash Eurobarometer on the European Education Area (2018) 

The  survey  asked  more  than  8.000  young  people  across  the  EU  (between  15  and  30  years) 
about their mobility experiences and knowledge of languages. They also gave their opinion on 
a  number  of  European  Education  Area  initiatives  to  improve  teaching  and  learning 
environments in Europe. 

Key findings: 

  90% of young Europeans consider it important to have an experience abroad.  
  91% agree that automatic recognition of academic qualifications and learning periods 

abroad would be useful to young people.  

  93%  think  that  it  would  be  useful  to  create  EU  degrees  delivered  by  networks  of 
European universities, offering students the chance to study in different EU countries, 
with a flexible choice of courses or modules offered within the network.  

  97%  of  young  Europeans  polled  agree  that  it  would  be  useful  to  give  students  the 
chance  to  work  on  innovative  projects  alongside  academics,  researchers  and 
companies from different countries. They would also welcome more opportunities to 
study and work together across disciplines and departments.  

  At least nine in ten (90%) young Europeans think that a range of services provided by 

a European Student Card would be useful.  

  One  third  of  all  respondents  declare  themselves  unable  to  study  in  more  than  one 
language. Yet, 77% of young Europeans say they would like to learn a new language, 
while  84%  would  like  to  improve  the  knowledge  of  a  foreign  language  they  have 
previously learnt. 

4.  Member  State  workshop  on  future-oriented  education  and  training  systems  (8 

November 2018) 

The aim of the workshop, organised by the Finnish Permanent Representation with support of 
the Commission, was to informally discuss on future-oriented innovation in the context of the 
preparation of the post-ET 2020 cooperation framework. The workshop drew on the extensive 
experience  of  Finland  with  innovation  in  education.  It  gathered  around  60  participants 
including education attachés, the Commission and the EESC.  

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Key topics of discussion included: 

  The social  and value-driven embeddedness of innovation in education 
 
  Relevant 

Investment in innovation 

innovation:  socio-emotional  skills, 

technology,  AI, 
neurosciences,  changing  roles  in  education,  demography  and  mobility,  the 
intercultural  and  interdisciplinary  dimensions,  schools  as  learning  communities 
and the learning culture 

topics 

for 

  On ET 2020: 

o  Continuity of cooperation 
o  Need for a shared vision and reduced number of priorities 
o  Strengthened mutual learning (more efficient & flexible) 
o  Qualitative assessment to complement benchmarks 
o  Increased  used  of  evidence 

increase  relevance  of 

to 

themes  and 

benchmarks 

o  More involvement of education representatives in European Semester 
o  Permanent policy forum/ expert panel to discuss innovation 
o  Stronger guidance from policy-makers, including the Council 
o  Need to address the role of teachers and the use of technology 

5.  The opinion of the Advisory Committee on Vocational Training (2018) 

The  Advisory  Committee  has  the  task  of  assisting  the  Commission  in  implementing  a 
Community  vocational  training  policy;  which  includes  governments,  trade  unions  and 
employers'  organisations  from  EU  Member  States  and  partner  countries.  On  3  December 
2018,  the  Committee  issued  an  opinion  on  the  future  of  vocational  education  and  training 
post-2020. 

The  ACVT  opinion  sets  a  shared  vision  of  governments,  trade  unions  and  employers' 
organisations  from  EU  Member  States  and  partner  countries  on  how  to  make  vocational 
education  and  training  (VET)  systems  fit  for  addressing  the  future  societal  and  economic 
challenges.  

The opinion stresses: 

 
 

the dual objectives of VET for fostering social inclusion and excellence, 
the role of VET in supporting acquisition of job specific and transversal skills, 
and 

  calls  for  a  better  balancing  of  investment  and  funding  between  initial  and 

continuing VET. 

The opinion calls for the set up of excellent, inclusive and lifelong VET and defines: 

 
 

the building blocks of future fit vocational education and training 
three key objectives to achieve this vision related to the  

o  content of VET, 
o  provision of VET and 

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o  governance of VET systems. 

  stakeholders views on the main features of the future European cooperation in 

VET and possible actions to be carried out at European level. 

