Informal ministerial meetings in Sweden

Informal Meeting of Education Ministers

The most important issue for education policy is: how can we create the best conditions to enable our pupils to achieve the best possible results? It is often emphasised that teachers are the most important factor in successful schools. Most people agree that the skills of the teachers are vital for the results pupils achieve in school. At European level, the important role of teachers and school leaders has been highlighted in various connections and at the informal meeting of education ministers in September the Swedish Presidency will further highlight this issue.

Photo: Gunnar Seijbold/Regeringskansliet

Jan Björklund, Minister for Education, on the informal ministerial meeting on 23-24 September

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The design of basic education and training for teachers plays an important role in establishing teachers’ skills and teacher education is a frequent subject of debate. However, it is easy to forget a range of other factors that may be equally important in developing teachers’ knowledge and skills. Apart from the issue of who chooses to become a teacher, the introduction to the profession and first few years of teaching are an important factor, as are the opportunities teachers are given to maintain and further develop their knowledge and skills. The concept of ‘lifelong learning’, which has won broad recognition in society, must be applied in a profession such as teaching more than most. Continued vocational education and training should be an ongoing process, and should be seen as an opportunity for development and have a clear link to day-to-day efforts to improve education. Teacher education programmes mainly reach the relatively small number of people who are preparing to enter the teaching profession, while continued vocational education and training embraces the entire body of teachers in the profession.

There is substantial evidence that the skills and learning of teachers are crucial to education that produces goods results and creates a good learning environment. Teachers’ education and training, together with their introduction to the profession, continued vocational education and training, and experience in general, are what give teachers these skills. Local education institutions are learning environments for the staff as well, which means that the leadership of teachers’ work plays a key role. How can we, at European level, work together to strengthen the skills of Europe’s teachers so that our pupils achieve the best possible results, enabling them to go on to help our societies develop positively, both nationally and internationally? How are teachers equipped for the reality they meet and what can we do together to ensure that they have the skills required to enable our educational institutions to keep pace with the development of society?

It is the question of how the Member States and the EU can improve the opportunities for teachers to develop their skills and learning on which the ministerial meeting will focus.

Pre-meeting news

Göteborg

When

23, 24 September

Where

Council

Education, Youth and Culture

Ministry in charge

Ministry of Education and Research

Contacts

  • Anna Gudmundsson

    Senior Adviser, Ministry of Education and Research

  • Anna Neuman

    Press Secretary to the Minister for Education Jan Björklund

    +46 8 405 10 00

  • Margareta Stridh

    Information Officer, Ministry of Education and Research

  • Jan Janonius

    Media Attaché

    +46 8 405 10 00

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Read more on the Presidency website

External Resources

  • Obtain accreditation for the meeting
  • About the City of Göteborg during the Presidency

Documents

Decision-making process

EU legislation

  • The Council of the EU Decides
  • The European Parliament Decides
  • Coreper (Commitee of Permanent Representatives) Prepare
  • The European Parliament's committees Prepare
  • Working groups Prepare
  • The European Commisson Propose legislation
  • Informal ministerial meetings Give inputs

The Council of the European Union is the EU’s highest decision-making body. It consists of one minister from each Member State who has the authority to make binding decisions for his or her government. Which minister participates from each Member State depends on the type of issue being discussed. The minister from the country holding the Presidency chairs the meetings.

The European Parliament passes new laws together with the Council, based on proposals from the Commission. The Parliament’s influence varies depending on the issues discussed. Normally, decisions are made in ‘codecision’ between the Parliament and Council which means that the Council must accept the European Parliament's amendment proposals in order to pass new legislation.

Coreper – the Committee of Permanent Representatives – prepares for Council meetings. All issues must pass through Coreper before they can be included on the agenda for a Council meeting. Coreper meets in two configurations, Coreper II and Coreper I, dealing with different subject areas. Coreper II is made up of the Permanent Representatives (the ambassadors) from the Member States, who work at the Permanent Representations in Brussels. Coreper I is made up of the Deputy Permanent Representatives (the ambassadors’ deputies).

The European Parliament’s proposals are considered in one of the parliamentary committees. There are twenty permanent committees, divided into subject areas, for example foreign affairs or the budget. The European Parliament can also appoint temporary committees for up to twelve months, with the possibility of extension. One of the committee members writes the committee’s report on a particular issue. In this function, he or she is called the rapporteur and has great influence over the way in which the report is drawn up.

Council working groups and committees are responsible for preparing all issues before they are referred to Coreper and finally to ministerial level. The working groups and committees are made up of senior officials, either from the Member States’ Permanent Representations in Brussels or from ministries in their capital cities.

The European Commission proposes new laws for the European Parliament and the Council to consider. It consists of one member from each Member State and it makes collective decisions. That means that the Commissioners support all decisions made, even those outside their respective subject area. The decisions are normally made without a vote, but if a Commissioner demands a vote, this is carried out. In these cases, absolute majority is required for a proposal to be accepted.

The European Council is also referred to as the EU summits and consists of the heads of state or government of the Member States together with the President of the Commission. They meet once or twice every six months to draw up political guidelines for the EU’s development.

The EU Presidency usually organises a number of informal ministerial meetings in the country holding the Presidency. No formal decisions are made at these meetings. The meetings instead offer an opportunity for the ministers to discuss current EU issues freely. One purpose is to provide an informal setting in which to solve problems and pave the way for decisions on difficult issues on the Council's ordinary agenda.

The EU cooperation involves striking a balance between the views of a number of parties on various levels. To assess the progress made on a certain issue and to enable the parties to put forward new proposals, conferences and different types of meetings are often arranged. No binding decisions are made at these conferences , but they still serve an important function in that they prepare the way for the formal steps in the EU's decision-making process.

The EU maintains regular dialogue with a very large number of countries and groups of countries outside the EU. These meetings with countries outside the EU are also known as ‘third country meetings’. The Presidency plans, coordinates and chairs the meetings. During the Swedish Presidency, around 280 such meetings will take place, some in Sweden and some in Brussels, New York and other countries outside the EU.