Speaking in Turin, Commissioner Viviane Reding among other things pointed to anumber of indicators showing there is still very much to be done if EU is to reach its ambitious goals as set out in the Lisbon Agenda.

Here is an excerpt of the speech:

Last February, the Ministers for Education and the Commission together took stock for the first time of progress achieved in pursuit of the Lisbon objectives. The low-key message from this was that we have made some progress but that a number of warning lights are still on.

In 2000, public investment in education as a proportion of GDP was 5% within the EU, which is comparable to the figure for the United States (4.8%) and higher than Japan's (3.5%). However, between 1995 and 2000, public-sector input fell in most of the Member States. In addition, the EU suffers from under-investment in the private sector, particularly in terms of higher education and continuing training. In these sectors, the private-sector input in the USA is five times higher than in the EU.

Additionally, spending per student is higher in the US and in Japan than in the EU at all levels of education. But it is in higher education that the disparity is greatest, with spending in the EU just half the level in the US. It is interesting to note that the contribution from the public purse is the same on both sides of the Atlantic. The difference lies in the input from the private sector: a mere 0.2% of GDP in Europe compared with 1.2% in the USA.

Here are just some of the warning lights that are flashing:

• School drop-out rates stand at 20% on average in Europe.
• According to the Pisa study, many young people are failing to acquire the normal complement of key skills.
• Too few people are involved in lifelong learning: the average participation rate is 8.5%.
• Too few higher education graduates: EU 23%, Japan 36%, USA 37%.
• While the number of universities in Europe and in the USA is roughly the same, the attractiveness of education in the USA is higher. The number of foreign students is much higher in the USA (with 60 000 from Latin America compared with just 20 000 in Europe, and 320 000 from Asia compared with just 180 000 in Europe). At the same time, some 100 000 European researchers have moved to the United States!

For me, the message is clear. The Union and its Member States are not doing enough. We are trying to build a knowledge-based society without sufficient knowledge and neglecting the foundations, i.e. by failing to educate and train people. We are consequently jeopardising our future growth and competitiveness.

Source: Europa Server Press Releases

Full speech