C 185/36
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
26.5.2023
9.
RECOGNISES that the fundamental and democratic values of Europe are being challenged and that Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine has changed the geopolitical landscape.
AGREES that joint efforts and transnational cooperation in education and training not only facilitates and strengthens the Union’s and Member States’ responses to the needs that have arisen as a consequence of the aggression but also helps reinforce our key educational values and principles, such as inclusion, equity, academic freedom and institutional autonomy, as well as our common values and our unity in the Union.
10.
EMPHASISES that identifying and removing the remaining obstacles to learning and teaching mobility is key to the full achievement of a European Education Area and the creation of a resilient, safe, sustainable and prosperous Europe.
Transnational cooperation strengthens the inclusiveness, equity, excellence, diversity, attractiveness and global competitiveness of European education and training.
AGREES, therefore, that efforts should be made towards making automatic mutual recognition in education and training a reality.
Also AGREES that possibilities should be promoted for learners and teachers to be mobile and for institutions in Europe and beyond to cooperate with one another.
11.
ACKNOWLEDGES that progress has been made since 2017 towards establishing the European Education Area and that a broad range of measures to achieve the strategic priorities set out in the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (2021-2030) have been implemented across the EU.
Through various initiatives, cooperation and co-creation, the European Education Area is gradually being shaped.
12.
AGREES that focusing on implementation at both national and European level, in the context of the strategic framework, in line with the respective competences of each level, and robust monitoring within existing structures, with due regard to administrative burdens, will be key for the remaining period of the first cycle till 2025.
13.
UNDERLINES that the five strategic priorities, as set out in the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (2021-2030), constitute the basis for the work and for continued European cooperation in education and training, including towards the achievement of the European Education Area.
AGREES that the ongoing midterm review process and the full report on the European Education Area to be published by the European Commission in 2025 should focus on those five strategic priorities, including a more in-depth analysis of the specific areas listed below.
14.
RECOGNISES that the follow-up to the EU-level targets shows positive trends with regard to several longstanding indicators such as increased participation in early childhood education and care, a reduction in early school leaving and a higher share of young people with tertiary level attainment.
However, it is also evident that many challenges remain, especially the effects of socio-economic status on educational achievement and students’ well-being.
AGREES, therefore, that a particular focus should be given to the following to achieve a European Education Area by 2025: — Improving equity, inclusion as well as success for all in education and training and the acquisition of key competences, including basic skills, to enable the full personal, social, civic and professional development of all European citizens; — Enhancing the teaching profession and addressing teacher shortages; promoting the professional development, mobility opportunities, working conditions and well-being of teachers as key factors in increasing the attractiveness of the profession; — Removing the remaining obstacles to mobility while encouraging inclusive, sustainable and balanced mobility in the EU, including by achieving automatic mutual recognition in education and training (3); — Fostering life-long learning, including adult learning, upskilling and reskilling, with a particular emphasis on skills and competences for the green and digital transitions.
15.
WILL REFLECT on the strategic framework and consider revising the priority areas and making any other necessary adjustments for the second cycle leading up to 2030.
(3) In line with the 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.