Committee on Culture and Education Ordinary meeting
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CULT European Parliament
Follow its sittingsHélder Sousa Silva
We made the technology safer so that society could benefit from it. The same principle must apply to artificial intelligence. So this is not innovation versus protection. It is about safeguards that create trust. And this is a keyword: trust.
AI can bring real benefits to Europe's cultural and creative sectors, and we should embrace them. But one principle must remain clear. AI, and it is really a key point, AI should be a tool for human creativity, not a replacement of human creativity. That is what a human-centered approach means. And this concern does not belong to one political group or only to politics.
In May this year, Pope Leo XIV dedicated the first encyclical for his pontificate, Magnifica Humanitas, to safeguard the human person in the age of artificial intelligence.
He placed human dignity at the heart of technological development and stressed the need to protect the dignity of human work as technology evolves. This report also comes at a particularly important moment. The European Commission is now developing a specific AI strategy for cultural and creative sectors. So, the discussion we are having in CULT Committee will contribute directly to the European reflection that is taking place right now. We also wanted this first draft to be informed by those who experience this transformation directly.
I'm speaking about the stakeholders. On the 2nd September, we held a stakeholders consultation that was extremely, extremely constructive. Their input was extremely valuable in preparing this first version of the report. And one message comes through very clearly: there is no single reality across the cultural and creative sectors. We have different realities.
A musician does not face the same challenges as a publisher. A film producer is not in the same position as a museum.
A journalist faces different questions from a video game developer. For this reason, the report takes a sectoral approach, specifically: music, audiovisual, video games, books and publishing, cultural heritage, the press and journalism. We need common principles at European level, but common principles alone are not enough. We also need responses that reflect the reality of each sector. Within this sectoral approach, the report is built around four main priorities.
First, keeping human creativity at the center. Second, ensuring the creators retain effective control of their works. Third, guaranteeing transparency so that people can understand when content has been generated by AI. Fourth, giving our cultural and creative sectors the skills, tools, and capacity they need to benefit from the AI themselves.
And all of this must be seen in the context of an already very broad European regulatory framework. We have the Artificial Intelligence Act, the Digital Services Act, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, the Digital Markets Act, the General Data Protection Regulation and the Directive on Copyright and Related Rights in the Digital Single Market among others, too many I mean package. This means that the challenge is not simply that rules are missing. In some areas there are gaps. In others there are overlaps, which can create uncertainty in implementation and difficulties in coordination between European and national authorities.
So in many cases the priority should not be to create new legislation but to implement and enforce, another key word, enforce the rules we already have properly. And where genuine gaps remain, we should assess whether more targeted legislative action is needed. This first draft now puts those choices on the table.
The next step is to refine them together. As you already said Madame Chair the amendment period which closes on 8th of October at 12 o'clock gives us the opportunity. I look forward to receive the proposals of the shadows and I will also table a small number of amendments to develop a few points in a greater detail due to the fact that I don't have more I mean the space to address all all the proposals. I would especially welcome focused proposals that strengthen the text remains within the CULT's remit and preserve its coherence. In all the files I have worked on on in CULT cooperation across political groups has very has been very constructive.
And having said that I would like to I mean to thank my dear colleagues the shadow rapporteurs and all the secretariat and the assistants and the stakeholders for this precious cooperation. And I believe the reason is simple. We are all working towards the same goal.
And the goal is simple for me: defending European culture. And we are fighting for the culture, all the political groups. Here in the AI, we are fighting for the same. Culture does not belong to one political family. Culture belongs to all of us.
Thank you so much.
Nela Riehl
Thank you for these nice words at the end, especially, I think we all appreciated that a lot. I'll switch into German again. Noch mal ganz herzlichen Dank für die schöne Präsentation. Nun erhalten die Schattenberichterstatter das Wort für jeweils zwei Minuten. Wir starten mit Herrn Heide Hannes von der S&D.
Hannes Heide
Herzlichen Dank. Besonderes Dankeschön auch an den Berichterstatter Helder Sousa Silva für seinen wirklich guten Entwurf. Viele wichtige Punkte, die wir mit den Stakeholdern diskutiert haben. Es gab ja ein zweites Hearing innerhalb eines Jahres, und das hat gezeigt, wie rasch die Entwicklung bei KI sich entfaltet, und es hat viele neue Aspekte gegeben. An einem Tag habe ich vor wenigen Wochen gelesen, zum einen, KI könnte die Menschheit vernichten, und am selben Tag konnte ich lesen, warum Menschen keine Angst vor der KI haben sollten.
Und genau in diesem Spannungsfeld bewegen wir uns. Es geht um einerseits Reagieren auf Entwicklungen, aber auch Agieren, dass der europäische Kultur- und Kreativbereich auch wettbewerbsfähig ist.
Und zentraler Punkt ist die faire Vergütung entlang der KI-Wertschöpfungskette. Es geht um Zustimmung, Lizenzierung und Vergütung, die in einem gedacht werden müssen und Transparenz ist ganz, ganz prioritär. Und es geht um eine angemessene Beteiligung von Rechteinhabern am Wert, der durch die Nutzung ihrer Werke für künstliche Intelligenz entsteht. Und ich möchte noch einmal unterstreichen, was bei diesem letzten Hearing ganz deutlich geworden ist. Die Text- und Data-Mining-Ausnahme hat durchaus etwas, was wir infrage stellen sollten, nämlich wenn die Copyright-Ausnahme genutzt wird ohne Wissen und ohne Vergütung, intransparent geistiges Eigentum zu verwenden, ohne dass die Urheberinhaberinnen und -inhaber davon Bescheid wissen.
Wichtig ist auch, dass unfreie Vertragspraktiken stärker bekämpft werden, keine Buy-out-Verträge und überschießende KI-Klauseln in Verträgen, kollektive Verhandlungen und Rechtewahrnehmung stärken. Besonders wichtig ist das für kleinere Akteure mit begrenzten Verwaltungskapazitäten.
Und auch über das Urheberrecht hinausgehend ist der Schutz von Arbeitsbedingungen unerlässlich, denn KI kann Einstiegsjobs für junge Kreative gefährden und auch die prekären Arbeitsverhältnisse, die wir ja im Kulturbereich erleben, noch verstärken. KI soll Unterstützung sein, nicht Ersatz, menschliches Schaffen sichtbar und wirtschaftlich tragfähig halten. Ein klares und praxistaugliches Labeling von KI-Inhalten ist notwendig. Was mir ein Anliegen auch ist, nicht nur die Regulierung und der Schutz vor der KI, sondern auch Chancen zu nutzen, und das heißt Investitionen und Förderungen durch die Europäische Union. Was ist notwendig?
KI-Kompetenz und Zugang für den gesamten Sektor und branchenspezifische Weiterbildung. AI Literacy ist dabei ein großes Thema, gemeinsam mit sektorspezifischem Training mit Berufsverbänden, Bildungseinrichtungen und auch den Sozialpartnerinitiativen. Europäische Unterstützung für Entwicklung und Erprobung konkreter KI-Tools, auch für Kulturorganisationen, insbesondere das Publikum anzusprechen und für Barrierefreiheit. Mittel aus bestehenden Programmen wie Erasmus+, Horizon, AgoraEU sollten auch für Kooperationen von Kultur, Technologie, Bildung und Forschung im Bereich KI zur Verfügung stehen. Kulturschaffende sollen KI nicht nur nutzen, sondern an ihrer Entwicklung auch beteiligt sein.
Und Förderungen für Zusammenarbeit zwischen Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaft mit europäischen KI-Entwicklern, aber öffentlich finanzierte KI-Projekte mit geschützten kulturellen Inhalten müssen dabei an Transparenz und Urheberrecht geknüpft werden. Und öffentliche Kulturförderung muss auf menschliches Schaffen ausgerichtet sein, KI als Unterstützung, nicht Ersatz. Ich bin mir ganz sicher mit dem Berichterstatter, dass wir zu einem ausgezeichneten Ergebnis kommen, und auch ich bin mir bewusst, es geht um den Schutz und um die Wahrung europäischen Kulturerbes. Danke schön.
Nela Riehl
Vielen Dank. Ich sehe von der PfE niemanden hier. Ich sehe auch die EKR nicht vertreten. Das heißt, wir gehen direkt über zu Brigitte von Renew.
Brigitte van den Berg
Thank you very much, Nela, and thank you very much to my colleagues that already spoke, because I think we are on a philosophical level quite aligned, because also Renew thinks that the answer is not to slow down technological development, but to set the conditions under which it happens. And we have to ensure that AI serves human creativity and not the other way around. But how do we do that?
I think we should not close the door to innovation, because AI can support the creative process, and specifically for smaller creators, and it can help European culture to reach new audiences. But of course, across Europe, we also see people are increasingly uneasy about the speed in which artificial intelligence is developing. In the cultural and creative sectors, that concern is especially tangible. And I think that is not without reason. Because if we see that artists and musicians can know that the AI systems are trained on their work, often without them knowing how that work is being used, and that performers can see their voice or likeness reproduced without meaningful consent, and that audiences are increasingly struggling to distinguish human-made content from synthetic content, we know that these concerns are real.
And that Europe should respond with more than another round of studies, but that we really need enforcement, transparency, and clear rules. And that comes also with money and reskilling. Let me set out these points clearly.
First of all, creators must be able to exercise their rights in practice, not just on paper. And that also means that tackling contracts that force performers to sign away broad rights of their voice or likeness simply because refusing would mean losing their job is not the way to go. Consent is not meaningful if the alternative is unemployment. Second of all, AI providers must also be transparent about the material they use. So fully AI-generated content must be clearly labeled.
And when creative work generates economic value for AI companies, the creators deserve a fair share of the value. Thirdly, protection alone is not enough, and we really need to invest in the people working in these sectors. Creative professionals need the skills to use AI to their advantage, to understand where the risk lies, and to know what rights they have when their work is used. So skilling and reskilling must therefore be a central part of Europe's response. So let's not close the door to innovation, but I want to stress again, let's ensure that AI serves the human and not the other way around.
Thank you.
Nela Riehl
Thank you very much. For the Greens, Diana is not here today, so she gave me her speaking points, which I will read out now in English.
First of all, thank you very much for the draft, Mr. Rapporteur. I think this is a very necessary report particularly because AI is one of the major challenges currently facing the cultural and creative sectors and it's high on their agenda. We very much appreciate the rapporteur's approach which takes into account the specificities of the different cultural and creative sectors, recognizing that they are subject to very different dynamics and challenges. It is also very good to see specific reference to the dimension of linguistic and cultural diversity, especially for the lesser-used languages. I think this is a fundamental element and it is certainly an aspect that we will insist on and further strengthen in our amendments.
It is also positive to see that the text maintains a balanced and constructive approach towards the potential benefits that AI can bring to the cultural and creative sectors when it is used responsibly and in a human-centered way. At the same time, I think we need to be very ambitious and demanding not only when it comes to protecting the rights of authors and creators, but also when it comes to users and citizens. Their right to choose and to know and to understand the information, content, and cultural works they are seeing and listening to.
And ultimately, we also need to keep in mind culture itself as something that we need to preserve as a fundamentally human activity with a value that cannot simply be reduced to data, content, or economic output. I'm sure that we will have a very good cooperation on this report and that together we can send a strong and positive signal to the sector while also helping to ensure that the needs and specificities of the culture and creative sectors are taken into account as AI continues to evolve. So that was Diana from the Greens and now it's Mrs. Muratsh for the Left.
Carolina Morace
Grazie. Grazie Presidente e grazie al relatore per il lavoro fino ad oggi svolto. Si tratta di un dossier molto molto complesso. Credo che la difficoltà principale sia proprio trovare il giusto equilibrio tra due esigenze che non possiamo contrapporre.
Da un lato accompagnare, appunto, lo sviluppo tecnologico e le opportunità offerte dall'IA e dall'altro garantire che questa trasformazione rimanga realmente al servizio delle persone. Il progetto di relazione contiene già elementi molto importanti e penso in particolare al principio secondo cui l'intelligenza artificiale dovrebbe sostenere e potenziare, non sostituire la creatività umana e al riconoscimento dell'impatto che l'automazione può avere sulle opportunità di lavoro e sul reddito di autori e interpreti. Ma credo che su questo punto dobbiamo essere ancora più ambiziosi. Non basta proteggere le opere, dobbiamo proteggere le persone che le creano e il loro diritto a continuare a vivere del proprio lavoro. Il problema quindi non riguarda soltanto il copyright.
Riguarda anche il rischio che contenuti generati dall'IA sostituiscano progressivamente il lavoro umano o ne riducano il valore economico, comprimendo occupazione e redditi e spingendo al ribasso la remunerazione di autori, artisti e professionisti del settore. La stessa relazione riconosce che proprio le mansioni più facilmente automatizzabili sono spesso quelle attraverso cui i giovani iniziano la propria carriera. Dobbiamo quindi affrontare con maggior forza il tema dei rapporti contrattuali nel settore audiovisivo. Ad esempio il testo riconosce le pressioni sugli interpreti affinché cedano diritti molto ampi e senza limiti temporali per repliche digitali e utilizzi legati all'intelligenza artificiale.
Un consenso formale non è necessariamente un consenso realmente libero quando esiste un forte squilibrio di potere contrattuale. Per questo, e concludo, credo che il lavoro che faremo sugli emendamenti debba rafforzare la dimensione sociale della relazione: tutela dell'occupazione e dei redditi, contrasto alle pratiche contrattuali coercitive e maggior coinvolgimento dei lavoratori e dei loro rappresentanti nella transizione verso l'intelligenza artificiale. Grazie.
Zsuzsanna Borvendég
Köszönöm szépen. Én három konkrét és kissé gyakorlatiasabb problémára szeretném felhívni a figyelmet. Egyrészt arra, hogy a nagy nyelvi modelleknek jelentősen gyengébb a teljesítménye a kisebb nemzetek nyelvein, ami közvetlen versenyhátrányt és kulturális kockázatot is jelent ezeknek a nemzeteknek, különösen ha hozzátesszük azt, hogy sajnos sajnálatos módon szembe kell néznünk azzal a realitással, hogy egyre több ember egyre inkább ezeken a modelleken keresztül fog találkozni a saját anyanyelvével is.
