The Agency is taking part in the European Commission’s Working Groups that are contributing to the European Education Area (EEA) development.
The Working Groups form part of the work towards the Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030). They build on the results of the Education and Training (ET) 2020 Working Groups and aim to enable participating countries to share information and inspire change. They consist of representatives from governments and stakeholder organisations from across Europe.
There are seven Working Groups, each with a different focus:
- Early childhood education and care (ECEC)
- Schools
- Higher education
- Vocational education and training and the green transition
- Adult learning
- Digital education
- Equality and values in education and training.
The Agency is participating as an expert in the ECEC, Schools and Equality Working Groups. As well as presenting at a peer learning activity as part of the Working Group on Schools, the Agency also directly contributed to a meeting of the Working Group on Equality in September. Eloy Rebollo Píriz introduced the Agency and its work and gave an overview of inclusive education in European Union (EU) countries. He also described how the Agency is contributing to the development of the EEA by supporting countries to improve their inclusive education systems and ensuring they comply with EU priorities on education.
The next peer learning activity in the ECEC Working Group will take place in December. The Working Group is developing and improving monitoring and evaluation systems for ECEC. The Agency’s role is to ensure that inclusion is taken into account in the process. Recently, the ECEC Working Group has also held additional meetings to assist countries in accommodating learners and teachers arriving from Ukraine.
The Working Groups will continue their work until December 2025. More information is available on the European Commission website.