We would like to thank you most sincerely for your massive participation in our conference with Mr Cenini, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Schools, which took place on 22 April.

The REPLAY of the conference is available here : Renouveau & Démocratie – Antonio Cenini – Looking to the FUTURE of the Europe­an Schools System… (youtube.com)

In this respect, we also thank you for your massive support for our letter to the Commissioner Hahn concerning the delay in the construction of the 5th European School and the urgent need to address overcrowding in all Brussels ES and for the questions raised: Renouveau & Démocratie – Note for the attention of Mr Johannes Hahn | Commissioner for budget and administration (renouveau-democratie.eu)

As you requested, we will hold a second follow-up conference with Mr Cenini on 18 June. On this occasion, we will answer all the questions you raised during the first conference and those we received afterwards.

R&D has always been committed to supporting the European Schools, not only as part of the social package offered to our staff, but also as a model of high-quality multilingual and multicultural education in Europe and beyond, open to all EU citizens, demonstrating that ‘united in diversity’ can also be a living reality in the field of education.

As regards the FUTURE of the EES, we are delighted that our appeals have been heard!

On 12 September 2023 the European Parliament issued a resolution on the European Schools System: state of play, challenges and perspectives ( link ). The report aims to define the mission and perspectives of the European Schools System (ESS) in the context of the challenges of the 21^st century and to provide a vision for the system, including plans for its modernisation and the develop­ment of a model for contemporary education to play an important role in the creation of the European Education Area (EEA).

The main recommendations and ideas of the EP Report along with the outcomes of the meetings of the Heads of Delegation and the Board of Governors of the European Schools can be clustered into three thematic groups: PEDAGOGY (mission, functions, objectives and quality assurance), ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNANCE (management, organisation and structure) and RE­SOURCES (human resources, infrastructure and legal framework).

We are pleased to share with you the Action Plan and the Parma Declaration (attached) finally adopted by to the Board of Governors and the conclusions of the first Teachers’ Forum held in Parma from 8 to 12 April, with the representatives of the 27 Member States of the European School System, the European Commission, the representatives of students, parents and the teachers of the European Schools who will set up the first “European Teachers’ Forum” : TEACHERS’ FORUM 8-9 APRILE 2024 | Scuola Per L’Europa (scuolaperleuropa.eu)

The more than considerable effort to design the future of the European Schools must not become

a pretext for neglecting CURRENT and urgent problems! 

Any discussions on the future of the ESS must not be used as a pretext to neglect the problems currently observed in the opera­tion of the current ES, particularly but not exclusively in Brussels, concerning notably:

• · the lack of accountability of some host countries, which are responsible for the provision and maintenance of school buildings, which has led to serious issues, especially in Brussels, where schools are overcrowded, with profound repercussions on the quality of teaching, on organisational aspects and on the safety and well-being of students and staff;
• · the shortcomings of the enrolment policy,
• · the need for a systematic inclusion policy,
• · the need to set up an independent ombudsperson to address complaints of maladministration and mediate in cases of con­flict;
• · the need to ensure fair contractual and working conditions for Locally Recruited Teachers.

For any further information, please contact our colleagues responsible for this file: 

Aleksander KEDRA : Aleksander.KEDRA@ec.europa.eu

Marco PINO : Marco.PINO@ec.europa.eu

Cristiano SEBASTIANI,

Chairman