Éppen ezért szeretném, ha belekerülne a szövegbe, a tervezetbe ez a fajta diszkrimináció, hogy dolgozni kell ennek lebontásán, segíteni kell a kisnyelveket is megjelenni az AI oldalain. És ehhez kapcsolódóan azt is nagyon fontosnak tartanám, hogy fel legyen tüntetve ezeknek a kis és középnemzeteknek a nyelvi adatainál, hogy mely nyelvi tanító adatok segítségével tanították be az AI-t ezekre a nyelvekre, hiszen rendkívül fontos, hogy kulturálisan is kiegyensúlyozott legyen ez a nyelvismeret. És egy harmadik pont pedig azzal lenne kapcsolatos, hogy a transzparencia kérdése ugye nagyon fontos az AI-nál, ezt én is aláhúzom, viszont van egy nagyon speciális területe a transzparenciának, ami azért kérdéseket vet fel.
Itt a termékek szerzői azonosításáról van szó. A magánkiadású termékekre gondolok elsődlegesen, nem a kereskedelmi forgalmazásban kapható termékekre, ugyanis vannak olyan történelmi tapasztalataink, például Magyarországon, hogy rendkívül fontos volt a szamizdat és a szamizdat megjelenése és az álnéven való publikáció abban, hogy a 80-as években a szocialista diktatúrát le tudta váltani az akkori ellenzék. Tehát én ezt a fajta, tehát az álnéven való publikálás lehetőségét fenntartanám mindenképpen és védeném, csak a visszaélés gyanújánál és a kereskedelmi forgalmazás esetén követelném meg a teljes transzparenciát. Köszönöm.
Nela Riehl
Thank you very much, time for one quick catch-the-eye, one minute please, because the rapporteur has to leave and we also want to hear the Commission, so Emma from S&D.
Emma Rafowicz
Merci beaucoup Madame la Présidente. Monsieur le rapporteur, je voudrais évidemment commencer par vous remercier pour ce travail solide qui me semble important mais aussi attendu, attendu par nous en tant que parlementaires mais aussi plus largement par l'ensemble du secteur culturel. Ce rapport, il s'inscrit dans la continuité du rapport d'initiative d'Axel Voss et je crois que c'est aussi important que nos travaux, de la même manière, soient finalement dans la même philosophie. Notre ligne au Parlement, elle doit rester claire.
L'innovation technologique ne peut pas se construire sur l'autel du droit d'auteur, des ayants droit, de notre souveraineté culturelle. Elle ne peut pas non plus se construire sur le mépris des artistes mais aussi des citoyens qui méritent plus, il faut le dire, qui méritent plus que des contenus de synthèse qui sont avant tout là pour réduire les coûts et toujours moins payer les artistes, les auteurs et finalement créer cette culture au rabais que nous ne voulons pas pour les Européennes et les Européens. Alors la question finale que nous devons nous poser, elle est très concrète. Quelle culture européenne aurons-nous demain si créer une œuvre devient économiquement impossible tandis que reproduire à grande échelle, créer des contenus de synthèse, des contenus synthétiques devient presque gratuit ? L'innovation, elle ne peut pas signifier la captation de la valeur au mépris de la propriété intellectuelle.
Nous devons défendre notre souveraineté culturelle et donc notre droit d'auteur en Europe.
Viktor Weisz
Thank you, Chair. And thank you very much, Mr. Soso-Silva, for a strong draft that puts human creativity, creators' rights, and cultural diversity at its heart. Culture does belong to everyone, as you said it yourself. Dear colleagues, I would like to invite you to look at this question through the eyes of a young person entering a creative profession today. AI offers tools that earlier generations could only dream of.
Yet some of the tasks it can perform and do for us are the very tasks through which young creators learn their craft and earn their first living.
So here's the question for us. Will AI open the door for the next generation of creators or quietly close it? Our answer must be to give them the skills and the opportunity to shape this technology themselves, while ensuring that their work is respected and fairly rewarded. This is also a question for audiences. AI is increasingly influencing what cultural content is created, what we discover, and whose voices become visible.
A young creator working in Hungarian or any other one of Europe's smaller languages should be able to reach new audiences through AI, not disappear from view because of it. That is why media literacy matters. Thank you.
Georg Häusler
I'll speed up. Thank you for this report. Thank you also for the timeliness of this report. I think we all agree that whenever you meet now stakeholders from the cultural sector, AI is the subject for discussion.
So I think it's the right moment in time to speak about this. Our President addressed you two weeks ago in the State of the Union. And she said AI is one of the defining tipping points of our times and it can be to great benefit of humanity under the condition that we get it right. And I think this is what we all try to put together here, to find the right balance between the opportunities, the possibilities it offers, but also the risks which are there. Now, you know, I think we can as a European Union be very proud, in spite of the criticism, in spite of the pressure from the tech industries, we are the only area where there is legislation.
We have the AI Act. And we have an AI Act which supports copyright compliance and increases transparency. With the Apply AI, the Commission is supporting the adoption and integration of AI technologies in strategic industries, which includes, of course, the cultural and creative industries. However, the President has tasked from the beginning of the mandate Commissioner Gabriel to have a specific AI strategy for the cultural and creative sectors because there is probably arguably the sector which is most impacted in a positive but also in a risky way by the development of AI. The center of our approach is AI must support human creativity but not replace it.
And I think this is very much the tonality we get from your report. This strategy which we are preparing now, the start of it was a call for evidence. And we had 5,400 contribution to this call for evidence, which is in the top 10 of all history of call for evidences. So there is a real pressure out there to be active and to do something specific for our industry. The three principles we will try to put in center is innovation, so the positive element, protection, so cover the risks, and third, empowerment.
Give the creative industries, give our artists and our creators the means to be able to deal with artificial intelligence. When it comes to copyright, we note that the draft report also refers to several challenges for right holders, which of course are in the center of the debate. The Commission carried out a consultation in this area as well. And this helped to gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by right holders as regards the enforcement and licensing of rights for the AI users.
So we have a legislation, but I think we are still in the teething problem area of make this application right. The Commission is preparing the review of the directive on copyright in the digital single market to assess the effectiveness of provisions introduced in 2019. A lot has happened since 2019, so it's great time to have a look at that. And in parallel, we are considering possible adjustments to the EU copyright framework, in particular to enhance licensing and enforcement of rights, improve the conditions for creators' remuneration, while making it easier for providers of generative AI to access copyright-protected content. Further to this consultation, we will carry out additional views on the possible options and their impacts from the stakeholders, but obviously your report will be a very important contribution to this.
Both initiatives, the AI strategy, which is coming in 2027, and the copyright track will be closely aligned and of course be worked out in parallel.
So we're looking forward to the adoption of this report, as I said, a very important contribution to our work. Thank you.
Hélder Sousa Silva
Thank you, thank you, Chair, and dear shadow rapporteurs, dear representatives of the Commission, and I thank you all for your important insights. And I would like to share these sweet words with all the team that contributed to the draft report. And I mean, to summarize, I have no doubts that the creativity comes from the human being and from AI we do not have creativity. We have an output, a technical output. And we need to be clear with this, I mean, this distinction during all the production of the report.
And of course, in the next days, weeks, we will wait and collect all the proposal for amendments. And all of them will be welcome because the final version will be our document, not my document, because it's my intention, I mean, to incorporate all the contributions because it's a really important document and to send and to support the Commission strategy because it's our strategy, the European strategy related with the impact of AI in cultural and creative sectors. It's, I mean, we need to share this among us. Thank you so much and I'm waiting for the proposal for amendments. Thank you.
Nela Riehl
Thank you again. Deadline for the proposals is October 8th at 12 o'clock. Thank you very much, Mr. Sousa Silva, and have a nice afternoon. Ich wechsle wieder ins Deutsche. Hallo.
Wir kommen nämlich zum nächsten Tagesordnungspunkt, der eng mit dem Entwurf eines Berichts über die Kultur- und Kreativbranche im Zeitalter der KI verknüpft ist.
Hören wir nun ein Briefing der Fachabteilung mit dem Titel KI im Kultur- und Kreativsektor: Chancen, Herausforderungen und gesetzliche Einschränkungen in den Bereichen audiovisuelle Medien, Verlagswesen und Musikstreaming. Kopien des Briefings sind im Raum verfügbar und können auch online eingesehen werden. Mit uns für die Präsentation ist der Autor des Briefings, Herr Baptiste Caramiaux, festangestellter Forscher des Instituts für intelligente Systeme und Robotik ISIR an der Universität Sorbonne. Herzlich willkommen, Herr Caramiaux, Sie haben gleich zehn Minuten Zeit für Ihre Präsentation. Anschließend dann, wenn der Berichterstatter, wenn er wieder da ist, und drei der Schattenberichterstatter die Gelegenheit haben, Fragen zu stellen.
Dann wird Herr Caramiaux antworten und die anderen anwesenden Schattenberichterstatter werden wieder eingreifen danach. Und anschließend macht der Sachverständige seine abschließenden Bemerkungen, gefolgt vom Berichterstatter. Das heißt, Sie, Herr Caramiaux, haben jetzt zehn Minuten Zeit für Ihre Präsentation.
Baptiste CARAMIAUX
Thank you, chair. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for the invitation to present the briefing report on the impact of artificial intelligence in creative and cultural sectors. So the briefing report focuses on three key sectors: audiovisual, publishing, and music streaming, and its objectives are threefold. First, to identify the opportunities and challenges of AI use in these sectors. Second, to assess the limitation of the current regulatory framework in addressing these challenges.
And third, to propose actionable recommendations.
So let me first set the context. AI is not a single technology, but a family of techniques, each with distinct and evolving capacities, which introduce new challenges and regulatory questions. Initially, AI's strength lay in representation, analyzing large datasets and predicting outcomes. It then acquired generative capacities, which is the ability to produce high-fidelity content. Today, AI is moving toward agentic capacities, systems that act with growing autonomy, setting their own sub-goals to achieve an objective we define.
This is not a marginal phenomenon in the creative and cultural sectors. AI adoption has accelerated over the past five years. In 2025, approximately 49% of companies were using at least one AI technology.
We identified a wide range of opportunities across these three sectors, which are sustainable only under adapted regulation. For brevity, I will highlight the key subset of opportunities. At the research and insights level, generative AI combined with retrieval-augmented generation allows users to synthesize real-time data from various sources. In creative development, AI tools are entering the space, but their use remains experimental. For instance, they support storyboarding, music composition, and character development, typically as a mix of human and algorithmic input.
In production and enhancement, AI already enables robust transcription, dubbing, and cover image generation in publishing. In distribution and engagement, AI systems optimize content ranking, recommendation, and discovery, helping audiences find relevant content faster. And finally, in governance and monetization, AI can improve fraud detection, helping protect both revenue and rights holders. So our briefing then reports also a wide range of challenges for stakeholders, and here is a selection.
AI technology is putting at risk entry-level jobs and commercial jobs, and this is particularly visible in the audiovisual sector. Related to creative labor, AI also raises deskilling and reskilling challenges. In practice, the pace of innovation and the cost of using this technology makes it hard to define stable competencies and long-term and sustainable training programs. One of the most visible challenges concerns copyrights and personal data, personal rights. Already described in previous reports, it is now intensifying because copyrighted work is used not only to train these systems, but also during exploitation.
In parallel, there are pressing challenges around discrimination. Research has now well documented that AI systems reproduce and amplify stereotypes and tend to default normative identities.
Another important challenge concerns information integrity and its effect on public trust. Uncertainty about AI's roles in producing text or images can have profound implications for public confidence. On market saturation, the surge of AI-generated content on platforms and streaming services is affecting cultural diversity and the discoverability of underrepresented cultural content. And finally, there is a growing set of challenges linked to AI systems acting with greater autonomy, even if agentic AI is not widely used yet in the CCS, in the creative and cultural sectors. These systems can behave unpredictably and can be manipulated or redirected by third parties.
The current regulatory framework for AI in the cultural and creative sectors relies on the AI Act alongside a set of interrelated instruments as shown on this slide. This structure provides a strong basis for regulating AI in these sectors, but its fragmented nature also creates real complexity in enforcement.
Our study highlights specific limitations of this current regulatory framework, and for the sake of brevity, I will also select a subset of them. First, on copyright and authors' right. So there is in general inadequate protection of authors' right and remuneration. This is made worse by opt-out mechanisms that are widely seen as ineffective, particularly for non-technical users. On personal right, there is currently no reliable way to verify whether personal data has been used for training and exploitation.
And there are no rules governing generated personal data, that is data generated by AI systems or agentic systems that can nonetheless be used to identify a person. Voice cloning is one of the examples. On cultural diversity and discrimination, there is a lack of transparency around how diversity is assessed, which means the methods and the metrics used to measure it in the first place. And more broadly, AI-generated content risks reducing both the visibility and economic value of human-created content, which in turn puts cultural diversity itself at risk. So in the report, we present a set of 23 recommendations.
Given the time available, I'll present also a subset of them. And first, on the legal instrument, a central recommendation is to reinforce the enforcement of creators' rights in AI development and exploitation. This includes requiring comprehensive documentation for transparency. And here, research has already proposed actionable solutions that this documentation could be built on. As I mentioned earlier, opt-out mechanisms are seen as ineffective.
This mechanism should be standardized and made not only machine-readable, but also genuinely user-friendly. Under the DSA, we recommend that generative and agentic AI systems capable of large-scale web crawling be classified as very large online platforms or very large online search engines. This would subject them to DSA's stricter obligations.
On GDPR, data inferred, generated, or reconstructed by generative or agentic AI systems that can identify a real person should be treated as personal data under this regulation. Recommendations are also need also to be sector-specific. We mentioned entry-level jobs that are at risk, so they need to be safeguarded, but also core skills per sector. Opt-out mechanism must also be adapted to the specificity and to the licensing realities of these sectors, for instance, cases where copyright and related rights are not held by the same party. More generally, there is a critical need for instruments to actually monitor the impact of AI in the cultural and creative sectors.
Right now, and I and that was an observation while doing this report, there is very few reliable data from or independent data in order to really assess the impact of AI in these sectors. Because the creative and cultural sectors is made up of creatives and artists that are operating often at the individual level, it remains really difficult for them to exert rights alone. Collective bargaining mechanism need to be supported to address this.
And finally, as a long-term goal and in line with the EU treaty, human creativity and human-centered approaches to AI must be prioritized and supported. This conclude my presentation. Thank you for your attention and I'm happy to take your questions.
