The EU & Education — Looking to the Future
The project of European integration has always been about preserving peace, breaking down internal borders, and encouraging the free movement of goods, services, people and capital.
Sixty years after the signing of the Treaty of Rome, education remains one of the best assets we have to achieve a shared sense of identity and citizenship.
The EU has combined its commitment to education with the principle of freedom of movement to become a global leader in higher education exchange and mobility. But given the economic and social challenges that Europe — and the rest of the world — are facing, we are continuing to look to the future.
That’s why, for the past few months, we’ve shared the stories of Americans and Europeans who have participated in and benefited from the many educational opportunities the EU offers, from Erasmus+ to Model EU. During this period around the Thanksgiving holiday, we’re grateful to all of you who have read and shared these stories. And we thought we’d conclude our #EUatSchool series by sharing some of the latest proposals from the European Commission to create a European Education Area by 2025.
Why create a European Education Area? Because education is key to creating jobs, ensuring social fairness, building active citizenship, and developing an experience of European identity and diversity. The European Commission proposals include a number of ambitious ideas including:
- A secure EU student e-card that will contain academic information and allow access to more university services like libraries;
- Increasing the number of students participating in the Erasmus+ mobility programme by 2 million before 2020 and doubling participation rates between 2021 and 2027;
- By 2025, graduating secondary students should have good knowledge of two languages in addition to their mother tongue;
- Setting a benchmark for Member States to spend a minimum of 5% of GDP on education, including additional financial support from the EU.
These are just a few of the proposals that EU Heads of Government discussed last week at a summit in Gothenburg, Sweden. It’s clear from these proposals — and their ambition — that the European Union understands the importance and value of exchange and higher education mobility. However, this understanding is not new.
This year, the Erasmus programme turns 30 years old! Over the past three decades, more than 9 million people have participated in some aspect of Erasmus. Studies evaluating the Erasmus program have found that students’ experiences studying and living in another EU Member State contributes quite concretely to their developing a sense of European identity and citizenship. One can understand, then, why we would want to double participation!
The Erasmus experience has even entered pop culture, inspiring the popular film L’Auberge Espagnole which follows several European students living together in Barcelona. Our main message is that Erasmus+ is not just for Europeans! American students and universities can participate in many aspects of the Erasmus+ program. Under Erasmus+, Americans are eligible for short term study abroad experiences, joint master’s degrees, and even support to study or teach about the EU!
This year, Erasmus+ is spending $4.3 million to support 578 Americans to study abroad in Europe and 485 Europeans to come here to the US.
In addition, 44 Americans received scholarships to undertake one of more than 100 Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree programmes. (Read Desiree Acholla’s #EUatSchool story about her Erasmus+ experience as an American.) The 2017 Call for Proposals was released a few weeks ago and most applications are due in February — we encourage you to apply!
But as you’ve seen throughout the #EUatSchool series, Erasmus+ is just one small part of educational relations between Europe and the United States. The exchange of knowledge and learning has been a pillar of transatlantic relations from its earliest days. Europeans were instrumental in establishing the first institutions of higher education in the United States and since the end of WWII, educational relations between Europe and the United States have only flourished. We have been and continue to be each other’s top destinations for studying abroad. Every year tens of thousands of Americans and Europeans go to the other side of the Atlantic to study.
Data released last week by the Institute of International Education (IIE) confirmed that the EU hosts over half (52.6%) of all Americans studying abroad — that’s over 170,000 Americans each year! This one statistic says a great deal about the attractiveness of the European higher education system and the strength of European soft power. The US also remains an important destination for many European students as well. In 2016, more than 66,000 Europeans were studying in the US.
Over the past 6 decades, this exchange has built a transatlantic community on a foundation of common values. Maintaining educational exchanges between the EU and US is critical to renewing and reinventing the transatlantic relationship for the next generation of Americans and Europeans.
We don’t take our close transatlantic ties for granted and know that to ensure they continue for another 6 decades we must continue to foster transatlantic educational relations.
Here at the EU Delegation we will continue to (more occasionally) highlight these ties and the many educational opportunities we offer Americans on Medium and social media. To learn more, follow our #EUatSchool series on Medium, visit our website, and be sure to find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
This story is part of the #EUatSchool series, showcasing the wide array of EU educational programs, grants, and competitions open to Americans. From Erasmus+ to Euro Challenge to Model EU.
