Opleiding en onderwijs essentieel voor economisch herstel (en)
The Spanish Minister for Education, Ángel Gabilondo, signs an agreement with Switzerland during the Council meeting held in Brussels.
Education and training are key elements for emerging from the economic crisis and must be at the heart of a sustainable economy that generates employment. This is the proposal that the Spanish Presidency will convey to the President of the Council, Herman Van Rompuy i, at the meeting of the Heads of State and Government to be held in Brussels in March.
The EU Ministers for Education gathered for a meeting in Brussels chaired by the Spanish Minister, Ángel Gabilondo, to exchange views on the role of education and training as part of EU efforts to promote economic growth and job creation under the “EU 2020” strategy.
“All countries are strongly committed to opening up a process that will lead to the next meeting of the EU Heads of State and Government prioritising policies for education and training as the key factor in tackling the crisis", said the Spanish Minister at the end of the meeting.
This involves more flexible education and training systems that are more closely linked to professional activities and educational models that are socially fair and inclusive. In this sense, the Spanish Minister defended the space that social issues must occupy in education.
The Education, Youth and Culture Council (EYC) addressed this question, posed in the document presented by the Presidency entitled "Inclusion and social responsibility through education and training", which argues that in times of economic crisis, it is more essential than ever that economic strategy and the recovery of the labour market are based on high quality education and training that extends to all human resources in European countries.
The Spanish Presidency considers that education and training are essential for building a knowledge-based economy and is therefore the best policy for achieving economic recovery and strengthening social cohesion.
The Council has also adopted a joint report with the Commission on the implementation of the “Education and Training 2010” programme. The Spanish Minister explained, “We have reviewed the situation. We have seen which aspects we have made progress in, such as the general improvement of the European educational system, and we have recognised aspects in which we have to make more effort, such as early school-leavers, lifelong learning, the link between education and the employability of knowledge and the consolidation of the knowledge society", Minister Gabilondo also reported on the “Jean Monnet” seminars held in Madrid last 25 and 26 January.
As President of the EYC Council, he signed an agreement with Switzerland for its inclusion in the “Youth in Action” programme and the other action programme in the sphere of ongoing learning.