Nela Riehl
Vielen Dank, Herr Karamio. Herr Sousa Silva ist noch nicht wieder da als Berichterstatter. Ich blicke einmal zu den EPP-Kolleginnen, ob jemand von Ihnen stattdessen das Wort ergreift, aber ich glaube nicht. Okay, sonst fangen wir an mit der EPP, Mr. Weiss für Herrn Sousa Silva.
Viktor Weisz
Thank you very much, dear chair, dear colleagues. First of all, since Mr. Sousa Silva had to run to another important meeting, however he kindly asked me to first of all congratulate the authors of their excellent work and secondly to put a question on his behalf, which I'm very pleased to do so. So this is the question from Mr. Sousa Silva. The briefing highlights the lack of common standards for distinguishing AI-generated works from those involving meaningful human creative input. Where should we draw that line?
For instance, there is a difference between using AI to edit a recording and using it to generate the music itself.
Should labels describe the nature and extent of AI's involvement rather than simply classify a work as AI-generated or not? Um, yeah, a quick question. Do we have time for my question as well?
Yes, indeed, it was very quick, yes.
Excellent. Apart from this, I would also be glad to read and hear about your report. And I would like to focus on the perspective of young people because they are often among the first to adopt new technologies, but also among those most exposed to AI-generated and algorithmically distributed content. So my question is, based on your research, do we know how well young people are currently able to recognize and critically assess AI-generated cultural and media content? And where do you see the biggest gap today between the spread of technological development and media literacy skills of young audiences?
Thank you so much.
Hannes Heide
Danke, ich muss zuerst feststellen, dass ich nicht mit der notwendigen Aufmerksamkeit den Ausführungen folgen konnte, weil offensichtlich Mitarbeiter von Abgeordneten gesucht wurden, den Saal zu verlassen, und in meinem Fall mein Mitarbeiter, der für das File zuständig ist, nicht hier herinnen sein kann, wiewohl offensichtlich nicht alle Plätze besetzt sind. Und auch andere Abgeordnete sind mit dieser Situation konfrontiert, dass unsere Mitarbeiter nicht mehr herinnen sind.
In aller Kürze aber meine zwei Fragen. Text and Data Mining Ausnahme, wie ist da die Einschätzung, die Erfahrungen im Kreativbereich? Diese Einschätzung, die wir im Hearing bekommen haben, teilen Sie die auch und war das Thema in der Studie? Und ein zweites Thema: Notwendigkeit von Programmen, Initiativen und Investitionen für einen wettbewerbsfähigen Kultur- und Kreativsektor angesichts von KI. Herzlichen Dank.
Nela Riehl
Das werden wir auf jeden Fall klären müssen. Ich hatte gerade das Sekretariat gefragt, ihnen ist nicht bekannt, dass Mitarbeitende tatsächlich aufgefordert wurden, den Saal zu verlassen. Aber nicht von unserer Seite aus. Das muss von den Saaldienern ausgegangen sein. Das tut mir sehr leid zu hören, das war uns nicht bekannt hier auf dem Podium.
Wir werden dem gleich nachgehen. Danke für die Frage erstmal. Damit gebe ich weiter zu Frau Wischeck.
Annamária Vicsek
Yes. Thank you, Chair. Thank you for your comprehensive report. I think it was very interesting and thought-provoking.
However, I would like to focus on human creativity. I was really glad that you mentioned the risk of deskilling, and I think that we should linger a little bit on that aspect of AI as well, because in the education department, we already see that the extensive use, extensive use of AI can influence memory and logical thinking, because we just get so comfortable using the AI instead of using our own brains. My question would be whether you have any ideas or any aspects on how we can ensure that AI remains a tool that supports creativity rather than replacing the creative process, and whether you have maybe an extensive knowledge of some work, some document that thinks about or focuses on how AI is impacting creativity. Thank you.
Nela Riehl
Vielen Dank. Nun gebe ich erst einmal Ihnen wieder das Wort, um auf die bisherigen Fragen zu antworten, und dann machen wir die Runde weiter. Sie haben ungefähr zwei Minuten Zeit.
Baptiste CARAMIAUX
Thank you.
Thank you for your questions. So I will start with the, uh, the first question about the, the label, the labeling strategy. And, uh, so this is also, yeah, this is something that, I mean, studying the practice of AI in these sectors, you, uh, what you observe is that it's never binary. It's never, it's never pushing a button and having an outcome, neither is like working alone without technology. So there is like a whole spectrum of use and a, a mix of input from human creators and maybe algorithmic outcome.
And so yes, the thing is like labels, labeling in, um, should take this into account, this spectrum of complexities, uh, where, um, basically it would be a non-binary, a non-binary, um, labeling strategy. I think this is, uh, about the young people and how well they, uh, they recognize AI-generated content. And this, I'm not, uh, aware of studies looking at this. I guess, uh, it's very important to get me, to get media and AI literacy.
This is of course rather than experiencing AI-generated content in the wild. There is this, there is like studies trying to understand what would be the right literacy programs that we can imagine to understand and to assess and audit this system from people that don't have any technical skills. About TDM and competition, I guess this is a recurrent question. And I guess, I mean, I'm not an economist, but what I can say is like, I would say that TDM is actually something that is quite unique in Europe. And I think it's, I guess, very useful.
But at the same time, we can, I mean, it's just a matter of maybe paying for the type of data that people are using, or AI developer is using in order to produce their system. And I'm not sure this is against innovation and competition to maybe enforce a bit more TDM in this sector. And finally, about human creativity, actually there is, in terms of, I mean, there is this de-skilling problem. But I think one of the problems and one of the, a lot of research are looking at is like trying to understand this technology not only as tools, but also as medium for creative purposes.
And there is a whole bunch of techniques and practices with this technology that not only understanding it as something to achieve a task, but also maybe something that can be shaped and opening a whole new branches of creative practices. And this is also something to support.
Carolina Morace
Grazie Presidente. Parliamo molto e giustamente di copyright e di remunerazione per l'utilizzo delle opere. Ma vedete anche il rischio che la IA eserciti una pressione al ribasso sulla remunerazione del lavoro creativo umano? E in questo contesto ritenete sufficienti il consenso individuale e la libertà contrattuale oppure sono necessarie garanzie più forti contro gli squilibri di potere tra lavoratori e imprese? Grazie.
Nela Riehl
Die deutsche Übersetzung braucht immer sehr viel länger als die italienische. Ich sag gerade, die deutsche Übersetzung braucht sehr viel länger als die italienische. Für die ESN sehe ich gerade auch niemanden im Raum.
Das heißt, Sie haben nun wieder das Wort, um auf diese Frage zu antworten, und wenn Sie noch mehr Zeit brauchen, um auf die vorherige Frage zu antworten, auch gerne.
Baptiste CARAMIAUX
Thank you very much for your question. So the question is about, yeah, maybe balancing between creators and companies. But I think in this case, what, yeah, what I can say is that, as I mentioned, like creators and artists are often working at the individual level and it's kind of hard for them to negotiate the type of remuneration they could have and the way their data are used.
Definitely this is very an unbalanced relationship and maybe as I mentioned in the report, collective bargaining mechanism must be supported in this case to reinforce or to help in this balance between creators and companies. There is a clear centralization of power either from technical resources towards AI developers and this is also adding in the unbalanced relationship between creators and AI developers and providers and this is also something to tackle. And that's my answer. Thank you.
Nela Riehl
Thank you very much, ganz herzlichen Dank. Victor, yes. Da der Berichterstatter leider noch nicht wieder da ist, möchtest du das Wort noch mal für eine abschließende Bemerkung ergreifen an seiner Stelle?
Viktor Weisz
Thank you very much. The only final remarks that I got from Mr. Sousa Silva is he was very glad to read this report and to hear about the work and he would like to thank you for it. I apologize for not saying anything more.
Nela Riehl
Nein, ganz herzlichen Dank dafür, auch vielen herzlichen Dank für die Präsentation. Ich glaube, das ist eine Studie, auf die wir als CULT-Ausschuss noch häufig zurückgreifen werden, die für unsere Arbeit von großem Wert sein wird. Ganz herzlichen Dank, dass Sie heute da waren und dann gehen wir über zum nächsten Punkt. Vielen Dank für heute Nachmittag. Thank you very much.
Das heißt, der nächste Punkt, Tagesordnungspunkt, ich geb' einmal kurz den Raum, dass hier ein bisschen Bewegung im Raum ist.
And then we move on to the next topic. I'll switch into German. Okay, let's move on to the next point on the agenda. I'll switch into German and everyone else please either take a seat or be quiet and chat in front of the door. I'll switch into German now.
Wir kommen zum nächsten Tagesordnungspunkt, den jährlichen Gedankenaustausch... And it's still very, very loud in here.
...dem jährlichen Gedankenaustausch über das System der Europäischen Schulen, an den sich eine Debatte über inklusive Bildung und Wohlergehen in den Europäischen Schulen anschließt, einschließlich der Bekämpfung von Mobbing. Der Meinungsaustausch findet im Rahmen der politischen Aufsichts- und Überwachungsfunktion des Europäischen Parlaments und insbesondere des CULT-Ausschusses zum System der Europäischen Schulen statt. Sie erfolgt auch als Folgemaßnahme zur Umsetzung der im September 2023 angenommenen Entschließung des Europäischen Parlaments zum System der Europäischen Schulen: Sachstand, Herausforderungen und Perspektiven. Ich freue mich, mehrere Gäste zu diesem Meinungsaustausch begrüßen zu dürfen. Wir haben bei uns Herrn Andreas Beckmann, Generalsekretär der Europäischen Schulen, Ruta Stanaitienė als Vertreterin des litauischen Ratsvorsitzes, Frau Marion Huckelmann vom Inter-School Teaching Staff Committee, Frau Victoria Redl, Präsidentin des CoSup, Conseil Supérieur des Elèves, im Namen des Studentengremiums und Frau Reed-Escribano als Präsidentin der Vereinigung Interparents.
Zum ersten Mal nehmen zwei Vertreter der Direktion des Netzwerks akkreditierter Europäischer Schulen, Frau Gitta Lotz und Herr Tom Nober, an diesem Meinungsaustausch teil. Zu uns gesellt sich auch Herr Christian Linder, Leiter der Delegation der Europäischen Kommission im Gouverneursrat der Europäischen Schulen. Und nun beginnen wir mit dem Meinungsaustausch.
Ich beginne mit Herrn Beckmann, Sie haben acht Minuten bitte.
Andreas Beckmann
Vielen Dank, Frau Vorsitzende. And I switch now to English. What I wanted to share with you is first of all very briefly some facts and figures because there might be also new people involved in dealing with European schools, although we have a very good tradition established to present the European schools and discuss the European schools with you here in this CULT committee, which is very supportive. I would like to share with you also some messages of reassurance. Obviously I will highlight the follow-up of your resolution of '23, share with you some elements of our vision which had been approved last year by the Board of Governors.
But you should be also aware of the main challenges and risks which we are facing and finally maybe at the end some key questions which I would like to share with you. When it comes to the facts and figures, we are a growing system. We have 13 so-called traditional schools with around 29,000 pupils. You see the number of staff. Yes, we come also with a budget which is quite substantial, I have to admit.
What is really important I think for this committee is that we are teaching 24 official languages in the European schools and we are a growing system.
You have referred to the accredited European schools, that is our increasing or growing brand. We have now 24 accredited European schools in 14 member states and quite soon we will see a new general interest file from Cyprus going for an accredited European school in Nicosia and I think this is from a political point of view something very important. I have said I wanted to share with you some messages of reassurance and they stem to the question of governance and to education. When it comes to governance some of you will recall that in the past we quite often discussed also our financial management, the question of sound financial management. What I can share with you that we have recently received positive reports of the Court of Auditors, the last one we discussed with you some months ago.
We were able to reduce the recommendations we had received from different auditors and what is really important for me as Secretary-General and chairman of the different admin boards, we got the discharge from our governing board for the second time in a row and we are doing everything together with the schools to work on discharge also for the financial year 25.
Some pedagogical reassurance I would like to share with you very briefly, the results of the second round of PISA for schools. We participated the second time in this OECD-led exercise. This time not only the so-called traditional schools participated, but also all the accredited European schools which were eligible for participating because it depends on the number of pupils. And our results are again excellent. However, I have also to say, you have seen the results of PISA for the Member States, also our results are going slightly down, but we are again by far over OECD average and also by far over the average in the 27 Member States.
We have participated as said with the traditional schools and with the accredited European schools. I don't go too much in the details, but you can see here the results in mathematics, reading and science, which are still I would say extraordinary and reassuring. But this does not mean that we don't have to invest more. What is interesting to share also with you, what is the performance of our pupils? And there you can see something very interesting.
The yellow column is the pupils who do the test in their dominant language, English, French or German.
But all the others who have not as dominant language English, French or German, they have to do it in their second language. And I find still amazing the results of those pupils because imagine they do this in your second language and even in reading they have enormous high results. And then you may all ask yourself who are these SWALS? These are students without a language section and traditionally they are even more outperforming. The same we can see also in the European Bac.
Now, there's also the pupils' voice in PISA for schools and the red areas is something we have to address where we are below OECD average, family support and student-teacher relationship. And we will analyze this on school and system level while in other areas, and you will see it later in the discussion on well-being, we are doing fine. But again we can also improve. Follow-up to your resolution, I think we have done 75% of our work. I don't go in all the different recommendations and actions.
We have mainly one action which is open and this is the question of the salary discrepancy between the teachers in nursery primary and secondary cycle. We have discussed this several times and we had your support here in the CULT committee but even your initiative did not find the support in your budgetary committee. We have to close this gap and I'm determined to address this still in this school year with hopefully the support of the European Commission. This is the area which is really dark red and we have to do something and I'm sure the other stakeholders will address it. We have also to work still on the question of an ombudsman.
We have improved our legal system but the question of ombudsperson or some kind of mediation service is still open. We have to look into this question of governance. Now I've said to you I will share with you our vision and this is really what is stated there. We want to provide education for tomorrow and we would also highlight our role in the European educational area. But for that I think we need a new understanding of the European schools.
And I will come to that at the very end in my questions. Our main challenges: the overpopulation here in Brussels and I'm sure the commission will address it. We still have an overpopulation of 1,000 pupils and the fifth school will only come in 2030 at the earliest.
