mr president the eu twenty twenty strategy proposes action to enhance the performance of education systems reinforce the attractiveness of europe's higher education open up more mobility and training programmes for young people modernise labour markets boost labour mobility and develop skills and competences to increase labour market participation
this has been endorsed by the spring council which stated that key objectives requiring action at eu level included better conditions for research and development improved education levels a reduction in early school leavers and increased participation of youth older workers and low-skilled workers in the labour market
however the global economic crisis has led to budget cuts in the education sector in member states across the european union
for instance latvia is suffering a deep economic crisis and it has faced severe budget cuts in the country's thirty-four higher education institutions with a threatened fifty cutback to the higher-education budget
irish universities face a six cut and britain is not exempt from this because in england the higher education funding council reckons there may be a cut of up to eur five hundred million from higher education
this is not all doom and gloom
some member states such as france have been doing well but the problem is that there is a divergent level of funding across member states
in order for the eu twenty twenty strategy to work we need a strong coordinated approach
i am therefore asking for the commission to explain firstly how it intends to ensure that member states make good on their commitments to the educational goals in the twenty twenty strategy by ensuring that this area receives sufficient support and funding and is not forgotten amid the rush to balance the books in the light of the economic crisis and secondly how it intends to secure extra budgetary means for these important eu-level strategies and programmes
