Ministers lichten prioriteiten van het Spaans voorzitterschap toe aan Europees Parlement (en)

Spanish Presidency ministers this week outline their EU Council Presidency priorities to a range of parliamentary committees and will field MEPs' questions on most EU policy areas. On Monday they faced the committees on Education and Culture, Regional Development and Women's Rights. This release will be updated throughout the week.

"Education is an equalising policy" and the "best path out of poverty", Spanish education minister Angel Gabilondo told Lothar Bisky at a Culture Committee meeting on Monday. Asked by Helga Trüpel (Greens/EFA, DE) about fresh funding for education projects, he replied "We'll be able to open a debate on new funding" only if  "education is among the priorities for the 2020 EU strategy", i.e. if  it is made an objective for the next six months.

"Any measures foreseen to facilitate mobility of teachers inside the EU?" asked Santiago Fisas (EPP, ES). "We need to recognise the involvement of the education community as a key factor" for the Bologna process, which aims to create a European Higher Education area, replied Mr Gabilondo.

The EU must aim to end "mutual distress between university and business" and back the idea that "social profitability is compatible with economic profitability", he added in reply to Morten Lokkegaard (ALDE, DK), who observed that "there is lack of harmony between university and the business world", and C?t?lin Ivan (S&D, RO), who asked about making the education system more flexible "to adapt to the changing nature of the job market".