You will discuss tomorrow teacher shortage in Europe. Also we are concerned in the STEM subjects but also in nursery, primary, and this is something I think we have to work together and try also to find synergies. Attracting and retaining highly qualified staff. I mean, we have Commission papers which highlight the value of the teaching function, but we have also then to invest in it. Member states are still failing to provide secondments, partly due to teacher shortage, but there might be also other reasons.
And then there is something which is really severe, and this is the question of our limitation of budget in the non-salary lines. In all these areas, we have to respect a 2% ceiling every year and this means de facto cuts in pedagogy and I have to highlight this. And the same worries or concerns I have when it comes to IT staffing. We have main challenges in this area of IT and just to give you a hint, within 30 days we had 590 cyberattacks. We were dealing with them, but we are vulnerable and we are dealing here with the data of your children, of vulnerables.
And when it comes to IT sovereignty and also digital competence of our educators, and you have talked about AI a moment ago, we need staff. To give you an example, we have asked our board for additional 5.5 posts in IT security and dealing with IT in the schools and we haven't got it, while Commission was able to create 240 new posts in AI and 250 new posts in cyber security. Why is that? Because it is seen as a policy priority. And this is my main question which we should address and and answer.
Are we still considered to be an administrative expense or really an investment in future? Because this should open us more means. And I think we have also to foster the role of the accredited European schools if we want to become something visible as requested by the Parliament in the education in Europe. To make us lighthouses, we need a mind shift when it comes to our expenses. Thank you very much.
Nela Riehl
Ganz herzlichen Dank für die Präsentation. Ich lade nun Frau Rūta Stanaitienė ein, die Prioritäten des litauischen Ratsvorsitzes für das System der Europäischen Schulen vorzustellen. Sie haben dafür dann fünf Minuten. Bitte.
Rūta STANAITIENĖ
Thank you, Madam Chair, for giving me the floor. Dear members of the committee, the Secretary-General, dear colleagues, thank you for this opportunity to participate here in the meeting of the committee, which is dedicated to exchange of views of the European school system. I am here today together with Ms. Vaida Jurgile, the Lithuanian inspector of the European schools, and during these five minutes we will briefly present our priorities of the Lithuanian presidency of the European schools, which runs from the 1st of August 2026 till July 31st 2027. This is the first time Lithuania holds the presidency of the European school system since joining European Union in 2004 and ratifying the convention defining the statute of the European schools in 2005. The second half of the Lithuanian presidency of the European schools coincides with Lithuania's presidency of the Council of the European Union from January 2027, and we take it this as a possibility to promote European schools and increase visibility in the European education.
Lithuania holds the presidency of the European Schools with logo and motto inspired by genius Lithuanian artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, and the message behind the symbols is directly linked to our priorities. You can see on the slides the three key presidency priorities: reinforcing linguistic and cultural diversity, enhancing learning and teaching through safe, responsible, ethical, and sustainable use of GenAI in education, launching and system-wide transition towards a need-based assessment framework in the European Schools. Each priority has its own specific legal basis, but they are all based on the key documents defining the strategic directions in the European Schools. So it is Convention, Mission and Vision of European Schools and European Parliament resolution of 2023. Those documents are shaping actions, plans, and agendas of European School system, and for us is just the easier path left now, and it's our main message that multilingual, innovative, and inclusive education, which is in heart in our priorities, requires qualified teachers, fair working conditions, and adequate resources.
The office's priorities are closely aligned with Lithuanian priorities, and we are joining our forces, especially in these areas this year. And discrepancy between salaries in nursery, primary cycle, and secondary cycle, and promotion of language sections with smaller number of students are the main key points this year. It have to be stated that our activities are currently restricted by a 2% budget cut. And our presidency started with the challenge of organizing Joint Board of Inspectors and Joint Teaching Committee October meetings. Because of the need to save funds, we have to organize these meetings online.
And it's that's why we face the dissatisfaction from inspectors regarding online format.
However, we found a compromise of the hybrid meeting. If inspectors agree to participate at their own expense, we'll see how it will go, but we will need to find a structural solution for future and it will not be an easy task. As the second half of the Lithuanian presidency of the European Schools coincides with Lithuania presidency of the Council of European Union, it's important here to mention that the agendas of these two presidencies are aligned through the teachers' agenda and visibility in the European education area, and it was decided to organize Teachers' Forum of the European Schools in Lithuania in 2027 back-to-back with the European Council presidency conference and take up the teachers' development theme. The Teachers' Forum of the European Schools is a professional learning initiative launched during the Italian presidency in 2024 as a celebratory event to share pedagogical best practices and to raise awareness of European Schools, and we support and expand this initiative taking advantage of the unique situation when our presidencies are overlapping and we are continuing the tradition established by Italy and further developed by Cyprus and Latvia. Lithuania as well as Latvia follows the European Parliament's explicit wish to involve Directorate-General of Education, Youth and Sport and the Commission's dealing with European Schools, and representatives from the Directorate alongside representatives from Ireland will be presenting their educational priorities in just two weeks during the pedagogical meetings of the European Schools.
And the last slide just once again reminding you Lithuanian priorities. And we will be we will answer to your questions later on because of the time framework. Thank you for giving me the floor.
Nela Riehl
Ganz herzlichen Dank Frau Saceviciene für die Erläuterung der litauischen Prioritäten. Und nun hat Frau Marion Huckelmann das Wort für vier Minuten, pardon.
Marion HUCKELMANN
Ja, dankeschön für's Wort. Madam Chair, honorable members, distinguished representatives. Okay. Okay, sorry. Thank you for inviting ISTC.
ISTC is the voice of seconded and locally recruited teachers as well as educational advisors. All of them are essential to the European schools. But nearly half of the teaching force is locally recruited with less secure employment and limited promotion opportunities.
The mission and vision promise excellence, pedagogical innovation and European values. Teachers share these commitments, but after the Board of Governors in Riga, we must ask: do the conditions match the promise? We strongly support inclusion, pupil well-being and bullying prevention. But policy changes nothing unless schools have the people, the time and expertise to put this into practice. Policy does not teach children, teachers do.
And pupil well-being depends on having enough time and support. Teachers want inclusion to succeed. But in classes with almost 30 students, teachers must meet complex individual needs while teaching the full curriculum to a high standard to everyone. Even with assistant in a class, responsibility remain with the teacher and educational advisors. Inclusion and excellence are not opposites, but without sufficient capacity, both are put at risk.
Inclusion also requires a credible pathway for pupils who cannot complete the full European Bac. Parliament called for an alternative leaving certificate in 2005 and returned to certification and vocational options in 2023. More than 20 years later, a coherent recognized pathway is still missing.
It needs a positive learning objective, appropriate assessment, and a recognized outcome. It would serve every pupil while protecting the credibility of the European Bac. But it cannot be cost-neutral. In April, the board approved revised job descriptions and wider teachers' duties, but most proposals creating additional capacities were not approved. Protected class teacher time in secondary remain unresolved and is now being considered as part of the work in well-being and pastoral care.
Some schools introduced anti-bullying programs, but without protected time to deliver them, these lessons must compete with the subject curriculum. Responsibilities were defined, the necessary time and capacity were not. The same contradiction is visible in pay and recognition.
In the European schools, the salary disparity between nursery and primary and secondary teachers is approximately 24%, compared with an EU 27 average of around 6.6%. Educational advisors are central to pupil wellbeing, but the pay and implementation of their revised responsibility remains even also unresolved. After extensive social dialogue, the board unanimously agreed that action was necessary, but the proposals on the table were not approved due to budgetary constraints. A first step for 2028 remains also undefined. ISTC wrote twice to the board asking for a clear pathway and timetable.
Our concerns also reached the European Commission. The social dialogue is complete. The need for action is recognized, but there is still no defined path from recognition to action. Staff should not have to watch a recognized structural problem disappear into institutional silence. This goes beyond salaries.
Responsibilities continue to grow, but non-salary spending is limited to a 2% increase, even when operating costs rise faster. That budget gap does not disappear. Teachers and pupil pay the price through less training, less specialized support, and fewer educational opportunities. The system does not lack ideas. What it lacks is the capacity to turn its own commitments into practice.
Teaching staff remain ready, but commitment cannot finance reform, create protected time, or repair the cost-sharing system. It cannot substitute for institutional capacity. Responsibility lies with those who govern and finance this system. European ambition requires European investment. A lighthouse of European values must be given the means to keep its light on.
We ask the Parliament to insist on a funded path to reform, resources that follow responsibilities, and meaningful staff involvement before decisions are finalized. We believe in this system. We ask you to help it live up to its own promise. Thank you.
Nela Riehl
Vielen Dank für Ihre Anmerkungen und nun lade ich Frau Red-Escobar ein, das Wort zu ergreifen. Auch Sie haben wieder vier Minuten Zeit für Ihre Intervention.
Reed ESCRIBANO
Danke für das Wort. Good afternoon, Chair, CULT Committee members, and stakeholders' representatives. Oh, sorry. So, who we are? We are umbrella organization representing all parents of these 29,000 pupils.
We work together via our organization with all parents represented via their parents' organization, parents' associations. We have regular meetings and broad stakeholder consultations. We work closely with OSG and other stakeholders. And today's intervention is prepared also taking into account of all all our members' contributions. So, the CULT report is a good example of how external assessment can help the system improve.
First steps have already been taken on several recommendations, including the revision of the mission and vision, partially improved conditions for locally recruited teachers, and the review of school-level management. We thank the Secretary-General's office for all the work done so far. Parents particularly appreciate the ongoing evaluation by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education and the IAS audit of governance in the pedagogical area. These are important steps towards independent review of our complex system. And we trust that the recommendations will be implemented in a timely manner.
However, important areas remain to be addressed, including an in-depth review of the governance of the European schools, well-being, and quality assurance. And we encourage the system to continue seeking external expertise in these areas. Unfortunately, and as also highlighted by teachers, financial constraints remain a serious concern, as many proposed actions by the working groups could not be implemented. A 12% cap on budget increases with inflation at approximately 3% effectively means a reduction in real terms, that was also mentioned by Mr. Beckmann. Interparents believes expenditure should be assessed according to identified needs and priorities rather than an arbitrary cap.
As this was discussed at the CULT Committee meeting in May 2025, we would be interested to hear from the rapporteur whether there has been any progress on additional funding to European school system. Given the teacher shortage, we keep urging member states to fulfill their commitments under the convention, either by meeting their quotas for seconded teachers or through voluntary contributions. Funding education should not be seen as cost but as strategic investment in Europe's future.
Furthermore, under Convention, Member States are obliged to provide adequate buildings and facilities. This obligation unfortunately is not being fully met by Belgium, where the schools have faced overcrowding since 2011, and only partial solutions have been provided so far. Parents are therefore looking forward to opening of fifth school in 2030. Quality assurance is particularly important in a system that delegates significant pedagogical responsibility to individual schools. We must continue polishing our crown jewel that is Bac examination.
But how can we ensure harmonized examinations, teaching and learning without sufficient teachers who are paid befittingly, as well as without harmonized teaching resources? As an inclusive system, we should not forget pupils who are unable to complete the full European Baccalaureate. We therefore echo teachers' call for a credible alternative pathway for these pupils and welcome that it was also mentioned by Lithuanian Presidency. Parents also continue to raise concerns about the lack of transparency in the organization of school trips.
As sole financiers, we believe parents should be fully informed how the costs of school trips are calculated and that the costs should remain contained and affordable for every family. An important issue on which there has been little progress is the ombudsperson. That was mentioned also by Mr. Beckmann that the working group work is still ongoing and we hope that the solution will be found soon because as the Complaints Board 2025 annual report highlighted, there are many parent concerns that often fall outside of their competence. For example, flexibilization of sibling grouping in Brussels schools, overcrowding and also language policy, school trips, many of areas. And finally, we look forward to the discussion on well-being and inclusion to be held later today as an issue of great importance to parents.
While the well-being framework and local school policies are in place, Interparents believes that more could be done to monitor their implementation. That was also highlighted by the IAS audit. We would therefore encourage regular evidence-based data collection and external evaluation, including a system-wide survey of pupil well-being that is currently missing.
Thank you for your attention. Interparents greatly values the annual exchanges with the CULT Committee as an important contribution to transparency and accountability and remains committed to constructive collaboration with the Secretary-General's office, European Commission and the European Parliament. Thank you.
Nela Riehl
Herzlichen Dank für Ihre Ansichten an der Stelle. Ich erteile nun Frau Victoria Redler das Wort, um auch den Perspektiven von Schülerinnen und Schülern der Europäischen Schulen hier Raum zu erteilen. Ich schaue einmal, wo sitzt denn Frau Redler? Da, wunderbar. Dann hast du jetzt das, haben Sie jetzt das Wort für vier Minuten auch.
Victoria REDLER
Danke für das Wort. Ich werde ebenfalls auf Englisch fortfahren. My name is Victoria Redler and I am representing the 29,000 students of the traditional European Schools in my role of Co-Supra President. Three major areas continue to present a significant challenge within the European School system: pedagogy, wellbeing and governance. They have already been addressed by the student representative at the last CULT Committee, yet unfortunately we have seen limited progress.
Firstly, about pedagogy, we have continued to experience significant shortages of specialized teachers in subjects that are particularly important during the Baccalaureate cycle. Some teachers have been assigned to classes in a language section different from the one in which they are expected to teach, making it difficult to provide students with the level of instruction they require.
We have witnessed situations in which students have been required to begin their school day earlier in order to receive lessons from an in-situ teacher. Frankfurt students taking Geo 2 were required to start a period zero beginning at 7:30. Other students have had to follow lessons online with teachers located elsewhere in order to access teaching that should, under normal circumstances, be provided in person. This was the case for Dutch classes in Frankfurt, which were taught remotely by a Dutch teacher based in Alicante. We need to ensure that the foundations for good education are in place: consistent, high-quality teaching provided in an appropriate language by suitably qualified teachers with the necessary resources available to students.
By taking these pedagogical factors into account, we can make a meaningful improvement to student well-being. Since the changes to the summative assessment for S4 to S6 were introduced, students have expressed numerous concerns, arguing that the current model does not allow for a sustainable balance between homework and formal examinations. This has contributed to an increasing sense of being overwhelmed among students, having consequences not only on their well-being but also on their academic performance.
But when students reach this point of distress, there appears to be an insufficient level of psychological support available to them. It has been reported that psychologists at EEB4 have been recruited on a part-time basis. How can we expect students to receive the support they need if the resources available to provide that support are themselves limited? Student well-being cannot remain a general concept that is discussed without concrete action. Not enough is done, but we do, however, note very positively the efforts brought by the pupils' well-being working group.
