Education and Cultural Policy
Education was not formally integrated into the EU policy
portfolio until the 1993 Maastricht Treaty. Despite this, the first
Community legislation having an impact in the education sector was adopted in
the sixties. These early directives dealt with mutual recognition of
qualifications. Achieving recognition by one Member State of a qualification
obtained in another was a fundamental building block in establishing the
freedom to provide services and a pre-condition for implementing the free
movement of workers in the single market.
Mutual recognition of qualifications
Fundamental to the implementation of the freedom to provide services
across borders and to the free movement of workers in the single market.
Provisions already in force cover the legal profession, the medical profession
(doctors, dentists, vets, nurses, midwives, pharmacists), architecture,
commerce and industry, the transport sector, agriculture, the film industry and
the self employed. Furthermore, in 1989, a general system was introduced for
the recognition of higher education degrees and diplomas and this has since
been extended to cover professional education and training.
Student Mobility
Widely regarded as being among the most visible and beneficial
initiatives, the EU has develop wide number of initiatives to promote student mobility.
The most famous of these is the 1987 Erasmus
programme. Built on a system of recognition of course credits, Erasmus
allows university students to study for one year in a different Member State.
In its post-Maastricht form, and under the banner of Socrates
(euro 920 million for the period 1995-99) Erasmus has been
supplemented by Comenius (partnerships between schools and
colleges in different Member States), Lingua (promotion of
language training), Minerva (open and distance learning -
Information and Communication Technologies in the field of education) and Arion
(cooperation in education theory).
A separate programme - Leonardo (euro 620 million,
1995-1999) - was also put in place for vocational training exchanges. This
gives young school leavers, students and graduates the chance to receive
vocational training. It is also open to adults seeking similar qualifications.
In addition to education and training, there are 2 EU programmes for young
people – the 1995 "Youth for Europe" scheme (euro 126 million 1995-99)
and the "European Voluntary Service", formally established in 1998 after
a 2-year pilot phase.
There is an increasing tendency for these programmes to be extended
beyond the borders of the EU. All apply to the EFTA States participating in the
EEA (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and are being extended to the countries
pursuing accession negotiations to join the EU.
A separate initiative, Tempus, funds exchanges with
other countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The
EU also has separate education cooperation programmes with the developing
countries of Asia, Latin America, the USA, Canada and 71 States in Africa, the
Caribbean and the Pacific.
Under both Socrates and the European Social Fund, a
growing number of initiatives target ethnic minorities, the disabled and women
returning to work.
Among the many EU agencies in the education sector, the oldest is the
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (known by its French
acronym CEDEFOP) which was established in 1975 and now has its seat in
Thessaloniki. Others include the European Training Foundation (Turin), the
European University Institute (Florence) and an information network on
education in Europe - EURYDICE. National Academic Recognition Information
Centres (NARICs) have also been created in all Member States.
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