Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, has given a statement on EU-Eastern Partnership progress in the field of education and youth and announced the establishment of a European school in Tbilisi.
In his statement, Hahn mentioned that it is a priority for the EU “to offer even more possibilities for Georgian and other Eastern Partnership (EaP) students to benefit from educational programmes”.
In 2016, 4,100 EaP students and academic staff were supported to study, teach or follow training in the European Union. In addition, around 8,900 young professionals in EaP countries took part in exchanges, training and volunteering.
“Education and Youth are a focus of the Eastern Partnership deliverables. Youth leadership and entrepreneurship will be fostered through a new EU4Youth initiative, which will aim to provide support to 100 youth organisations. Over 20,000 new students and academic staff will have studied, taught or been trained thanks to Erasmus+ mobility opportunities by 2020,” announced the Commissioner.
He also announced that an “Eastern Partnership European School” will be established in Tbilisi. Secondary school students will receive internationally recognised qualifications from the school and classes will be provided in English, with the opportunity to learn other European languages.
The objective of the European School is to “create a beacon of excellence for pupils from Georgia and the other Eastern Partner Countries” while promoting European values and a better understanding of the EU and its engagement in Georgia and the entire EaP region.
“Thus, the European School will become an important element in bringing the Eastern Partnership countries closer to the EU,” concluded Hahn in the statement.