Finally, regarding governance, the OSG should prioritize policies focused on clarity rather than control, as applying different policies across multiple schools can lead to inconsistencies within the school system. When developing this policies, it is essential to consider feedback from parents, teachers, and especially students. The OSG, as well as school leadership, should ask act transparently and be held accountable for their decisions. A lack of coordination can result in administrative problems, as experienced by the students at the European School of Munich, whose timetables were poorly designed, leaving them with a temporary schedule with a period 10 until November. All of these issues are interconnected.
By addressing one, we can contribute to improving another. What we are asking for is quite straightforward.
Better communication between all stakeholders, policies designed for clarity rather than control, genuine consideration of students' experiences and feedback, and greater accountability. We truly hope that at the next CULT meeting we will be able to report on improved structures. Thank you very much for the floor.
Nela Riehl
Vielen Dank für Ihre Sicht auf die Dinge. Und nun erteile ich Frau Gitta Lottz und Herrn Tom Nober, Vertreter der akkreditierten Europäischen Schulen, das Wort, auch wieder für vier Minuten.
Gitta LOTZ
Madam Chair, dear members, my colleague and me, we're going to speak on behalf of the directors of the accredited schools, 24 in 14 member states. We would like to respond to your 23 report on the European Schools and we want to begin with thanks. Few institutions have put in the words so clearly what we believe, that every citizen in the Union should have the chance to benefit from European education. This sentence is in your report and is always is also the reason for why our schools exist.
Your report, and to reiterate, the accredited schools offer the same curriculum and the same baccalaureate as the traditional schools. Your report makes three requests that concern us directly. We'd like to answer them not with demands, but with what we already do. First, you asked for European education to all Member States. We are the most direct way forward.
Our schools are created by Member States. Today, there are existing in 14. It should be 27 Member States or even more. You also named what would make a difference: more flexible accreditation together with stronger quality control. In a way, we can support both.
Flexibility lets new schools start, however, it has to be a stringent process, and stringent quality control will protect the baccalaureate and the curriculum as such. Second, you asked for a broader social mix and for the full potential of accredited schools to be used. This is where our schools make a difference. We are open to everybody.
The European school system began as a facility for very few. We are turning it into an opportunity for many. More Europe for more students. Third, you asked for closer ties between European and national education. For us, that's everyday life.
Our experience in multilingual teaching and in welcoming newcomers is there to share with the schools around us. A European school is not an island, it is a bridge. But we all know bridges need to be maintained and taken care of. The report mentions as well that the ES should be one system. The vision and mission of the European schools, which is now one of the documents for the system, does respond to this in detail.
And we are happy to see that broader representation on equal level in the field of pedagogics is in the process of being facilitated.
Tom NOBER
Frau Vorsitzende, honorable members, I just want to be frank about what the real, or where the real challenge lies. It isn't our schools, our curriculum, or the bac. This model works. All the stakeholders, they are working together and in the same direction, and we have a very strong support by the Office of the Secretary-General.
And the accredited European schools are already a strong part of the European education. But to enlarge a system as asked for, the challenge lies by convincing the member states because every accredited European school begins with a national or regional decision. And we are convinced that this case can be made, but today it is made school by school and that's not enough to reach 27. The message is quite simple. A European school should not be an administrative cost or burden, it should be an investment Europe and every member state makes in its own children and one that strengthens its national system and connects it to Europe.
This is where we would value support. We need a common strategy that is built with us. For our part, we bring the network so that no school has to start from zero. In 23, the Parliament set the goal. In 25, the Board of Governors wrote into the new mission and vision of the European schools the ambition to contribute to European education across the Union and to cooperate with national systems.
A common strategy is now what we need and how we turn both into a common path. And we would like to continue or start that work at the yearly IAS conference next fall in Luxembourg as one of the first venues to the Luxembourgish presidency. And it would be an honor to welcome members of this honorable committee in Luxembourg. Thank you very much.
Nela Riehl
Ganz herzlichen Dank allen Teilnehmenden für diese interessanten Präsentationen. Der ständige Berichterstatter des Kult-Ausschusses, Herr Nikos Papandreou, kann heute nicht hier sein, aber dafür übernimmt Herr Hannes Heide für ihn das Wort. Bitte.
Hannes Heide
Thank you, Chair. So, I'm speaking today on behalf of Nikos Papandreou, our standing rapporteur on the European schools. Nikos would very much have liked to be here today. Unfortunately, following the recent loss of his mother, he has had to remain in Greece with his family. He asked me to thank the Commission, the Secretary-General, the Board of Governors, and in particular the teachers, parents, and students for the excellent cooperation.
He will, of course, continue to follow this work closely. The Europe of tomorrow is already being shaped in our classrooms today. So, what do we want the European schools to be? They are still seen primarily as schools for the children of European officials. This is where the system came from.
But if our vision stops here, we are not being ambitious enough. The European schools should be an example of what European education can be: multilingual, multicultural, inclusive and excellent. Look at Luxembourg: several public international schools follow the European schools system, are open to all pupils without fees and offer education leading to the European Baccalaureate. So why not think bigger? Why not take this model across our Member States and, where appropriate, beyond the EU?
Parliament itself has called for the European school system to become a role model in Europe and beyond. But first, we need to make the existing system work. The challenges remain: overcrowding, infrastructure, teacher shortages, cost-sharing governance and links to the European Education Area. Several recommendations from Parliament's 2023 resolution still require follow-up. Member States and the Commission must take greater responsibility to properly fund and staff our European schools.
And there is another important point: inclusion and well-being. A school cannot call itself excellent if a child is left behind.
This means real educational and psychological support and reasonable accommodation where needed. Bullying and cyberbullying cannot be secondary issues. We have policies in place; the question is whether they work in every school, for every child. The Secretary-General has also suggested a broader ambition: a European school in every member state and potentially a role for the system beyond the EU. There has been some reluctance within the Board of Governors on the latter.
Fine, then let us discuss it. Nico also asked me to make one practical request: as standing rapporteur, he would welcome an invitation to an upcoming meeting of the Board of Governors to exchange views directly. We should not be speaking about each other; we should be speaking to each other. At this point, I also want to add a suggestion: our committee should visit European schools so that we all, members of the committee, get an impression about the situation in those schools.
And I want to finish with a simple hope of Nikos, that when we meet again, we will not be discussing the same problems, but will have made real progress towards a common vision for the future of the European schools. Thank you.
Nela Riehl
Vielen Dank. Ich lade nun die ständigen Schattenberichterstatter ein, das Wort zu ergreifen, beginnend mit Manuela Ripa von der EPP für jeweils zwei Minuten.
Manuela Ripa
Thank you very much. Before I start, I would like also to say something that Hannes Heide mentioned about the APAs having to leave the room. It would be good when we have so many speakers here to have a bigger room so that all APAs can attend, don't have to sit on the floor, but have a seat where they can see. So, let's come to this exchange on the European school system, which I am very much looking forward and thank you for all the great contributions we had so far. And on several occasions and in the context of these exchanges in the past, I've already raised concerns about problems that unfortunately remain unresolved and continue to affect the European schools, such as teacher shortage, the conditions of secondary and locally recruited teachers, an increasing number of cancelled lessons, and overcrowding of classrooms and schools.
And yes, schools need more resources. There is no question about it, especially regarding ISTC.
But today I would like to look at structural issues that seem to affect the daily functioning of the schools and the experience of pupils, parents and teachers. Parents repeatedly approach me and deplore the lack of easy-to-access procedures to deal with complaints and obvious problems. Means an independent and trustworthy mechanism that allows to address and ideally solve most of the issues when they arise and definitely before they escalate further. The student representative in her intervention was also very clear on better communication. In this context, I would also like to express my regret that the establishment of an ombudsman as called for by the European Parliament has not been implemented.
This is why I believe that we need to look not only at resources available to our schools, but also at the structures and procedures that are in place to respond effectively when difficulties arise. And I would also like to raise one additional point concerning cultural traditions and the flexibility of our school calendar. Several Spanish and also MEP, several Spanish parents and also MEPs have approached me about the importance of the festivities around the 6th of January for their families.
I would welcome greater flexibility to allow pupils to celebrate such important cultural traditions as European schools cherish the cultural tradition and should help the pupils to celebrate them. Spain is of course just one example and here I would like the to ask the Secretary General to support an established common principles for school calendars so that respect for European different national and cultural tradition is built into the decision making process from the outset rather than addressed afterwards through ad hoc solutions. Thank you very much.
Nela Riehl
Vielen Dank ich schaue einmal zu PFE aber ich glaube nicht dass Wort ergreifen ja okay dann anstelle von Herrn Antonin Stanek Frau Val- Frau Swiczek.
Annamária Vicsek
Thank you chair. I would like to refer my question particular to Mr. Beckmann for regarding the presentation. I would like to thank every speaker so far for the excellent points of of of topics and thoughts for foods for thought. In I was particularly interested in the reference to the smaller language sections.
Multilingualism is one of the defining features of the European schools, but freedom of choice may naturally favor the larger languages. This is in many ways very similar for me to the challenges many Member States face when protecting the languages of national and linguistic minorities. How can we ensure that smaller language sections remain sustainable and that freedom of choice does not in practice lead to the gradual weakening of smaller languages? And in schools where there is no dedicated language section, how can we guarantee that the so-called SWALS pupils have genuine access to high-quality education, particularly in their mother tongue? Thank you very much.
Nela Riehl
Vielen Dank, ich schaue einmal, ECR, Herr Waszczykowski ist nicht anwesend, sehe ich niemand, das heißt Hristo Petrov von Renew.
Hristo Petrov
Thank you, Niyazi, thank you also to the Secretary-General, the Presidency, and to all representatives here today. I have noticed a trend since our last meeting in CULT, looking at the reports and action plans, the bigger measures, the ones that require funding, keep getting postponed.
For example, addressing the pay gap between primary and secondary teachers has been pushed off to 2029, 2028, sorry. And the security budget for the after-school care at one of the Brussels schools was refused. Should we take this as a sign that in the end, most of the unsolved issues can be reduced down to insufficient budget? As my colleagues already mentioned, I want also to repeat the call for an independent ombudsperson for the European Schools. It's been a request for a long time now, and discussions on it come back in the Board's plans every year, but we still see no concrete development.
And it's essential that everyone who is part of the school system has an independent body to turn to when something goes wrong, especially parents, students, and teachers. I call on you to take concrete actions already this school year. And what troubles me as well is that looking at the last 15 years, it seems like cost-sharing agreements have not worked as intended. We don't see the needed increase in seconded teachers. I welcome the new compensation mechanism.
I think it's a much needed and correct step, but it is not binding. So how will it really differ from what we have right now? We need a more permanent solution and that requires unanimity. We should do more to push the topic with the Member States and take advantage of the coinciding Lithuanian presidency of the Board with the Council presidency starting in January. So my call is to raise the issue to the ministers in some form to give the decision-making process in the Board a much needed push.
And of course, more seconded teachers would take a lot of burden off of the locally recruited teachers, who as we know are still in insecure conditions. Improving the rate of seconded teachers should not be a reason to stop improving the local teachers' working conditions and status, however, and more secondments must not come at the cost of their jobs. Last year, the Cypriot presidency committed to implementing our resolution.
I hope we can keep working together so that next year we can talk about concrete results. Thank you.
Carolina Morace
Thank you, chair, I am speaking on behalf of my colleague Nikos Pappas. Cari colleghi, discutiamo da anni dei problemi delle scuole europee. Il Parlamento li ha individuati chiaramente nel 2023. Io stesso li ho nuovamente sollevati con la Commissione nel gennaio 2025. E oggi, nonostante le ripetute pressioni da parte di questa aula, troppi degli stessi problemi rimangono irrisolti.
Naturalmente alcuni problemi richiedono investimenti significativi. Il sovraffollamento a Bruxelles è una realtà, abbiamo bisogno di edifici adeguati e di una capacità sufficiente. Ma dovremmo smettere di fingere che tutto sia una questione di soldi. È davvero una questione di soldi stabilire procedure chiare ed efficaci contro il bullismo e le molestie? Il Parlamento lo ha chiesto tre anni fa: un ambiente di apprendimento sicuro, un approccio comune contro il bullismo, personale adeguatamente formato, procedure chiare e regole che possono essere effettivamente applicate.
Eppure, gli uffici dei deputati continuano a ricevere segnalazioni preoccupanti da parte delle famiglie. È davvero impossibile fornire agli studenti un migliore sostegno psicologico?
Il Parlamento aveva già evidenziato la carenza di questo tipo di supporto nel 2023. E poi ci sono gli insegnanti. Ogni anno gli studenti perdono ore di lezione perché mancano gli insegnanti o perché i sostituti arrivano troppo tardi. Riceviamo persino segnalazioni di insegnanti ai quali viene chiesto di insegnare in una lingua diversa da quella per cui sono stati assunti. In un sistema scolastico multilingue, questo incide direttamente sulla qualità dell'istruzione.
Allo stesso tempo, gli insegnanti assunti localmente, dai quali queste scuole dipendono sempre di più, devono fare i conti con retribuzioni insufficienti, condizioni diseguali e una grave precarietà professionale. Il Parlamento ha già chiesto retribuzioni competitive e maggiore stabilità e condizioni di lavoro più eque. Questi non sono soltanto problemi di bilancio, sono problemi di priorità e di gestione e di volontà politica. Non abbiamo bisogno dell'ennesimo riconoscimento dell'esistenza dei problemi, abbiamo bisogno che qualcuno se ne assuma la responsabilità. Quali delle raccomandazioni adottate dal Parlamento sono state attuate?
Quali no? Chi ne è responsabile? E entro quando saranno attuate?
Le scuole europee dovrebbero essere un modello dell'istruzione pubblica europea. Se non siamo in grado di risolvere problemi che noi stessi abbiamo individuato anni fa, il problema non è più la diagnosi, è la nostra volontà di agire.
Nela Riehl
Vielen Dank, ja, vielen Dank soweit. Gibt es Meldungen für Catch-the-eye? Ich sehe noch einmal Hannes.
