Priorities of the Ministry of National Education during the Presidency of Romania to the Council of the European Union - Main contents

The Minister of National Education, Ecaterina Andronescu, participated, together with the other members of the Executive, in the programme organized for the visit to Romania by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker i, and the College of Commissioners, which took place 10 - 11 January 2019 in Bucharest, to mark the official takeover of the Romanian Presidency to the Council of the European Union.

On this occasion, within the Cluster - Internal Market - growth, competitiveness, innovation and digital, Minister Ecaterina Andronescu mentioned the priorities in education and training during the six months of Romania’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

They cover three major aspects: mobility, inclusion, excellence.

During its mandate, Romania will take steps to secure an agreement on the Proposal for a Council Recommendation on the High-Quality System on Early Childhood Education and Care. Pre-school education and care services contribute to strengthening inclusion and cohesion, as well as the European dimension, through the social integration of families and children from third countries.

Another priority is to obtain the consensus of Education ministers on the Proposal for a Council Recommendation - A comprehensive approach to language teaching and learning. Foreign language learning has an impact on increased student mobility, fosters the creation of an inclusive cultural environment and can be stimulated by using digital tools.

The Erasmus + programme is a top-level dossier for Romania’s mandate during the presidency of the E iU council. We believe we are prepared to initiate the inter-institutional talks (the trilogue) with the European Parliament and the European Commission, in order to make progress towards the adoption of the future Erasmus + programme and guide, an important step to setting up the European ​​Education Area.

Excellence in education and training is a key element to continue the development of European university networks, as well as of the centres of excellence in vocational education and training.

Also, cooperation between Europe and Asia, as well as the internationalization of education will be promoted during the Presidency by organizing in Bucharest the meeting of the ministers of Education involved in the ASEM cooperation process (Bucharest, May 15-16), The ASEF Rectors’ Conference and Students’ Forum (11-14 May) and the ASEM senior officials meeting (May 14th). The main topics to be addressed are mobility and the contribution of universities to sustainable development.

In education and training, the priorities of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union are based on the outcomes of the Göteborg Social Summit in November 2017, the European Council conclusions of December 2017, the European Commission’s initiatives, as well as the results of the previous Presidency trio, Estonia-Bulgaria-Austria (1 July 2017-31 December 2018). These priorities are an integral part of the Council’s 18-month programme prepared by the Romanian, Finnish and Croatian Presidencies.