Strengthening European identity through education and culture
“If I had to do it all over again, I would start with culture.” This quote – wrongly attributed to Jean Monnet – comes into sharp focus this week as Europe’s 28 leaders meet in Gothenburg, Sweden. On this first stop on a road that will lead to Sibiu, Romania on 9 May 2019, the leaders have chosen a topic that goes to the heart of Europe’s future. Education and culture are how we turn circumstance into opportunity, how we turn mirrors into windows and how we give roots to what it means to be European.
While the EU does not have direct powers when it comes to education and culture, it uses the tools at its disposal to help Member States better cooperate and make it easier for artists and teachers to work across Europe.
This is crucial given how many challenges are cross-border in nature and require a collective response. How, for instance, can we help the 44% of Europeans of all ages who still lack basic digital skills? How can we uphold press freedom, media plurality and quality journalism? And how can we assert our values of freedom and democracy in the face of populism and xenophobia? Education and culture must be part of the solution and this is why the European Commission will present leaders with concrete actions to put into place by 2025.
One solution we all agree on is Erasmus+, celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year. The programme has helped, more than 9 million people enjoy a stay in another EU country, as students, apprentices, volunteers, interns or even as teachers. Behind this success lies the desire of Europeans to be ever more mobile, to discover how others live, work and study. By 2025, the EU could double the number of Erasmus+ participants so that at least 7.5% of Europeans take part.
To help student mobility, we will launch the “Electronic European Student Card” in 2019 which will hold information on degrees and qualifications. This will allow students to access training across any institution and for the most future-looking sectors, such as science, technology, robotics or civil engineering.
Today, the recognition of diplomas or degrees across Europe is far from automatic. Building on the “Bologna Process” which paved the way for mutual recognition, a “Sorbonne Process” could go one step further. It could help improve mutual recognition of secondary and higher education diplomas and make the crossborder validation of training and certificates a mere formality. The Commission is ready to make a proposal to turn this vision into reality as soon as May 2018.
Stronger cooperation between Member States also means creating a European network of universities as well as truly European Universities. This would notably include a new School of European and transnational governance, hosted by the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.
When it comes to culture, the MEDIA programme has been a success story for European cinema since 1991. A total of 2.5 billion euros have been invested in producing and screening European audiovisual films. Elsewhere, the European Capitals of Culture have helped increase tourism and regenerate 56 cities over the last 32 years.
Culture is a great richness for Europe that we must preserve at a time when things move quicker and seem more shortlived than ever before. This is why Europe will dedicate 2018 to its cultural heritage – be it history, architecture, literature, film or art. Finally, through its historic support of Euronews, the Commission would like to see the channel strengthen its role as a provider of European information in Europe and beyond.
In Gothenburg, as Europe builds its future, education and culture must be the starting point. They are a driver for jobs and growth, helps promote social fairness and are the best cement for unity between all Europeans.
To help student mobility, we will launch the “Electronic European Student Card” in 2019 which will hold information on degrees and qualifications. This will allow students to access training across any institution and for the most future-looking sectors, such as science, technology, robotics or civil engineering.