EU education ministers have agreed a roadmap for EU-level cooperation in education and training for 2026 to 2030.
The Council of EU approved on Monday a resolution setting out a five-year work programme for joint work among EU countries on education and training.
The document updates two Council resolutions adopted in 2021 covering the strategic framework for education cooperation and how it is governed.
Cyprus’s education minister, Dr Athena Michaelidou, said the agreement focused on “foundational and digital skills, citizenship education and lifelong learning.”
The resolution keeps the existing governance structure for the European Education Area, a framework for collaboration between EU countries on education and training, the Council declared.
It also calls for a “holistic approach” to education and training and says the work should operate in synergy with the EU’s “Union of Skills” initiative where relevant.
Six priorities through to 2030
The Council listed six updated strategic priorities for the next cycle: improving literacy, maths and science; developing digital skills and citizenship education; expanding lifelong learning and mobility; supporting the education and training profession; fostering vocational education and training (VET) — job-related education and qualifications; and promoting the competitiveness of higher education in Europe.
The resolution also brings together EU-level education and training targets in a single document for the first time.
The strategic framework for the European Education Area was set to be reviewed following an evaluation report due from the European Commission in 2025, as outlined in the Council’s 2021 resolution.
