Was the European Union ever a topic for you at school? And if so, in which grade and in which subject? What did you know about the EU when you graduated secondary school? The answer to these questions will be different depending on which Member State a person graduated in. In federal Germany, the answers to these questions even differ from Land to Land.

The European Movement International and the European Movement Germany believe that all Europeans should graduate having obtained a certain level of knowledge about the EU. For this reason, we are working together on a study about “EU at School”.

Over the past weeks we conducted intensive research and evaluated existing studies on the matter. In 2013, the Commission launched the study “Learning Europe at School“ which provides a thorough and most recent analysis of knowledge transfer on the EU in schools within the European Member States. In the 2016 Parliament report “Learning EU at School“, we found the concrete competences in the area of education on EU and Member State side. In the report, the Parliament also formulates concrete demands to the Commission and Member States.

These two concrete sources of information are the basis for the study conducted by the European Movement International and the European Movement Germany. It begins with a needs assessment: Why is it necessary to know about the EU? What is the concrete relation between knowledge on the EU and active participation therein or a pro-European attitude? After presenting the current implementation of the curricula in the Member States, we outline the persisting problems which include inter alia a high degree of heterogeneity and a lack of comparability of EU education between the Member States. We conclude with concrete political demands adressed to both the EU and national levels.

Based on these demands and input from its members, the European Movement International will draft a policy position on the European education policies. The European Movement Germany has spoken out for stronger education on the EU for years already and organises the European School Competition and Projects of the College of Europe.

The report will be published in July 2017 as EU-In-BRIEF. Klick here to find information on this project in German.