Europe 2020

The report summarises the actions and developments during the first 2009 2011 cycle of implementing "ET2020" and suggests priority areas for European policy cooperation for the next cycle 2012-14.

It highlights in particular how cooperation in education and training can support reaching the objectives of the "Europe 2020" strategy.

Key findings:

1. The imperative to consolidate public finance puts budgets under pressure – including expenditure for education and training. However, as improving educational achievements can yield immense long-term returns and generate growth and jobs, there is a need for smart investment going along with policy reforms improving the quality of outcomes.
2. More efforts are needed to reach the Europe 2020 headline target on early school leaving and tertiary education and to implement the reforms called for by the 2011 Council Recommendation on policies to reduce early school leaving and the recent Commission Communication on the modernisation of higher education.
3. For the majority of EU citizens, lifelong learning is not a reality. This bodes ill for those hit hardest by the crisis. Unemployed youth and low-skilled adults depend on education and training to stand a fair chance on the labour market.
4. Transnational mobility for acquiring new skills enables individuals to strengthen their future employability and personal development. However, the current levels of mobility do not match its importance and benefits.
5. As the crisis has accelerated the change of skills needs on the labour market and the need to improve Europe's skills base, ET2020 will support the implementation of the Europe 2020 flagship initiative "Agenda for new skills and jobs" by promoting key competences for all citizens, close cooperation between education and the labour market and improved monitoring and anticipation of skills needs.

The Commission suggests these areas to be confirmed as priorities for European cooperation during the next "ET 2020" work cycle (2012-2014), so as to sustain a successful implementation of "Europe 2020".

The joint report will now be discussed in the Council in view of its adoption under the Danish presidency 2012.

More information

The general objectives of the call for proposals Support for European cooperation in Education and Training are to support the establishment and implementation of coherent and comprehensive lifelong learning strategies and policies at national, regional and local level, covering and interlinking all types (formal, non-formal, informal) and levels of learning (preschool, primary, secondary, tertiary, adult, initial and continuing vocational education and training), including links to other relevant policy sectors (e.g. employment and social inclusion), through:

• Supporting awareness-raising and institutional commitment, coordination and partnership with all stakeholders to contribute to national implementation of the four strategic priorities of the ‘Strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020)’.
• Supporting European cooperation and exchange of experiences and good practice in the development and implementation of coherent and comprehensive lifelong learning strategies and policies at both the national and regional level, covering all forms and levels of education and training.
• Supporting the identification of the main critical factors and through joint experimenting, testing and transferring innovation in relation to the successful implementation of lifelong learning strategies and policies.

Lists of successful projects:

ECET - Part A1: Selected projects :

ECET - Part A2: Selected projects :

ECET - Part B : Selected projects :

The European Union has approximately 4,000 universities and other higher education institutions and more than 19 million students. In recent years the number and variety of higher education institutions, as well as student numbers, have substantially increased. But funding, governance structures and curricula have often failed to keep pace. Higher education is not performing well enough to provide Europe with enough people with the right kinds of skills to create jobs and growth. And worldwide, Europe's competitors, especially the emerging economies, are rapidly increasing their investment in higher education

Speaking at the launch of the strategy, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou, said: "Higher education is a powerful driver of economic growth and opens doors to better living standards and opportunities for people. It is also the best insurance against unemployment. Even so, too many graduates struggle to find jobs or quality work. We need to reform higher education – and vocational education – so that we equip our young people with the skills they need to reach their potential in terms of development and employability."

Background

Priority areas in which further reforms are needed include:

• Increasing the number of graduates, attracting a broader cross-section of society into higher education, and reducing the numbers who drop out without completing their courses

• Improving the quality and relevance of higher education, so curricula meet the needs of individuals, the labour market and the careers of the future, as well as stimulating and rewarding excellence in teaching and research

• Providing more opportunities for students to gain additional skills through study or training abroad, and to encourage cross-border co-operation to boost higher education performance

• Training more researchers to prepare the ground for the industries of tomorrow

• Strengthening the links between education, research and business to promote excellence and innovation

• Ensuring that funding is efficient – freeing up higher education governance and investing in quality education to match labour market needs

Many EU countries are prioritising the modernisation of their higher education systems; but the potential of European higher education institutions to contribute to Europe's prosperity and fulfil their wider role in society remains underexploited. This is why education is at the heart of the Europe 2020 strategy, which has set a target for 40% of Europe's young people to have a higher education qualification by the end of this decade (33.6% in 2010).

In July, the Commission launched its proposals for the next multiannual EU budget (2014-2020) which include substantial increases for education, training and youth (+73%), and for research (+46%), in recognition of their pivotal role in supporting growth. The reform agenda for modernising higher education will guide the spending priorities of EU programmes in support of reforms.

The Commission's reform strategy has been shaped by analyses, studies and consultations with higher education institutions, teachers, researchers, students, businesses, trade unions, governments and international bodies. It is accompanied by a Commission staff paper that examines recent developments in European higher education systems and by the study 'Modernisation of higher education in Europe: funding and the social dimension' that examines trends in funding higher education and policies for opening up access to higher education (IP/11/1037).

For more information:

MEMO/11/613 - Modernising higher education – facts and figures

MEMO/11/615 - An EU strategy for modernising higher education – Questions and Answers

Communication: EU strategy for modernising higher education:

http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/doc/com0911_en.pdf

Statistics – Commission Staff Working Paper on recent developments in European higher education systems:

http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/doc/wp0911_en.pdf

Eurydice study 'Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe: Funding and the Social Dimension':

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/thematic_studies_en.php

European Commission: Higher education:

http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc62_en.htm

The Commission's proposals for education, training and youth in the next EU budget: IP/11/85