6.  The  Standing  Group  on  Indicators  and  Benchmarks  consultation  on  the  new 

monitoring framework (2018 and 2019) 

In 2017, in cooperation with the EU Member States (via the Standing Group on Indicators and 
Benchmarks),  the  Commission  has  started  reviewing  the  impact  of  benchmarks  on  national 
reforms,  and  preparing  proposals  for  a  renewed  benchmark  process.  Starting  from  a 
comprehensive list of priority areas, and in consultation with experts in the Member States, it 
was  decided  to  select  12  areas  for  further  ‘benchmarkability’  analysis.  These  include  the 
current  ET  2020  benchmarks,  in  addition:  digital  competences;  entrepreneurship  education; 
multilingualism; education expenditure; and vocational education and training. This body of 
work  resulted  in  an  initial  classification  of  ‘benchmarkable’  policy  areas.  ‘Benchmarkable’ 
indicators  are  variables  that  can  be  measured  quantitatively;  and  benefit  from  existing, 
regularly updated,  and internationally  comparable data sources. The results of this work are 
presented in Section 3.2.4. of the Staff  Working Document. 

7.  Member  State  consultations  in  High  Level  Group  meetings  in  Vienna  (June 

2018), Bucharest  (February 2019) and Helsinki (October 2019) 

The  debate  in  the  high-level  group  was  focused  on  the  overall  structure  and  possible 
priorities, as well as a forward look at both the working methods and targets & indicators for 
post-ET 2020. The purpose of the discussions was to develop ideas for European cooperation, 
in the context of a future European Education Area and to conduct a more in-depth discussion 
on the above mentioned topics. 

8.  ET 2020 Working Group consultations (2018 and 2019) 

Within  the ET 2020 coordination process, national  education and training experts discussed 
future  priorities  at  Working  Group  meetings  held  during  2018  and  2019.  An  example  of  a 
discussion paper is publicly available in the Register of Expert Groups.  

9.  External assessment of the ET 2020 tools and deliverables (2019) 

Two stakeholder surveys, 88 individual interviews and 10 case studies in  the context  of the 
external assessment of ET 2020 tools and deliverables. The objectives of the analysis was to 
evaluate  1.  the  performance  of  ET  2020  tools  and  deliverables  in  addressing  the  ET  2020 
objectives  and  priorities;  2.  The  impact  of  such  tools  and  deliverables  at  the  MS  and  EU 
levels.  

Key recommendations: 

  Successful elements 

o  Composition of ET 2020 Working Groups should be maintained, mandates 

with a clear focus on a limited number of strategic issues 

86 

 
 
 
 
o  The use of qualitative and quantitative evidence to  underpin the ET 2020 

processes should be further supported 

o  Alignment of future ET 2020 deliverables with EU priorities and the work 

of the European Commission 

o  Further strengthening the link between ET 2020 tools and deliverables and 

national priorities 

o  ET 2020 tools should become even more flexible and agile 

  Points for improvement and future actions 

o  Further  attention  is  needed  to  fully  exploit  synergies,  and  improve 

coordination and collaboration between the Working Groups 

o  Continuous and stable Working Group membership should be encouraged 

for improved results and dissemination 

o  Participation in the ET 2020 activities should also be increasingly opened 

to include external experts and stakeholders 

o  Dissemination  of  ET  2020  outcomes  at  the  national  level  should  be 

strengthened 

o  New interactive tools and formats could include enhanced peer counselling 

and adopting a tailored approach to MS needs 

o  Interaction between the technical and political levels of stakeholders should 

be improved. 

10. Expert  advice  from  the  Education  and  Training  Expert  Panel  on  the  future 

education and training challenges (2019) 

The European Education and Training Expert Panel – composed of 18 international experts – 
was  set  up  to  assist  the  Commission  in  the  preparation  of  the  future  framework  for 
cooperation in education and training, by developing a set of "issue papers" in order to feed 
the discussion at both EU and national level.  

The Panel was asked to focus on six thematic blocks:   

  demographic challenges 
 
inclusion and citizenship 
 
technological change and the future of work 
  digitalisation of society 
  environmental challenges  
 

investment, reforms and governance.   

