Union of education and skills
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Even though we are only approaching the one-year mark since the 2024 European Parliament elections, the European boat has already experienced a lot of stormy waters in this time. Europe has been forced to reflect on its role in the rough sea of world politics. At a time like this, European cooperation seems perhaps more valuable than ever before.
Today, we are not celebrating just a regular Europe Day either, as it is also the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration. When the declaration was written, European cooperation comprised concrete actions in coal and steel cooperation, laying the foundation for post-war peace in Europe. Instead of coal and steel, European cooperation today is built on skills and knowledge.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen emphasised the importance of education and skills for Europe’s competitiveness in the commission’s political guidelines. The Union of Skills initiative was consequently launched in March 2025. Some of the key aspects of the Union of Skills are already familiar to us higher education students. You may have encountered small study modules or European university networks, such as Una Europa, that the University of Helsinki is involved in.
The aim of the Union of Skills is to increase competence, offer opportunities for continuous learning and attract and train top experts for Europe. The shortage of skilled workers, a well-known concept in Finnish debate on education, also applies to the European context. At the same time, one in five adults have difficulties with reading and writing. Challenges related to skills in Europe are very diverse. On the one hand, we need innovations and top experts, but on the other, a part of the population has trouble with very basic reading and mathematical skills.
The EU’s education and research policy tends to be increasingly closely tied to competitiveness and industrial policy. For instance, in Mario Draghi’s report on Europe’s competitiveness published in autumn 2024, developing competence, skills and innovation activity are seen as key challenges to resolve in Europe. Research and innovations are seen as the engine of economic growth, and skills policy is strongly guided by perspectives prioritising the labour market. At the same time, the EU’s funding and programmes for education (e.g. Erasmus+) are increasingly developed on the terms of strategic competitiveness.
This understandably raises some questions: What happens to research that does not directly serve economic objectives? Will the role of higher education be limited to a mere means of producing skilled workers for the labour market? Europe’s future requires competitiveness, but it also needs space for free research and education that fosters culture, participation and a democratic society.
In many ways, we live at a critical time and cannot know what the future will bring, for good or bad. For that reason, perhaps more than ever, we now need European cooperation and investments in education. Education and culture provide us with tools to face even great changes in our society. If everything goes well, we will not just survive the challenges but are also able to build a more humane and sustainable society.
On this Europe Day, we celebrate a union born 75 years ago from a dream for peace and coal and steel cooperation. To be able to celebrate the European Union for another 75 years, Europe’s future needs culture, investments in education and international cooperation.
Happy Europe Day!
Mathilda Timmer
Specialist in Educational Policy
050 477 4543
