It aims to identify the challenges and the means to enhance the role of education and training in achieving sustainable economic recovery and in reducing disparities in the EU.

KEY POINTS

Challenges

The resolution notes that the EU is currently confronted with several challenges, including the persisting financial and economic crisis, an unprecedented refugee crisis, high youth unemployment and increasing radicalisation and terrorism.

In this context, education and training have a fundamental role not only in promoting economic prosperity but also in promoting inclusion, respect for diversity, active citizenship and EU fundamental values.

Skills, competences and knowledge for economic and social progress

To achieve sustainable economic recovery with more and better jobs, reduce disparities and promote inclusion, citizenship and social cohesion, important reforms in EU education and training systems are necessary. These include:

reaching out to the more educationally and socially disadvantaged to enable all young people to succeed in education and develop their full potential regardless of their background and promote their inclusion, social skills and critical thinking;
ensuring adequate investment in education at all levels to identify and address skills gaps and enhance its liberating effect, making full use of EU-level financial tools;
improving initial and continuing teacher education and training;
encouraging peer-learning and sharing of good practices;
monitoring of progress towards the commonly agreed ET 2020 objectives and priorities.

Actions

To reach the above objectives, the European Commission, is urged to:

continue to promote the achievement of socio-economic and civic goals in and through education and training via the Erasmus+ work programme 2017 and other EU financial instruments;
reaffirm the importance of education and training in post-2020 EU initiatives on growth, jobs and sustainability;
propose and implement a new skills agenda for Europe;
support EU countries in promoting active citizenship and fundamental values as a follow-up to the Paris Declaration, together with the Council of Europe.

EU funding

To finance such actions, EU instruments such as the EU Structural and Investment Funds, the Youth Guarantee, the EU Fund for Strategic Investment and the Erasmus+ programme will be activated.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

the European Commission’s youth portal;
the EU Youth report 2015;
the 2015 Joint Report on the implementation of the ET 2020 strategic framework for cooperation in education and training.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Resolution of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 24 February 2016 on promoting socioeconomic development and inclusiveness in the EU through education: the contribution of education and training to the European Semester 2016 (OJ C 105, 19.3.2016, pp. 1–4).

last update 25.07.2016

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