MEPs want larger 'European dimension' in national education programmes 

The Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education has adopted a non-binding report on support measures to include the 'European dimension' in school curricula. The Committee wants EU national education systems to ensure that their pupils have, by the end of their secondary education, the necessary knowledge and competences to prepare them for their roles as future EU citizens. Teaching geography, history and foreign languages in particular "grant considerable status to the European dimension in education," the Committee believes. 

The report states that current national initiatives on the issue lack "visibility, accessibility, adequate tools and co-ordination" at EU level. It recommends assisting the teachers on how to incorporate the 'European dimension' into lessons and boost the complementarity and co-ordination of initiatives. The Committee also proposes teaching at least two foreign languages to children from a very early age and highlights the importance of ensuring universal access to information on the 'European dimension', particularly for teachers.

It also suggests organising student, teacher, information and project exchanges between the EU-10 and the EU-15. "It is particularly important to include understanding of Central and Eastern European issues in the national educational programmes of the EU-15, to offset the lack of information during the decades of Europe's post war division," the report concludes.