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Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council, 28-29 November 2022
Main results
Education and youth - 28 November
Pathways to school success and well-being in digital education
The Council adopted a recommendation on pathways to school success. As the share of early leavers from education and training stood at 9.7% in 2021 and the underachievement rate in reading, mathematics and science of 15-year olds is – according to the Education and Training Monitor 2021 – still above 15%, the recommendation calls on member states to develop strategies towards school success and to minimise the effects of socio-economic status on education and training outcomes.
Ministers also approved conclusions on supporting well-being in digital education. The use of digital tools and methods are on the rise in classrooms throughout Europe, especially after the switch to online learning and teaching during the pandemic. This ongoing development and the need to ensure learners' and educators' well-being in this digital reality should be reflected when member states design their digital education strategies.
We must continue to develop a school environment in which students and teachers feel well, safe, secure and are able to recognise the risks associated with the use of digital means.
Vladimír Balaš, Czech minister of Education, Youth and Sports
Ministers also discussed how the European Education Area (EEA) can react more quickly and efficiently to crises such as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine or the COVID-19 pandemic. Many ministers highlighted ongoing efforts related to the integration of Ukrainian children in their education systems and the EEA’s role as a tool to coordinate actions in times of crisis.
European Year of Youth
2022 is the European Year of Youth. It honours the European youth who endured much hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic – being completely prevented from social life and interaction. Ministers assessed the implementation of this European Year and discussed how to ensure its legacy beyond 2022. A special focus of the exchange was on how to make the youth dimension an integral part of all the EU’s policies and policy making.
The Council also approved conclusions on promoting the intergenerational dimension in the youth field to foster dialogue and social cohesion.
The pandemic – with lock-downs, the cancellation of festivals and closure of youth centers – has been especially hard on our youth. This European Year of Youth was a good opportunity to lift the young people from their social deprivation and boost their involvement in public matters. In order to uphold the spirit of this year we need to get better in involving and listening to young people when we as politicians take decisions.
Vladimír Balaš, Czech minister of Education, Youth and Sports
The Commission provided information on the European Education Area Progress Report together with the launch of Learning Labs on investing in quality education and training, ethical guidelines on the use of AI and data in teaching and learning, guidelines on tackling disinformation and promoting digital literacy as well as a pledge of the “Deep Tech Talent initiative”.
The minister of Cyprus informed delegations about the 9th Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference and the outcomes of the high-level meeting of Education Ministers on Education for Sustainable Development.
The Czech presidency shared the outcome of the discussion at the informal EU Youth Dialogue breakfast meeting which took place before the start of the Council meeting.
The upcoming Swedish presidency presented its work programmes for education and youth.
Other items on the agenda
As items without discussion, the Council adopted several other legislative acts:
the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) which will strengthen the IT security of financial entities such as banks, insurance companies and investment firms
a new directive on security of network and information systems (NIS 2) for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, to further improve the resilience and incident response capacities of both the public and private sector and the EU as a whole
the foreign subsidies regulation which tackles distortive foreign subsidies on the internal market and aims to restore fair competition between all companies operating in the internal market – both European and non-European
the corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD). Companies will soon be required to publish detailed information on sustainability matters. This will increase a company’s accountability, prevent divergent sustainability standards, and ease the transition to a sustainable economy
Culture, audiovisual and sport - 29 November
Culture in times of crisis
Against the backdrop of the deliberate destruction of Ukrainian monuments and museums and the massive looting of Ukrainian artworks and cultural heritage by the Russian army, the EU ministers of culture held a policy debate on support and solidarity with Ukrainian culture, including cultural heritage. Ministers exchanged views on the possibilities for specific assistance in relation to Ukraine’s needs in the field of culture, and on strengthening cooperation between European Capitals of Culture and Ukrainian cities.
In this context the Council strengthened the external action dimension of culture and added a specific action on Ukraine in the EU Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026 which member states also adopted today.
We cannot be indifferent to the destruction and looting of Ukrainian museums and cultural heritage. In the light of Russia’s aggression EU ministers of culture stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian cultural sector.
Martin Baxa, Czech minister of Culture
The Czech presidency presented a progress report about the state of play of the ongoing work on the legislative proposal for a European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). The EMFA aims at establishing common rules for the functioning of the internal market for media services. Its focus is to protect media freedom, pluralism and independence in the EU.
Since early 2020 the European sport sector has faced multiple unprecedented crises: COVID-19 measures limited opportunities for sport activity and led to cancellation of sports competitions. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis is also impacting the sector.
In this context ministers shared good practices of how these crises can be turned into opportunities. The use of digital tools (for instance to participate in sports from home) is an illustration of how external constraints have led to positive change. The energy crisis for its part might lead to a transition of sports infrastructure towards sustainable and energy-efficient sources of energies. The UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin and former Czech basketball player with NBA experience Jiří Welsch also joined the debate.
The transition to more sustainable sport infrastructure – in the broadest social, economic and environmental sense – was also addressed by Council conclusions on sustainable and accessible sports infrastructure that ministers approved.
Recent years have undeniably been very difficult for everyone involved in sport in Europe – from clubs to professionals and amateurs. The sport sector has shown great strength in finding answers to the challenges of the pandemic and ongoing energy crisis and this will contribute to the long term goal to make the sport infrastructure more sustainable.
Vladimír Balaš, Czech minister of Education, Youth and Sports
Germany raised the challenges of cultural institutions in the energy crisis and Latvia informed about the selection of the European capital of culture. The Commission briefed ministers on the EIT Culture and Creativity Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) and on the European Union as Guest of Honour at the Guadalajara International Book Fair.
Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland highlighted the issue of transmission of Russian propaganda channels by EU satellite service providers.
The Dutch delegation addressed the topic of respecting human rights when assigning major sport events and Sweden reported back from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Foundation Board meeting.
Sweden presented its work programmes for culture and sport as upcoming presidency.
We must continue to develop a school environment in which students and teachers feel well, safe, secure and are able to recognise the risks associated with the use of digital means.
We cannot be indifferent to the destruction and looting of Ukrainian museums and cultural heritage. In the light of Russia’s aggression EU ministers of culture stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian cultural sector.
