On 23-26 May 2019, more than 200,000,000 voters in 28 EU countries went to the polls to elect the members of the European Parliament. The new president of the Parliament is David Sassoli (Italian Partito Democratico). He is elected for a period of 2.5 year.
They in turn voted on 16 July 2019 to elect Ursula von der Leyen as president of the European Commission. She put a team together based on nominees from national capitals - commissioners-designate - whose competence and abilities MEPs examined in a series of parliamentary committee hearings from September to November 2019. On 27 November 2019, the European Parliament approved the new European Commission headed by Ursula von der Leyen.
Mariya Gabriel (Bulgaria) will be responsible for education, within a larger portfolio (Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth).
The four priorities were presented by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković at a conference entitled ‘A strong Europe in a world of challenges’, held on 30 October 2019 in the National and University Library, the central venue of the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union:
- A Europe that develops
- A Europe that connects
- A Europe that protects
- An influential Europe.
On 28 November 2019, the Finnish presidency and the incoming Croatian presidency published a roadmap outlining the key steps of the 2020 European Semester.
On 18 December 2019, the Council received the European Commission's autumn package of documents for the 2020 European Semester. The autumn package kicks off the annual cycle of economic governance coordination. It sets out general economic priorities for the EU and provides EU countries with policy guidance for the following year.
The priorities for Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union were to strengthen common values and the rule of law, to make the EU more competitive and socially inclusive, to strengthen the EU’s position as a global leader in climate action and to protect the security of citizens comprehensively.
https://eu2019.fi
PISA is the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment. PISA measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. This year’s focus was on reading.
The European Commission has published a report at the occasion of the latest PISA-results.
For the eighth consecutive year, the 2019 Education and Training Monitor gathers a wide range of evidence to indicate the evolution of national education and training systems across the European Union (EU).
The report measures countries’ progress towards the targets of the Education and Training 2020 (ET 2020) strategic framework for European cooperation in these fields. It also provides insights into measures taken to address education-related issues as part of the European Semester process. The Monitor offers suggestions for policy reforms that can make national education and training systems more responsive to societal and labour market needs. Furthermore, the report helps to identify where EU funding for education, training and skills should be targeted through the EU's next long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
The Monitor comprises a cross-country comparison and 28 in-depth country reports.
Education at a Glance is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the structure, finances and performance of education systems across OECD countries and a number of partner economies.
The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is the largest international survey asking teachers and school leaders about their working conditions and learning environments, and provides a barometer of the profession every five years. Results from the 2018 cycle explore and examine the various dimensions of teacher and school leader professionalism across education systems.