Hannes Heide
Nachdem ich ja für den ständigen Berichterstatter gesprochen habe, von meiner Seite ein paar Fragen. Die Dimension der europäischen Schulen, die Anzahl ist ja sehr groß und sehr breit gestreut. Und es würde mich interessieren, wie diese Probleme, die beschrieben worden sind, sich aufteilen, weil die Schulen ja durchaus unter verschiedenen Standards oder mit unterschiedlichen Problemen konfrontiert sein müssen bei dieser Vielfalt. Und ob es Kriterien gibt, warum eine Schule vielleicht mit den Situationen besser umgehen kann als eine andere, ob es rein eine budgetäre Angelegenheit ist. Und das Zweite, was mich interessiert: Es wurden die akkreditierten Schulen erwähnt, dass sie immer mehr werden.
Und meine Frage dazu ist: Was sind die Kriterien, um so eine Schule zu werden, und wie kann man sich bewerben?
Und was bedeutet das für die Lehrpläne in den Schulen in den einzelnen Mitgliedsländern? Und ich denke da auch an den europäischen Bildungsraum, weil ja Lehrpläne eine Sache der nationalen Bildungspolitik sind und in Ländern wie in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland oder in Österreich noch dazu eine Frage der Bundesländer, wie dieses Thema in diesem Zusammenhang gelöst wird und angegangen wird.
Nela Riehl
Ich sehe keine weiteren Catch-the-Eye-Meldungen. Vielen Dank aber für die Fragen. Ich sage schon einmal, ich muss leider gleich los, weil ich noch andere Verpflichtungen heute Abend habe. Das tut mir wahnsinnig leid, dass ich diese Aussprache nicht zu Ende mitmachen kann, aber mein Kollege Herr Strojewski wird netterweise übernehmen. Ich leite schon mal ein für Herrn Christian Linder von der Europäischen Kommission, dass Sie für vier Minuten einmal das Wort ergreifen.
Christian LINDER
Vielen Dank, Frau Vorsitzende. I will continue in English. Thank you very much for giving me the floor. I would like to underline what other speakers have already said, that this annual exchange of views established by the European Parliament is something which is very appreciated because it gives visibility to the European school system, its successes, its challenges, as we can hear many today and as we know them.
And I think this is a common interest of all the stakeholders in the school community, including the European Commission. And I mean, we hear a lot about the problems and challenges, but since this is also a public forum, I think it's important to repeat that I think there is reason to be proud of the European schools, created more than 70 years ago. And they are addressing after 70 years of existence also the modern educational challenges with ambition and a seriousness. And I mean, I looked at the presentation of the Secretary General, the PISA results which he showed on the slides are also very encouraging and underline this seriousness of the European schools. The European school system has evolved significantly over time.
Indeed, originally the schools were created to educate the children of EU staff. This is and remains, of course, a crucial element for the European institutions and for the European Commission as member of the Board of Governors. The European schools are very important to attract talented staff, retain talented staff, make them move with their families and children to the seats of the institutions or agencies.
And thereby with their multilingual education, they support the geographical balance amongst the staff of the European institutions. And as you certainly know, geographical balance amongst staff is another very important administrative topic concerning all institutions. And therefore we have to continue addressing the practical difficulties. Here I focus on the traditional European schools, for example when they face problems related to space and buildings. Here I think of the situation of the European school in Frankfurt.
I think of the issue of the fifth school in Brussels. I think of the school in Brussels Woluwe with the renovation works. And of course there is also the budgetary issue which many of the speakers before have mentioned. Here indeed I can only confirm what many have said. The EU contribution to the European schools comes from Heading 7, which is the administrative budget of the institutions and more particularly of the European Commission.
There is a general pressure on the administrative expenditure of the European institutions. There's this 2% ceiling which several speakers mentioned before, which applies to all institutions, agencies, etc. And all I can say is that as member of the Board of Governors, I mean the Commission as member of the Board of Governors tries to manage the public money or to ensure a sound management of public money and to accommodate at the same time the educational needs which exist in the schools. I think like all other members of the Board of Governors, we try to push for priorities and we try to be flexible wherever it is necessary and possible. And I think we have shown last year and the years before that there is movement when it's possible.
I know many issues remain open. We have acknowledged the salary gap in the Board of Governors. We have to see what is possible within the budgetary constraints that we have. A last word on the accredited European schools. They have considerably changed the landscape.
I think it's a very encouraging sign that Member States decide to choose local national schools to make them accredited European schools. I think it shows the attractiveness of the European school system as a whole, the quality of the system, the quality of the multilingual education, and I think we can also be proud of that. And there was a very interesting conference last week here in the premises of the European Parliament of the accredited European schools, which was very interesting, very interesting exchange of practices, experiences between the schools. There will be another conference next year. I'm looking forward to it.
So I think this is also a development we can be very proud of. Looking ahead, I just can assure you that for the Commission's member of the Board of Governors, we want to preserve the strengths of the system, adapt it to the realities and challenges, and maintaining high educational standards, inclusiveness, embracing innovation, and ensuring that the system remains responsive to the needs of parents and children, teachers, and the whole school community remains a priority. Thank you very much.
Speaker 34
Thank you, thank you very much. Now please Andreas Beckmann answer, please.
Andreas Beckmann
Thank you very much and many thanks for this really interesting and encouraging debate.
Let me start with something very clear. Obviously Mr. Papandreou is more than welcome to join us in the Board of Governors. Obviously I have to discuss this with the presidency, but more than welcome. And also MEPs are more than welcome to visit our schools. It's really, we appreciate your support.
Yes, we will work on the ombudsman and the mediator question. It is not so easy, but we are dedicated to address it still this year and to come with proposals to the Board of Governors in April. Very briefly, the 180 days and the 6th of January, reassuring message, next year the 6th of January will be covered. We are discussing the calendars currently with parents and stakeholders on school level. We have found a solution, but it's also very clear, we cannot take everything in consideration unless we don't want to challenge the 180 days.
Cost sharing remains a matter of concern, but it is also true, the voluntary contribution or the contribution to the solidarity mechanism is finally at the discretion of the member states because we cannot introduce a mandatory contribution because this requires unanimity and we don't get it, simply.
I would love to have it, the Commission as well, but we don't get it from the member states. So there, use the opportunity, reach out to the educational ministers when they meet under the Lithuanian presidency. Staffing. Pupils have rightly referred to psychologists and I think our ratio of psychologists in the schools is by far lower than the ratio of psychologists, for example, in OIB for the after-school activities. It's simply a fact.
I think we should have more, we have less than most of the member states and this should stay. Yes, we need to find the necessary means for the salary discrepancy, but to remind you, also this Parliament, you made a proposal for the 26 budget in your CULT committee, I think, and it already failed in your budgetary committee. So we have to convince stakeholders and this is the key message: we need a change in the mindset. We are not only administrative expenses, we have been created for the education of the pupils of the Commission or institutional staff, but we are more. We should become, like you say in your report, in your resolution, a policy priority and that would then also allow us to have other means.
Two last remarks. I think it was very well highlighted, there is an interesting discussion which does start now. It's about the question of maintenance and supporting the smaller language sections. It is a priority for Lithuania. For me, it is, it is a conviction that we have to do a lot because this is one of our fundamental pillars for our system.
So we should promote them. I know the wish to have more choice, listen more to the wishes of the families, but this has a risk. It might end that it impacts the quality of teaching, it may risk our whole financing of the system and the teacher supply. So we have to be very, very careful. And last point, yes, we should grow.
We should have European schools in all member states. We have the accredited European schools and I'm more than willing to support them. And I'm just looking right now in a concept in very much in light what Mr. Papandreou has stated. We would like to foster the cooperation between national schools abroad and European accredited European schools. And we have developed a concept and we hope in one year's time we can present you a pilot.
And many thanks again for the support and we will take on board all the critical remarks we have also received, rightly so, from our pupils, parents, and teachers. Thank you very much.
Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski
Thank you very much.
Now Nikos Papandreou, that is Hannes Heide.
Hannes Heide
So I can only conclude with the simple hope of Nikos Papandreou that we realized what the problems are, we know what the solutions are, so it needs that there is action and that these problems are solved. And as he has mentioned, when we meet again we should not discuss about the problems we have but also about the solution and that we have made real progress. And I want to thank all representatives of the different institutions of the schools for being able to give us that information and it was very valuable to listen to you this afternoon. So in the name of the standing rapporteur also my thanks.
Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski
Bardzo, bardzo chcę wszystkim za udział w debacie serdecznie podziękować. Temat systemu szkół europejskich jest dla nas jedną z podstawowych kompetencji komisji CULT, to tylko tak dla przypomnienia. W związku z tym będziemy nadal zwracać szczególną uwagę na wszystkie kwestie związane ze szkołami europejskimi.
Wiem, że zespół stałego sprawozdawcy jest bardzo aktywny w tej sprawie, dlatego też z pewną niecierpliwością będziemy oczekiwać na rozmaite aktualizacje. Chcę zauważyć dwie rzeczy, które dla mnie są kluczowe. Po pierwsze, podczas dzisiejszej dyskusji nie zabrakło autentycznej troski o kondycję szkół europejskich. Bez względu na to, czy pojawiały się opinie krytyczne czy pytania, troska zawsze była dominująca. Bardzo nam zależy, i tu ukłon dla wszystkich studentów, blisko 30 tysięcy, bo wierzymy, że stanowią oni ważny element społeczności europejskiej i trzymamy kciuki za wszystkie kolejne losy, także te zawodowe.
Bardzo chciałem też podziękować wszystkim naszym sprawozdawcom, kolegom, osobom opiniującym, bo opinie włączamy oczywiście do naszej pozytywnej pamięci i tak jak na koniec chcę podkreślić, bardzo dziękując państwu za pracę, trzymamy kciuki za wszystkie postępy, zarówno jeżeli chodzi o jakość kształcenia, budżet, uzupełnienia braków kadrowych, jak i również wykonanie tych czynności, na które nasi koledzy, koleżanki dzisiaj zwracali uwagę. Bardzo, bardzo jeszcze raz dziękuję.
Pozdrawiamy kolegę, kolegę Papandreou, bo wiemy, że ma szczególnie trudną sytuację i wszystkim jeszcze raz serdecznie dziękuję. Będziemy teraz przechodzić do edukacji inkluzywnej i dobrostanu w szkołach europejskich, w tym przeciwdziałaniu nękaniu. Mamy idealny czas na sali, nie musimy dokonywać żadnych technicznych zmian. Przechodzimy do tego porządku obrad: edukacja włączająca, wsparcie edukacyjne, dobrostan w szkołach europejskich, przeciwdziałanie nękaniu. Wiemy, że kwestie te są szczególnie ważne dla komisji CULT i dla wszystkich naszych członków.
Na tę debatę zapraszamy dziś sekretarza generalnego szkół europejskich ponownie, pana Andreasa Beckmanna, Joao Costę, dyrektora Europejskiej Agencji do spraw Specjalnych Potrzeb i Edukacji Włączającej, a także panią Michaline Skiberas, dyrektora szkoły europejskiej z Brukseli, Marco Mattusa, dyrektora szkoły europejskiej także Bruksela tu z cyfrą cztery. I rozpoczynamy debatę od udzielenia ponownie panu Andreasowi Beckmannowi, który ma trzy minuty.
Andreas Beckmann
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and many thanks for this opportunity. I would directly like to hand over to our specialist in education support and inclusive education and well-being. It's Annabella Gracio, a seconded expert and which was one of our first measures to address the challenges we have in front of us.
Please.
Anabela Gracio
Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everybody. So I would like to start by explaining that inclusion and well-being are not two agendas. They are not parallel paths. They are interconnected.
They are one commitment and it has been mentioned and this house has already asked us to deliver on those two, which in fact are one the same commitment. So there are four moves, four areas that I would like to address. The first one is the progress since 2019. Why 2019? It's when the action plan on educational support and inclusive education was approved and delivered.
Because in fact inclusion is not or inclusive education is not a point, it's a journey.
So we started and what we want to do demonstrate is the progress. Although we know that we are not there yet, there are a lot of progress has been made and a lot remains to be made, which is good news because we have a path to work. We will discuss the policy and practice in all the schools because in fact, and we I'm glad we are going to listen to two schools, we address this issue at policy level, but in fact it is the schools that every day build the work with their professionals, with their teachers, with their pupils. So every day the schools work and of course policy areas need to be prepared to facilitate the work of the schools every day. And in fact in the the progress we also have to mention that the professional development that we have been the all the schools and at central level that has been developed to prepare professionals and we heard ISTC teachers saying that we need to prepare teachers to deal with diversity in the classrooms.
It is not a challenge of the European schools itself but it is for all systems. Also the governance, the area of governance, how we have evolved, the evidence that we have to support it and the accountability. So what would you do, the annual reporting that every year the schools and the system provides to stakeholders. The OECD has been already mentioned in the area of pupil wellbeing and the external evaluation that currently the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education is carrying out in the area of inclusion. So these all these areas are grounded in the Parliament's resolution that we have been mentioned and I would just like to share with you some indicators or some figures that could support us in analyzing the evolution that we have made.
So currently we have almost universal access to the European schools in the enrollment and acceptance and continuation of studies. The bac general success is almost 100%. It's 99.5%. And the success rate of pupils with intensive support is currently 93.5%. And the rest that is remaining part of our pupils have their own their own path.
They have their own curriculum. So they are included in this remaining 6.5%. We have a growth every year in the needs of educational support. And of course with this growth comes also budget because we need professionals and we need resources to respond to the needs. Currently we are mapping the situation of well-being initiatives and we have 430 initiatives in all the schools.
And all the schools are running training in the area of inclusion and well-being. We also have a governance system as requested by this board that we hear the voices of every stakeholder from pupils to school management, parents, also other bodies. And we have three two working groups working on one on pupil well-being working group and the pupils representative mentioned it. It is a recent working group. We have the educational support policy working group where all the voices are gathered.
And the new mission and vision clearly has at its heart at its core inclusion and well-being and we are working on that.
We work on evidence. We try to collect evidence to support policy decision, school decision, what we have to do in the different areas, what works, what needs to be done. We collect statistics every, every year. Very, it's available, everything is available online, very thorough and detailed report. We are currently preparing a well-being initiative, or well-being initiatives in a database, and the pupil well-being survey is being discussed in the pupil well-being working group.