These themes were selected by the Commission from a pool of analyses of long-term strategic 
trends.  For  each  block,  the  Expert  Panel  was  invited  to  address  the  following  scoping 
questions: 

1)  What are the major societal developments that will have an impact on how education 
and  training  are  delivered  in  Europe  in  the  medium-  to  long-term?  How  can  EU 
cooperation best respond to these challenges? 

87 

 
 
 
 
2)  What  should  the  strategic  objectives  of  European  cooperation  in  education  and 
training be for the next decade? Which should be the priority areas and themes?   

11. Stakeholder Forum on the Future of Learning (24 January 2019) 

The Forum provided an open platform for over 360 policy-makers, stakeholders, experts and 
the general public to discuss key issues that education and training will be facing in Europe 
and beyond until 2030. 

The outcome of the discussions were taken up by the Commission in the European Education 
and Training Expert Panel Final Report.  

12. Civil Society Day (25 January 2019) 

The Civil Society Day, co-organised by the European Commission and the Lifelong Learning 
Platform back-to-back with the Forum on the Future of Learning, gathered representatives of 
32 stakeholder organisations in education and training.  

Key conclusions: 

●  Promote  participation  in  formal,  non-formal  and  informal  learning  activities  -  at  an 

equal footing - as a priority across all age groups – close link with validation 

●  Support people of all ages to acquire basic skills which involves developing curricula 
that are flexible, built around the learner and relevant for real life (i.e development of 
life skills, key competences, transversal skills)  

●  Recognise universal access to quality education as a common good which should form 

the basis for establishing the European Education Area.  

●  Invest  in  spaces  of  co-creation  that  bring  and  link  together  all  education  sectors  and  

stakeholders, building on existing practices  

●  Adopt  a  holistic  approach  to  embedding  the  sustainable  development  agenda  in 

education and training policies  

●  Integrate learning “about Europe” as a transversal priority for all education sectors that 

would facilitate the sharing of common values  

●  Develop a coherent and coordinated approach that link the world of education and the 

world of work  

●  Promote alternative/flexible pathways 

●  Embed  the  concept  of  Community  Lifelong  Learning  Centres  as  a  forward-looking 
approach towards opening up educational  establishments  to  local  communities and a 
more diverse range of learners.  

●  Promote trainings for teachers and educators about how to deal with diversity 

●  Support EU-wide networks in their efforts for better outreach to deprived areas of our 

societies.  

88 

 
 
 
 
●  Promote multilingualism and learning of languages across all education sectors.  

13. Eurobarometer on Youth (2019) 

Flash Eurobarometer titled “How do we build a stronger, more united Europe? The views of 
young people”, which includes input from young people in the EU (aged 15-30) on the future 
of education and training. 

Key findings: 

  The five most mentioned priorities for the European Union in years to come according 
to  young  people  are  protecting  the  environment  and  fighting  climate  change  (67%), 
improving  education  and  training  (56%),  fighting  poverty  and  economic  and  social 
inequalities (56%), boosting employment (49%) and improving health and well-being 
(44%).   

  Considering the competences of the EU, in the area of education and training the most 
useful  actions  for  young  people  would  be  connecting  schools  or  universities  in  their 
country  with  others  abroad  (44%),  funding  projects  or  activities  for  young  people 
(41%)  and  increasing  participation  in  European  programmes  among  young  people 
with fewer opportunities, for instance in rural areas (39%).  

  Considering the competences of the EU, in the area of education and training the most 
useful  actions  for  young  people  would  be  connecting  schools  or  universities  in  their 
country  with  others  abroad  (44%),  funding  projects  or  activities  for  young  people 
(41%)  and  increasing  participation  in  European  programmes  among  young  people 
with fewer opportunities, for instance in rural areas (39%).  

  Respondents say that the most important things school should offer young people are 
preparing them for employment (49%), giving everyone a chance to succeed and have 
access to the same opportunities (45%) and promoting creativity, adaptability and an 
entrepreneurial mindset (38%).  

