EP CULT Committee - Exchange of views on European Schools on 25 February 2021

EP CULT Committee - Exchange of views on European Schools on 25 February 2021 - Important news about follow-up actions

On 25 February 2021, the President of Interparents, Mr Moles-Palleja and the President of our APEEE, Mr Papadopoulos took part in the exchange of views organised by the European Parliament (EP) Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) on the current state of affairs and the future of European Schools.

We are glad to inform you that the documents provided by the parents associations of the Brussels schools and INTERPARENTS as well as the material sent by the Deputy Secretary-General, Mr Beckmann have been distributed to all Members of the CULT Committee. In addition, at their meeting on 19 April, the CULT Committee Co-ordinators decided to ask the EP's Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies to commission a comprehensive study examining the current state of European schools and the challenges they face as well as the development perspectives of the European Schools' system. On the basis of the outcome of this study, the Committee will then decide on the most adequate and best tailored form of political action to be taken, for example, a new own-initiative report.

Meanwhile, the CULT Committee will continue to closely monitor developments in the European Schools system and reserves its right to take action even before finalisation of the above-mentioned study, should this be deemed necessary.

The Secretariat-General of the European Schools and the parents associations will, in any case, be kept updated and it is also likely that they will get contacted for their input by the authors of the forthcoming study, once it has been commissioned by the EP Policy Department.

We sincerely thank the President of the EP CULT Committee, Ms. Verheyen and the Committee Members for their active listening to our concerns and for their visionary leadership in preparing the ground for a constructive and thoughtful follow-up from the EP side. After more than 10 years after the previous own-initiative resolution the EP, this opens the way for a critical assessment of European school matters. The EP CULT Committee is keen on taking up its competence on this matter and on acting in this capacity by forging an ambitious future agenda.