To what extent does the European Union contribute to promoting education and training on EU affairs?

Let me start by saying that citizenship is one of the main pillars of every education system. The problem is that citizenship is often understood as only one subject within the school curriculum. As a consequence, the emphasis tends to be on knowledge rather than on competences that will allow our students to understand the values, objectives and processes of European integration. Such competences will offer knowledge and skills to students that will help them appreciate the importance of getting to know Europe and how it affects their everyday lives. Thus, education has indeed a crucial role to play in cultivating attitudes and attributes that will lead to a better understanding of EU affairs and a more inclusive democracy at EU level.

We also want the EU to be understood by our global partners. For the candidate countries and the EU’s partners in its immediate neighbourhood, it is essential that we have education systems which are able to help their countries explain and transpose EU policies in all their aspects.

For all these reasons, the European Commission established the Jean Monnet Programme in 1989 to foster knowledge about the EU at higher education institutions worldwide. Currently, there are Jean Monnet teaching projects on European integration in 68 countries, including 150 Jean Monnet centres of excellence, 825 Jean Monnet chairs, and more than 1,000 teaching modules.

In addition, we support European associations and high-level institutions that focus on European interest, such as the College of Europe and the European University Institute.

And every year we also welcome hundreds of study groups to Brussels from all over the world. These visits are an excellent opportunity to further understanding of the European Union, whether in specific areas like education and culture, or about EU affairs more generally.

What are the next steps for the Jean Monnet Programme?

To increase knowledge on the EU remains a great challenge, both inside the member states, the candidate and neighbourhood countries and in the rest of the world. It is my firm intention to give a prominent place to the Jean Monnet Programme in the next multiannual education programme that we have started to prepare and that will come in force in 2014.

Our activities should not be limited to promoting EU studies at the level of higher education. This is why we are considering launching a pilot project called ‘Europe at school’ that would stimulate awareness and knowledge about the EU among children.

To what extent should training on EU affairs be considered? Is it as relevant as education (such as master’s programmes, for instance)?

The concept of lifelong learning also applies to EU affairs. Our focus on the dissemination of knowledge about the EU is not limited to students on formal courses and traditional degree programmes. We want to continue to reach out to study groups, professional groups, civil servants, judges, NGOs – indeed, anyone who is interested in finding out more about the EU. This is why the Jean Monnet Programme gives priority to teaching projects that are also open to such groups. Several of the institutions that receive an annual operating grant through the programme are specialised in providing a wide range of basic and more specialised training courses for adult professionals. I am thinking in particular of the European Institute of Public Administration, the Academy of European Law and the College of Europe. Training is, of course, especially important in the candidate countries. In this context, Jean Monnet professors have already played a major role, especially in providing training to civil servants and judges.

Education and training on EU affairs have grown in importance at the European level over the past several decades. The diversity and contents available do not facilitate choice for students. A relative lack of visibility and understanding is observed. Could a solution be found at the European level?

I see the diversity in EU studies programmes as an asset rather than as a problem. Diversity is one of the key characteristics of the EU and it is good that this diversity is evident in the wide range of programmes of EU studies. This provides more choice for students whose goals and aspirations are very diverse and are therefore better served by a range of options rather than by a uniform and fixed EU studies curriculum.

Of course, it is important for prospective students to check whether the programmes to which they are applying suit their specific needs. They can check via the Jean Monnet project directory whether the programmes they are interested in are based at a Jean Monnet centre of excellence or whether they involve teaching by Jean Monnet professors ⁽¹⁾ .

Furthermore, there are important disparities between member states in terms of providing EU studies. How can the European Commission help to mitigate this phenomenon?

As I have already stated, it is not our intention to harmonise the curricula of EU studies. Indeed, it is not the EU’s role to intervene in the curricula offered by educational institutions in the member states. Our task is to support, coordinate and supplement the actions of the member states.

The Jean Monnet Programme for European integration studies is a typical example of such supporting action. When it was launched, in 1989, European Community studies had not yet been mainstreamed in university courses in law, economics, political science and history.The impact of our support for European universities speaks for itself. Today, it is almost impossible to find a serious law or economics programme that does not include a module devoted to the European Union. Thanks to regular assessments by independent academics, I am pleased to say that we have managed to increase the number of courses on offer and to ensure their quality.

⁽¹⁾  eacea.ec.europa.eu/llp/jeanmonnet/directory/New/Version/2008/V1/ajmrepertoire/distrib.Asp