Besides all the aspects, and this has already been shown by Mr. Beckman, we have an external, I would say, benchmark analysis of well-being in the different areas, and these five, five in seven indicators, we are, I would say that we are doing well. There are two areas that needs our attention, and these ones are highlighted in red. So, to, in a nutshell, so we try to put the resolution into practice. This is what we try to do, and we are on our way in our journey towards a more inclusive system where every pupil feels at home.
Joao Costa
Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here with you. I'd like to greet in particular Mr. Beckmann and the whole team of the European Schools and all the MEPs and the, and the chair, of course, of the committee. So, as Anabela Gracio just said, we at the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education are currently conducting an external evaluation on the implementation of the action plan of the European Schools on educational support and inclusive education.
I'd like to clarify first who we are. We are an independent platform working with 32 member countries. And we share a vision. Many times when we talk about inclusion and inclusive education, it's not clear that we're all saying the same thing. So I always start by clarifying what we mean.
And what we mean is that we have to build systems and develop system capacity and not just teacher capacity or local school capacity, but the system capacity to guarantee that all learners have access to quality education, being present in school alongside with their peers. And the reason why I'm clarifying this is that this provides the reference point for the evaluation work that we are carrying on. Just to give you to to visual help to understand what we're talking about, it's very common that we are talking, we think we're talking about inclusion, but we are still talking about models in which we're doing integration. That is, we welcome learners with disability, for instance, but then we put them in a separate room, in a separate class, in a separate setting. And the need to move is to move from this to creating opportunities for all learners to be together.
We heard your data on access, but we are talking about inclusion when we find the intersection between being granted access, full participation in the learning environments and achievement. So it's not enough to have access, we have to make sure that the students stay, that they participate fully in the school environment and they have good results because that's what we want for everyone. We recently launched, and I invite you to read this document, we recently launched what we call the 10 pillars for shaping the future of inclusive education. They are interdependent, they are not sequential, and these are areas that are critical for the actual implementation of inclusive education systems. We, when we talk to the countries, when we revisit the conclusions of the Polish presidency of the Council, we see that the main struggle is to move from policy to action.
Writing a nice legislation is difficult, but it's more or less easy. Making it happen is where things get really tough. And we know it's a process, but we need to speed up this process. And we developed these pillars thinking of the future because there are great achievements all over Europe, but there are also new challenges. The population, the school population is undergoing a reconfiguration.
Teachers face new challenges and new demands.
We see in the PISA scores that there are new sources of distraction for the learners, that family support is declining. So we need to work in all these dimensions, from teacher well-being, teacher preparedness, to knowing where to put the resources. It's not just to have more resources, it's efficiency in resource allocation, to cross-sectoral collaboration. Schools don't solve all the problems in the world. We need to see how they work with the community where they are based.
What we are doing now, as I said, is to provide this external evaluation of the action plan created by the European Schools. So our task is to evaluate the progress against these, the European Schools' own objectives, actions and indicators. Of course, we can come later and say, let's look at these ten pillars and see how they match this action plan, but this is not what we're doing right now. What we're doing right now is, and let me give you a bit of background, the action plan was approved in 2019. In 2021, we undertook a formative evaluation of this plan.
This was done during the COVID pandemic, which impacted on the, on the type of work that could be done.
And what is important is that the action plan approved by the European Schools Board of Governors includes 13 areas of work, and this is what we are evaluating right now. So for each of these 13 areas, we are assessing the level of implementation of this action plan. The final report that was delivered in 2021 found that there is a strong commitment to developing more inclusive policies and practices, which is very good, of course. But there are different levels of maturity in the different areas. And also we found quite significant variation between schools and across schools when we started looking at the 13 schools.
We proposed then further reflection on alignment with inclusive education principles, particularly around terminology. Here we go back again to clarifying what we're talking about when we're using the words, so that we make sure that we are talking about the same thing. Personalized support, the needs of different learners in different circumstances. I didn't mention this at the beginning, but it's very important that it's clear for everyone that when we're talking about inclusive education, we are not just talking about disability.
We are talking about every student who faces barriers in accessing the curriculum. And it can be because of a disability, but it can be because the learner does not speak the language of schooling. It can be because of the socioeconomic background. It can be because the student feels that he does not belong in the school because he's bullied, because he doesn't feel well, because he cannot mingle with his peers and his colleagues. And the rule is actually intersectionality.
It's a bit of everything. And that's why we don't need to label the students and to say you come from a disability background, you come from a socioeconomic background, you come from a minority. We are all bits and pieces of everything. And that's why we work on a rights-based approach and that's why personalized support is so important because we need to assess the different needs of every child or each and every child in order to respond well. We also provided recommendations on transitions, on adaptability, on curriculum and enrollment.
Right now what we're doing, like Anabela Gago mentioned, so the Board of Governors approved this external summative evaluation that is going on right now.
It covers activities implemented up to the end of the 24-25 school year, so that we can have a good basis of data for the assessment. And what we are doing is to examine the progress of the system and the schools across the 13 areas, including complementary actions. So we want to know from the action plan in 2019 until the formative evaluation in 21, and from there until the end of 25, what was done, what was the progress made. We are also considering, and this is a new measure of evaluation that was discussed with the Board of Governors, issues of effectiveness, efficiency and impact. In times in which money doesn't grow in trees, knowing what works and where it is worth investing is really critical.
The work is underway. It's due for completion in February next year, 27.
And these are the areas that we are assessing in the action plan: human resources, qualification and training of the staff, budgetary allocations, accessibility, both in what concerns the building environment but also in terms of information and communication, teaching materials, personalized support, transitions, the transition in the progress of the work but also the transition to other schools, adaptability in curricula, assessment and examination. I always say that if we don't have an inclusive curriculum, we will never have inclusive education. Enrollment, certification of capacities and monitoring and quality assurance. The first goal of this work is to evaluate, as I mentioned, the progress, but also to identify priority actions and provide guidance on actionable next steps. And this I stress the word actionable because sometimes we do these reports and recommendations but we are not pragmatic.
And we want to support the European schools with things that can be done immediately after the report is presented. We are doing this through documentary searches, through a system-wide survey and focus visits to a set of schools. We will bring together the evidence to support the findings, the guidance and the recommendations.
So in terms of timeline, we will be submitting the office to the Office of Secretary General the draft final report for feedback in February 2027. We will present findings on selected topics at individual school level, but also to provide the recommendations and indicators for the future development as I just mentioned. And then after we get the feedback from the office, we will be presenting the final evaluation report in April next year and it will be made publicly available and I will be more than happy to come back here to share with all of you the findings. I would like to conclude just with this message. What we want is to support the European schools in having a decision-making process that is informed by evidence.
And for this we need to identify challenges. All education systems have challenges when we're talking about inclusive education, but we do better when we do together and when we learn from each other. Thank you for your attention.
Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski
Thank you. Thank you very much. Now Brussels School number three, Madame Siberas, please. Four minutes.
Micheline Sciberras
Many thanks. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, honorable members and dear colleagues.
Thanks for this opportunity to speak. As I listen to the different comments, different queries, different suggestions, I realize how much we have in common. We appreciate what we have, we appreciate the strengths of the European school system, but yet we want to strive to improve and make it better. My presentation is going to focus on educational support and I'm just going to give some examples of what is practiced in our school at Brussels III, but they are practices that are very common in the 13 schools, the traditional schools, and also in the accredited schools. I'd like to focus on a principle that basically is the heart of the European schools: every learner matters.
And if one really looks in depth at the mission statement of the European school, we've spoken of high quality, multilingual, multicultural education. However, the word inclusive education has formed an integral part of our aims and objectives. So our responsibility as educators goes beyond academic achievement. We have a responsibility to ensure that every child reaches their full potential. This is particularly important when you look at the figures, you look at the scale of the need.
We've seen the figures, we have almost 30,000 pupils in our schools. In 24-25, the latest survey we had, 10,000 of these pupils received some form of educational support. Later on I will speak about the different forms. 7.6% of these were intensive support students. So it's very clear in our schools, educational support is not a marginal issue, it is an essential part of the European school system and practice.
At Brussels III, like many other schools, we practice a whole school responsibility towards educational support. We are a school of 3,200 pupils. We have 890 pupils who receive support, so almost 28% of our student population receive some form of support. Our, like all other schools, we have one academic pathway. The exit point is the European Baccalaureate.
Our objective is to enable each and every pupil, whatever their needs, whatever their abilities, to participate fully in the curriculum according to their potential.
The starting point of all support is differentiation in the classroom, and this is where the teacher's role is so crucial, that the teacher adapts teaching so that the different learners can access the same educational environment. Obviously, where differentiation is not sufficient, then we provide different forms of support, including modified curricular, always trying to keep in mind that the pupil is at the center of any decision that we take. Our schools have different forms of support. There are four levels: general support, which is normally short-term, if a student has some difficulty in a subject, they receive some help. Moderate is more targeted, more long-term, more across-subject.
Intensive support A are students who have a diagnosis, who have a multidisciplinary report, and will receive one-to-one, normally one-to-one tuition in certain subjects, and there is an individual learning plan. Intensive support B is another form of support where temporary support is given for limited language or short-term difficulties. This is especially relevant for pupils who come to our schools, they might not have a second language, for example, and they need a really strong injection to be able to cope and catch up with the demands of the curriculum and the syllabi. Support is provided, as I said, when differentiation is not sufficient. We also operate a form of tripartite agreements in our school.
Sometimes therapists come in to give therapy. Our pupils also have special arrangements in examinations, and we also have education support assistants. An important mechanism in our school is the support advisory group.
This is for students with intensive support needs. It is a multidisciplinary group where we analyze the reports and then we decide on the different measures, accommodations, support that the child, the pupil needs. And what is really strong, I think, in this system is that this is really a multidisciplinary where you've got the teachers, you've got the psychologists, you have different professionals in the school. The parents are there as well, obviously, essential partners because they know their children in a way that no institution can can replicate. So this is an important part of our process.
Teamed with this, obviously, we have to invest in our teachers. Our teachers come from different member states and I would say that the training is twofold. There is training in areas related to different needs. However, there's also universal design for learning, really trying to change our environment rather than change the the learner. We are committed really to helping each pupil trying to develop to their full personality and potential.
And to conclude, we've spoken a lot about budget and we've spoken a lot about different important issues. Inclusion does come at a cost, but and the cost is not only financial in terms of time, in terms of commitment, but exclusion costs our future much, much more and it costs the future of our children we are called to serve. So for European schools, educational support is not an additional service alongside education, it is part of the quality education we aim and strive to provide. Many thanks.
Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski
Thank you very much, Brussels School IV, Marco Mattus, please.
Marco Mattas
Thank you for the floor and thank you for the invitation. At EB4, we treat pupils' well-being as a condition for learning and participation, and I think it's the same approach in all schools within the limits given to us. Our approach links three things: coherent and functioning policy framework, practical support that pupils can access in daily school life, and meaningful pupil voice. The whole-school approach is essential in large, diverse, multilingual, and multicultural school community, where inclusion must be built in ordinary routines, not added only after a problem appears. The outside school premises provide remarkable installations for the recreation time from nursery to secondary.
It helps pupils to socialize, play, stay fit, relax and study. All our framework documents are published of course on the website, this is the normal situation in every school. Prevention happens in classroom through KiVa, social skill building, learning to learn activities, mindfulness and orientation. Weekly care team and education support team meetings help us notice concerns early and coordinate support. Staff can also use the e-forms to report serious behavior incidents or ask for help.
When a pupil needs more, psychologists, nurses, education support advisors and management coordinate individual or group responses. The school also adapts the school environment. Silence and multisensory rooms offer quieter spaces for pupils who struggle with noise, crowds or regulation. These are not isolated projects. They operate at different rhythms: daily accessible spaces, weekly professional coordination, monthly participation structures and annual review.
Care team meetings are weekly with additional meetings as needed.
Nursery, primary, and secondary participation structures and annual review. Kiva team... yes, sorry. Bullying deserves specific attention in every school. This is unfortunately present in not only schools but also in institutions and communities. Giving tools how to fight against, notice, and assist is essential.
EB4 uses Kiva as a whole-school program. Each class receives at least 10 lessons during the school year, staff receive training, and a dedicated Kiva team follows reported cases. And the annual Kiva survey supports review and planning. The annual bullying policy covers school life, activities outside school, journeys to and from school, and relevant online behavior. It also distinguishes repeated bullying from other hurtful conduct while making clear that both require intervention.
Pupil agency strengthens prevention. In primary, elected class representatives meet monthly in the pupil council.
They communicate with classmates and can join the Kiva Kids Club, Green Crew and Diversity Cell. In secondary, the pupils' committee represents concerns and interests, initiate projects and meets management. This gives pupils a route to raise issues before they escalate and a role in creating the school climate. Continuous Kiva training for approximately 250 staff members, pupil-led mental health workshops during project days and anti-substance sessions and workshops on relationships, emotional well-being and sexual health are one of the things that we organize at school. The school already uses several forms of evidence.
We already talked about PISA. One of the elements that is also widely used, which is mentioned on the slide, is the ban of electronic devices at school, which is a success for all four schools in Brussels. And in general, pupil well-being improves when pupils know where to turn, adults act consistently and schools learn from evidence. Thank you for the attention.
Hannes Heide
Herzlichen Dank für die Präsentationen, vor allen Dingen für die Präsentationen direkt aus den Schulen. Es gibt ja in der europäischen Politik Instrumente oder Vorgaben, wie wir mit dieser Situation umgehen sollten. Es gibt den Aktionsplan gegen Cybermobbing und jetzt neu vorgestellt EU Kids Act. Und wir haben jetzt bei den Berichten vorher erfahren, mit welchen Herausforderungen und Problemen die europäischen Schulen konfrontiert sind. Und ich möchte sagen, ich bedanke mich ganz herzlich für diese Präsentationen, die unter all den widrigen Umständen, die wir gerade im ersten Block gehört haben, unter denen die Schulen arbeiten, dass derartige Konzepte umgesetzt werden können und dass derartige Angebote in ihren Schulen existieren.
Ich möchte noch einmal unterstreichen, bei der Präsentation des Aktionsplans gegen Cybermobbing wurde festgestellt, jeder sechste Jugendliche in der Europäischen Union hat Cybermobbing erlebt und jeder achte gibt zu, teilgenommen zu haben.