  The topics respondents most often say are not being taught sufficiently in schools are 
critical thinking, media and democracy (42%); climate change, environment and eco-
friendly behaviours (41%) and entrepreneurship and financial competences (41%).  

14. Member State workshop on investments in education and training (5 June 2019) 

The Flemish General Representation within the Belgium Permanent Representation to the EU 
and the Flanders Department of Education and Training, in collaboration with the European 
Commission  organised  an  informal  workshop  on  school  infrastructure,  and  the  place  of  the 
issue in future European Cooperation. 

Key conclusions: 

  Strengthen  mutual  learning  between  Member  States  on  approaches  to  school 

infrastructure development  

  Reinforce  EU  investment  in  school  infrastructure  across  financial  instruments  – 

including through stronger synergies between funds 

89 

 
 
 
 
  Recognise infrastructure as a priority and a new theme. 

15. Member State workshop on the link between the European Education Area and 

the future cooperation framework (16 July 2019) 

Organized  by  the  Permanent  Representation  of  the  Republic  of  Croatia  and  the  Federal 
Republic  of  Germany  in  collaboration  with  the  European  Commission,  the  workshop 
provided  a  platform  for  further  discussion  on  the  post-ET  2020  cooperation  framework  for 
education and training. It included several sessions, on strategic goals, on the implementation 
of  the  future  cooperation  framework  in  terms  of  governance  structures  and  instruments,  as 
well as a discussion on quantifiable targets and monitoring. 

Key topics and conclusions: 

  Close  link  between  the  future  cooperation  framework  and  the  European  Education 

Area  

  Synergies between policy areas (employment, industry, research,) 
  Alignment of the future cooperation framework with the existing tools and processes 
  ET 2020 priorities still relevant, but need to respond to new challenges 
  Need to invest in individuals and the ability to learn 
  Common  understanding  of  overarching  strategic  goals  with  flexibility  to  focus  on 

specific challenges 

  Governance: strengthened political guidance and flexible implementation 
  Priority  areas:  high-quality,  efficient  education  and  training  systems,  learning 
mobility,  seamless  and  continuous  learning  enabled  by  flexible  pathways,  learner-
centred  and  collaborative  learning,  societal  dimension  of  education  and  training, 
digitalisation  and  artificial  intelligence,  common  values  and  diversity,  sustainability 
and environment, the role of teachers and trainers. 

16. Second European Education Summit (26 September 2019) 

The  2nd  European  Education  Summit  provided  the  opportunity  for  teachers,  ministers, 
academics  and  civil  servants  to  discuss  the  future  of  the  teaching  profession  in  Europe,  in 
view  of  the  future  European  initiatives  in  this  area.  The  summit  gathered  675  participants, 
including  13  Ministers  of  education.  The  digital  outreach  of  the  event  was  close  to  20,000 
views on diverse social media platforms. 

Key  topics  included  continuous  professional  development,  teaching  foreign  languages, 
inclusive  education,  innovation  and  creativity  in  the  classroom,  European  Universities,  the 
STEAM approach, vocational excellence and many others. 

17. ET 2020 mutual learning survey (July 2020) 

To  triangulate  views  on  mutual  learning  in  ET  2020  towards  the  end  of  the  mandate,  the 
Commission  prepared  a  short  anonymous  survey  for  members  of  the  7  ET  2020  Working 

90 

 
 
 
 
Groups on the relevance and the usefulness of mutual learning tools. 69 replies were received, 
representing a response rate of 12%. 

The results clearly indicated that there is almost unanimous support as concerns the relevance 
of themes addressed in that  98% of respondents were of the opinion that the themes covered 
by  the  Working  Groups  were  “very  relevant  or  somewhat  relevant”  to  their  country, 
organisation or work. 

In  terms  of  the  usefulness  of  the  various  different  types  of  tools  offered  through  mutual 
learning, physical Working Group meetings were deemed the most useful (97%) followed by 
Peer  Learning  Activities  (86%);  webinars  (72%);  Online  Working  Group  meetings  (69%); 
joint Working Group meetings with other groups or bodies (58%) and; PLA Lights (49%). 

