International co-operation in education and training
The European Commission supports a range of international education and training activities. These activities are an essential part of the EU's international policies and are becoming increasingly important.
There are four goals:
- To support partner countries outside the EU in their modernisation efforts;
- To promote common values and closer understanding between different peoples and cultures;
- To advance the EU as a centre of excellence in education and training;
- To improve the quality of services and human resources in the EU through mutual learning, comparison and exchange of good practice.
What is involved?
Activities are focused in particular on higher education because of its importance in the development of modern societies and its key role in social, cultural and economic development.The European Commission's international co-operation programmes in higher education and training include:
- Erasmus Mundus: enhancing quality in higher education through scholarships and academic co-operation worldwide;
- Co-operation with industrialised countries: enhancing the quality of higher education and vocational education and training, mainly through joint study programmes;
- Jean Monnet: promoting teaching and research on European integration;
- Tempus: building co-operation between the EU and neighbouring regions;
- Edulink: capacity-building and regional integration in higher education in ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) states and regions;
- Alfa: supporting co-operation between higher education institutions in the EU and Latin America.
Overview of national and European higher education programmes and policies for cooperation between EU and non-EU countries.
Policy dialogue
The EU's international programmes, as well as European political initiatives such as the Bologna Process and its modernisation agenda in higher education, reach well beyond the EU.Issues such as the mobility of teachers and students, and the recognition of qualifications, quality and excellence are priority areas for both Europe and its partners. The EU can share its expertise in areas such as benchmarking, lifelong learning, key competences and qualification frameworks.
Through such "policy dialogues" with partner countries, the Commission can highlight the attractiveness of EU education and training worldwide, while both sides benefit from sharing experiences and expertise.
Regional initiatives
The EU is working within regional policy frameworks to promote education and training as a way to connect EU citizens with their neighbours and enhance mutual understanding.Examples of this include the recently launched "Eastern Partnership" and Union for the Mediterranean (formerly the Barcelona Process), where education, training, youth and culture are key to building closer connections between people from different countries and regions.
The Commission is working on establishing the legal and financial framework for the participation of EU candidate and potential candidate countries in its internal education and training programmes.
The Commission is also strengthening links in education and training with Africa through the Africa-EU strategic partnership, and Asia through the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).
Agreements with individual countries
The European Commission has made agreements with several countries and co-operates with them through comparative studies, workshops and conferences on themes of common interest.The EU has had individual agreements with the USA and Canada for education and training (and youth for Canada) since 1995. New agreements were signed in 2006.
In 2007, policy dialogue on education was launched with Australia and China through the signing of joint declarations.
In 2008, the Commission signed joint declarations on education with Israel and India. Similar processes were launched with Brazil and Mexico in 2009.