Und mich würde interessieren, ob Sie diese Erfahrung auch in Ihren Schulen machen, ob das dort auch erfahrbar wird und welche Schritte dann tatsächlich zu setzen sind. Und Mitglieder dieses Ausschusses, die heute auch hier anwesend sind, haben in der vergangenen Woche eine Schule in Finnland in Oulu besuchen können und wir waren sehr beeindruckt über das Raumangebot, über die Angebote über den Unterricht hinaus an junge Menschen, von kostenlosen warmen Mittagessen über Sportangebote, Unterstützung im psychosozialen Bereich, ein eigenes Jugendzentrum dort. Und ich würde von Ihnen gern hören, welche Wünsche Sie noch haben, damit tatsächlich Cybermobbing-Kampf oder auch psychosoziale Gesundheit bei jungen Menschen tatsächlich umsetzbar ist. Ich komme aus Österreich, die tägliche Sportstunde wird dort immer wieder erwähnt, wie notwendig sie ist, es gibt sie nach wie vor nicht. Mich würde auch interessieren, wie weit und wie groß das Sportangebot an den Europäischen Schulen ist und ob Sie selbst es auch als ausreichend empfinden, aber auch die Möglichkeiten dazu als ausreichend finden.
Und im Großen und Ganzen würde ich schon auch noch einmal zum Umgang mit Internet einiges erfahren wollen, welche Geräte werden unter welchen Umständen benutzt, wie gehen Sie mit den Mobiltelefonen um in Ihren Schulen?
Das wäre für uns, da wir ja mit diesen Fragen beschäftigt sind, ganz gut zu wissen, wie das in der täglichen Arbeit sich auswirkt. Herzlichen Dank.
Manuela Ripa
Yes, thank you very much. I also welcome the opportunity to talk about the well-being of children and in particular their mental health and about bullying, because this all affects children's ability to learn, to develop and feel safe at school. And the psychological stress experienced by children and adolescents has increased dramatically in the recent years. And if problems at schools like bullying are added to the mix, it can be real detrimental. Every single case of bullying, mobbing is one too many.
School, parents, teachers, classmates, everyone plays an important role here, needs to be involved and above all needs guidance. And if an incident does occur, appropriate mechanisms must be quickly activated. And here I would like to hear from the schools what mechanism they have. What do they do when you have a bullying case? What happens?
And a well-being plan is great, but what happens when this occurs? And since prevention must be the top priority, special emphasis must be placed on the raising awareness and providing training for teachers and pupils.
Some schools do it. Do the other schools do it as well? And also for parents. I welcome very much the initiative like the one that was at the European school where my children attended, where parents were invited to an exchange with an expert on dangers of social media, which also addressed the issue of bullying. Such opportunities should take place in every school and it should be mandatory because parents need to understand the dangers that are there for children.
And in order, we need this to sensitize and empower teachers, parents and pupils. And I also must say the schools can't resolve everything. Sometimes also parents need to be more responsible. Just as an example, WhatsApp groups, there occurs a lot of mobbing. WhatsApp groups are only allowed, or WhatsApp in general, at an age of 13.
So if a children wants to set up it earlier, it is also up to the parents to say no, this is forbidden. And also the parents need to talk with their children much more about respect towards others, also online. Of course, this is only a start.
It does not solve the problem, but it is an important start. And what I would also like to hear more from the European schools is also about what they do about disinformation and fake news that circulate, if they have plans there, if it's part of the curricula to tackle these problems that are essential also for the children and that they understand what they're seeing on social media. In the end, I also want to say that we need more psychological support for children and young people. Early and accessible support can make an important difference, particularly when a child is struggling with anxiety, isolation, bullying or other difficulties. We therefore need an approach that combines prevention, awareness, early intervention and appropriate psychological support.
Because one thing is crystal clear: every child deserves a safe learning environment where they feel respected, protected and supported. Thank you very much.
Annamária Vicsek
Please allow me a personal note before I elaborate my thoughts. As members of the European Parliament, we very rarely have the opportunity to discuss and talk about topics that are very close to our own professional background. So I'm particularly happy today to see the agency today with us, because I had the privilege of working with the agency for eight years as a State Secretary, and I was a member of the representative board and also for a short period of time as a management board member also. So I'm very happy to see you here today. I would like to, since I don't have any questions because I know very well the agency, however, I would like to reiterate and echo the words of the director and also one of the schools has talked about that, what I think is very important to keep in mind.
Thank you, Chair.
When we talk about inclusive education, we indeed talk about quality education that provides the necessary environment, both in educational environment and communicational environment as well, for every single pupil to develop their full potential. And I'd like to say that we don't only talk about pupils with learning disabilities or with pupils with learning difficulties, but pupils with learning differences. And this is actually what has been talked about today. And just a note for the end, if the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education is within the package of dealing for the schools to deal with the matter of inclusive education, I am very confident that they will get the best professional support needed. Thank you very much.
Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski
Thank you very much, colleague Hristo Petrov, two minutes please.
Hristo Petrov
Thank you, thank you Mr. Zdrojewski and thank you to the agency for its work on the new evaluation. When we met last year, I was especially concerned about the inclusion measures and the support for pupils with disabilities.
So it's great to have a discussion today specifically on these topics, and I welcome the progress achieved since our last meeting, especially on curriculum flexibility. But as we all know, there is still a lack of an alternative to the European Baccalaureate. The plan to pilot an alternative certificate is welcome. So I'm really calling on you to give it the staff and budget it needs to be ready in line with your current plan. I know both staff and budget are tight, but finding an alternative should not fall victim to priority decisions that shift resources away from it.
For me, more must be done on psychological support. The Parliament resolution called for it in 2023, and we raised it again during our last discussion. It especially matters for bullying. In 2022, the board set a target for the number of psychologists per pupil to be reached by 2025. Have the targets been met in all schools?
The new seconded psychologist position is welcome, but considering seconded teacher numbers have been so far below the needed numbers, will it really have any effect?
And there is, there also needs to be fairness in diagnosing and providing support. For some language groups, getting them in your own language is not so easy in Brussels. Looking at the statistics for some language sections like Bulgarian and Romanian, the share of pupils with intensive support is about a third of the average rate. Is it a question then of needing less support or are they not getting assessed properly? Last year, we concluded that inclusion must be operational, not just aspirational.
I hope we can keep working together to get there. Thank you.
Carolina Morace
Grazie, Presidente. In Europa e purtroppo in particolare in Italia, è tornata nel dibattito pubblico l'idea di separare gli studenti sulla base delle loro capacità o delle loro difficoltà, anche quando parliamo di disabilità. Ricordo che in Italia le classi differenziali sono state abolite nel 1977. Ma inclusione non può significare separazione.
L'Unione Europea e tutti gli Stati membri sono vincolati alla Convenzione ONU sui diritti delle persone con disabilità che riconosce il diritto a un sistema educativo inclusivo. La mia domanda: cosa possiamo fare a livello europeo per garantire che l'inclusione scolastica resti un principio concreto e per evitare che si torni verso modelli educativi basati sulla separazione? Grazie.
Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski
Thank you very much, Sabrina, Victor. Thank you very much. Przekażę na koniec jeszcze panu Beckmanowi możliwość udzielenia odpowiedzi. Mamy niewiele czasu, ale dopowiem, że jest szansa na to, aby pytania skierować pisemnie do sekretarza, do pana Beckmana, gdyby ktoś z uczestników miał taką ochotę post factum, to jest taka możliwość. Mamy kilka minut, dosłownie siedem.
Pan Beckman jako pierwszy, ale być może ktoś z dyrektorów szkół chciałby jeszcze coś dopowiedzieć na te pytania, które przekazała przede wszystkim pani Lipa czy też kolega Petrov czy Hannes Heide, to jest taka szansa, bardzo, bardzo krótko. Please, pan Beckman.
Andreas Beckmann
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and many thanks for the different interventions. I will have five remarks and then I will hand over to my dear colleagues, the directress. First one is there was the question, I think, of Ms. Ripa on the question of disinformation. Yes, and we are working also together with experts of EUIPO. This is a little bit the beauty of our system, that we can work closely with agencies, and this agency with its experts is linked to the school in Alicante.
So we are working together on that. We have talked about the question of alternative certificates. This is still a road to go, but at least part of the solution can be also the colleagues sitting behind me, the accredited European schools, because they have the flexibility also to offer easy, more easy alternative pathways. But this does not mean that we give up the idea to have also alternative certificates within the European schools. We have talked today a lot about budget and we have asked the Commission a lot, but I have also to say that when it comes to educational support and inclusive education, the European Commission supports us.
There is no question about that. I mean, the only area where we have an issue is linked to administrative staff, and psychologists are mostly administrative staff, and there we have our limits and there we would ask more.
We have met the minimum target, which was agreed by the Board of Governors, but this is the minimum target, and we are below the target or the average in Member States, and there we think more should be done. I'm very grateful for the support of the agency and of Mr. Costa and his team. We are looking forward to the report, and sometimes our accountability is questioned by stakeholders, and I think what we are doing in our cooperation with the agency is clearly demonstrating that we are accountable for what we would like to achieve. Then on these policies, you rightly said you can draft easily policies, but the implementation, what is happening on school level, is important. I just wanted to highlight that all these policies on system level, but also on school level, they are not drafted by me or by a director.
It's a collaborative work, and we talk about governance and we involve obviously in this work on school and system level our pupils and our parents. And finally, I really, I cannot leave this room without thanking those who make educational support and inclusive education a reality. This is, are the people working in the schools, starting with the directors, over the support assistant coordinators and psychologists and others, and I would really like to thank them and would like to hand over to the dear directors.
Micheline Sciberras
Many thanks, Mr. Beckmann. Just a couple of reactions before I pass on to my colleagues to the question of what do the schools need and what support would we like. We have a good policy framework in many areas related to inclusion and also wellbeing. We we have a lot of good practice in the schools we saw there the 420, 430 initiatives related to wellbeing. In order to expand, in order to go into further depth, we now need the resources, resources in terms of the space, space not only the physical space but space in our timetables.
At the moment we are trying to find the space wherever there is a gap to be able to do a prevention program, for example. So this is something our curricula needs to become much more holistic in nature rather than focus solely on the academic. To the question of, you know, devices and and internet, we this is day-to-day practice in our schools. We have schools that are well equipped with mobile trolleys, with iPads, with with laptops. The four schools in Brussels have eliminated the use of mobile devices up to the age of 16 and we've seen the last two years a major positive change in that pupils are engaging much more with each other, they're talking, they're playing.
And we've seen an increase in behavioral incidents, there's more naughtiness going on, but that's okay, because at least this is a positive way where we're seeing interaction. There's more reading, there's more library books being taken out of the library. So this is just some concrete examples. I reiterate the need for the psychological support, and to conclude, we in our schools, we're not only speaking about well-being, we need to speak about resilience, because we don't want to give a message that an adult is always there to give a solution. When we grow and go out into the world, we're going to find difficulties and we have to find internal skills to be able to tackle the issue we face.
Many thanks.
Marco Mattas
Thank you. Just very shortly, Micheline has said already many things, but yeah, school is mostly and firstly a learning environment. We all learn there, especially kids of course learn and sometimes even adults learn. So we have to learn how to behave in a multicultural, diverse setting where many nationalities are together. Sometimes our values are not the same, so we need to learn how to respect each other, not only children, but also sometimes adults.
So speaking about bullying, noticing is essential of course. This is why we have also the, I mean our school uses KiVa program, which is very, a very good science-based program.
And of course none of the programs is perfect, but at least we have something to stick on and to apply. Speaking about devices, yes, we have banned mobile devices, we don't use them. Yes, we have sometimes more vandalism now in schools because children are creative, they are sometimes bored, so they create, invent situations where they are more distracted maybe. Parents' role, I mean education is a shared responsibility in my opinion, and not only my opinion. So speaking about devices and bullying on the devices, which now actually we don't have access, I never have had access, so it's actually parents' role to control these devices and ensure that their children are not bullied.
Yes, we use in our school at least the program called Bring Your Own Device in upper secondary where, yeah, also something can happen in chat. Now the chat is banned for example for pupils, so there's no possibility for pupils to initiate any kind of bullying, internet-based bullying. And the programs are not from rubber, unfortunately we cannot add again additional, additional lectures.
Yes, these need to be included in the program, but once again, we cannot add everything all the time, and we are doing already a lot. So shortly, this would be all for me. Thank you.
Joao Costa
We'll use less than that, Mr. Chair, thank you for giving the floor. Just a message of gratitude and hope. The gratitude is that I see in this committee a joint commitment to the goals of inclusive education. And when we have this shared understanding and this shared commitment, we can move past the political debates that sometimes happen around this topic. And the hope is, we see some backlash on inclusive education, like we heard the testimony from the MEP from Italy, but we can circumvent that through effective communication with the families, with the communities.
And the Parliament can play a role here, providing showcase evidence that inclusion pays off, like you said, that inclusion is possible, it's feasible, and it's beneficial for all, not only for the learners struggling with difficulties.
Not only for the learners struggling with difficulties, all the others progress much more when they are in diverse settings. So it's possible to make it happen, and please do count on the European Agency to support also the CULT Committee in showcase evidence for all the stakeholders you interact with.
Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski
Bardzo, bardzo wszystkim chciałem serdecznie podziękować. Panu Koście chcę podziękować też za bardzo interesującą prezentację, taką holistyczną, całościową, niczego tam nie brakowało. Był to taki dowód dbałości o to, aby krótko mówiąc ta jakość była za każdym razem monitorowana i poprawiana. Chcę podziękować też Victorii Redler za obecność i reprezentowanie samych studentów. To dla twojego pokolenia między innymi jest to spotkanie, więc serdecznie pozdrawiamy i bardzo, bardzo dziękujemy.
Będę zamykać tą część posiedzenia, przypominając jeszcze członkom Komisji Kultury, że jutro się spotykamy na głosowaniach, bardzo ważnych, bo dotyczących budżetu i Erasmus+. To spotkanie będzie w innym części budynku, bo to będzie ANTALL 6Q2.
I na koniec jeszcze raz chcę wszystkim bardzo, bardzo serdecznie podziękować. Mamy późną porę poniedziałkową, ona jest zawsze trudna dla eurodeputowanych, więc tym bardziej wszystkim tym, którzy dotrwali do końca, bardzo dziękuję. Przypomnę, że następną część, którą zaczynamy praktycznie natychmiast, mamy in camera, więc osoby, które są już nieuprawnione, proszę o sprawne opuszczenie sali i ewentualne dzielenie się opiniami już poza nią.
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