As concerns the types of activities most conducive to learning about new policy approaches 
and  practice,  the  top  three  replies  included  keynote  sessions/plenary  presentations  (70%); 
workshop/breakout  session  (65%)  and;  visits  to  schools,  higher  education  institutions  or 
others (51%). 

The types  of tools and deliverables  which were found to  be most helpful to  support mutual 
learning,  the  top  three  replies  included  thematic  reports  (72%);  policy  guidelines  or 
frameworks produced by the Working Groups (62%) and; good practice compendium or good 
practice collections (43%). 

Furthermore,  as  relates  to  how  successful  respondents  felt  in  sharing  and  disseminating  the 
learning and information they obtained in the Working Group to their country or organisation, 
78% were of the opinion that they were successful. 

18. Online consultation events with Commissioner Gabriel (July 2020) 

Three  online  targeted  consultation  events  were  organised  with  key  stakeholder  groups  with 
the aim to discuss the Commission’s planned initiatives for making the European Education 
Area  a  reality.  The  events  were  hosted  by  Commissioner  Mariya  Gabriel  and  convened 
between 10-20 participants each. 

1.  The  first  event  gathered  rectors  of  universities  and  higher  education  institutions,  and 
representatives of university and student networks. Participants highlighted the importance of 
inclusion;  physical  mobility;  strengthening  synergies  between  the  European  Education  Area 
and the European Research Area; and a global perspective to higher education cooperation. 

2.  The  second  consultation  took  place  with  the  participation  of  representatives  of  youth 
organisations across the EU. The event was livestreamed. Key take-aways included: 

  The  need  for  a  strengthened  budget  for  the  future  Erasmus  programme  in  view  of 

making it more inclusive, sustainable and digital; 

  Equal access to high quality education for all and ensuring that no one is left behind 
and this includes young people in both urban and rural areas as well as  marginalised 
youth; 

91 

 
 
 
 
  The importance of digital literacy and the urgent need for young people, educators and 

teachers to improve their digital skills; 

  Making the case to create synergies between formal, non-formal and informal learning 
as  a  means  to  provide  a  more  flexible  way  of  learning.  Also,  the  need  to  formally 
recognise non-formal and informal learning.  

  Updating  curriculum  to  ensure  that  it  reflects  the  learning  needs  of  today's  societies 

including sustainable development, values, digital literacy and civic education; 

  Relevance  of  European  identity,  diversity  and  cultural  heritage  when  looking  at  the 

future of learning.  

3.  Finally,  the  Commissioner  held  a  discussion  with  Members  of  the  European  Parliament. 
Key points raised during the discussion: 

  The European Education Area vision must be supported with appropriate funding.  

  The  MEPs  reiterated  strong  support  for  the  European  Universities  initiative  and 
emphasized that the European Education Area must encompass all sectors and levels 
of education and training.  

  The European Education Area should be developed in a lifelong learning perspective. 
It  must  work  together  with  the  Skills  Agenda  to  support  adult  learning  and  labour 
market skills, while strengthening actions that prepare people for personal fulfilment 
and an active role in a democratic society.  

  Education can support the digital future of Europe across multiple fronts.  

  The  European  Education  Area  and  the  European  Research  Area  must  work  hand  in 
hand. Also related are the efforts to ensure a balanced regional development, including 
by actions that promote balanced brain circulation. 

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Consultation activity/ Thematic scope 

Member State Survey 

Survey of stakeholder organisations and social partners 

Opinion of the advisory committee on vocational training 

Informal Member State workshops 

Standing Group on Indicators and Benchmarks 

Consultation  with  Member  States  in  High  Level  Group 
meetings 

External assessment of tools and deliverables of ET 2020 

European Education and Training Expert Panel 

Forum on the Future of Learning 

Civil Society Day 

Second European Education Summit 

Eurobarometer on Youth 

Eurobarometer on the European Education Area 

ET 2020 mutual learning survey 

European Education Area online targeted consultations 

ET 2020 
effectiveness and 
results 

Education and 
training challenges  

Future 
priorities and 
actions 

Future 
governance and 
working methods 

EU added value 

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