Sittings · Document
Follow up to the European Parliament non-legislative resolution on European historical consciousness
Rapporteur: Sabine VERHEYEN (EPP / DE)
Reference numbers: 2023/2112 (INI) / A9-0402/2023 / P9 TA(2024)0030
Date of adoption of the resolution: 17 January 2024
Competent Parliamentary Committee: Committee on Culture and Education (CULT)
Brief analysis/ assessment of the resolution and requests made in it:
The resolution emphasises that Europe’s past poses both a challenge and an opportunity for European integration and stresses the need for a broader and more holistic understanding of European history that is based on shared European values. To safeguard and to promote these values, the European Parliament called on the Commission to use the EU’s rule of law mechanism, to work through the European Education Area’s Working Group on Equality and Values in Education and Training, to reinforce the Erasmus+ and Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programmes, and to strengthen digital and media literacy.
Response to the requests and overview of the action taken, or intended to be taken, by the Commission:
As regards expanding the scope of the Commission’s rule of law report to cover artistic and academic freedom (paragraph 11), the Commission points out that the rule of law report is just one element of a broader endeavour at EU level to strengthen the founding EU values of democracy, equality, and respect for human rights. The report is complemented by other initiatives, including the European Democracy Action Plan, the Strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU with its thematic annual reports focusing on areas of strategic relevance governed by EU law, and targeted strategies to address the needs of the most vulnerable.
Concerning the request to work on deliverables that address specifically the development of European historical consciousness (paragraph 13), since 2018 the Commission has been supporting Member States’ implementation of the Council Recommendation on promoting common values, inclusive education and the European dimension of teaching by facilitating mutual learning and exchange of best practices. As of 2021, under the European Education Area strategic framework, the Commission’s support to Member States’ implementation continues through the Working Group on Equality and Values in Education and Training. Its issue paper on citizenship education points out that teaching about controversial issues in European history, such as slavery, colonialism, and genocide should not be ignored but need to be addressed carefully and respectfully.
Under the Erasmus+ programme, the Commission supports teaching, learning and research on the EU, its history, objectives, structures, functioning, and policies worldwide via Jean Monnet Actions in higher education. The actions are promoting the founding values of the European Union and active European citizenship. Since 2021, the Commission expanded Jean Monnet Activities to other areas of education and training with the aim of promoting a better understanding of the European Union, both in general education and in vocational education and training. This enables young Europeans, pupils and students to benefit from more teaching about EU matters (democracy, EU history, how the EU works, cultural diversity) and a better understanding on how EU policies contribute to their daily lives.
The Commission also cooperated with the Council of Europe’s Observatory on History Teaching, through the joint project HISTOLAB (April 2022-April 2024) which brings together innovative ideas on how to improve history teaching. The project enables knowledge sharing and learning from national and European experience. It fosters cooperation on history teaching through a dedicated online stakeholder platform and promotes the commonalities of European history, favouring a common European identity. The main deliverables include the annual ‘European Innovation Days in History Education’, a digital hub, a toolkit to debunk fake news in history classes, awards for innovative school projects in history education, fellowships for doctoral students and a series of tutorials.
The Erasmus+ National Agencies are preparing modules that will aim to introduce European integration from a civic and political dimension to programme participants in learning mobility opportunities. Such activities are being carried out in the framework of long-term cooperation activities among the National Agencies, supported by the programme, and will be followed up via the Commission’s regular monitoring activities.
Lastly, as a follow-up to citizens’ recommendations in the Conference on the Future of Europe on more information about EU citizenship rights, the Commission committed to ‘making European citizenship more tangible to citizens’, including by reinforcing the rights attached to it and by providing reliable and easily accessible information on the subject. On 6 December 2023, the Commission presented a Citizenship Package intended to further advance EU citizenship rights and make them more tangible for EU citizens. The Package includes a Guide to EU citizenship, which helps familiarise young and new EU citizens with the history, values, rights and responsibilities that underpin their status as EU citizens - in an attractive and easy-to-understand way. It also illustrates the benefits of EU citizenship and the opportunities it offers for democratic engagement.
Regarding the strengthening of media and digital literacy (paragraph 21), the Commission is working in several areas to support the provision of media and digital literacy skills and tools to teachers and students at all levels in Member States. Guidelines for teachers and educators on tackling disinformation and promoting digital literacy through education and training were published in 2022, to provide hands-on guidance for teachers and educators to foster an understanding on how to enhance digital literacy and tackle disinformation, how to use digital technologies responsibly and how to assess student competences.
As regards the call to strengthen the Erasmus+ programme and create more opportunities for learning mobility (paragraph 23): the budget allocated to learning mobility has been increasing year on year in the 2021-2027 programme resulting in a growing number of people benefiting from a learning period abroad. The Commission has also taken measures to make these opportunities increasingly accessible to participants with fewer opportunities. In 2022, 1.2 million people participated in such mobilities. Participation in democratic life, common values and civic engagement is also one of the cross-cutting priorities of the Erasmus+ programme, which plays a key role in strengthening European identity and values. In the current Erasmus+ programme, more than 23% of the budget for cooperation projects was allocated to projects supporting democratic participation, with a grant amount exceeding EUR 339 million in 2022. As a result of their participation in Erasmus+ projects, more than 82% of people declared they feel more European, 72% became more interested in European topics and 52% became more aware of European values (source: Erasmus+ Annual Report 2022). In addition, the Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation ‘Europe on the Move’ – learning mobility opportunities for everyone (COM(2013)719 final) adopted on 15 November 2023 is aiming to create enabling conditions for more people to benefit from the Erasmus+ programme and other cross-border learning mobility schemes, as part of the Talent Mobility package.
As regards the strengthening of the CERV programme (paragraph 23), its strand on 'Citizens’ engagement and participation' will continue to fund activities which promote cultural diversity and the knowledge of shared history. The programme will continue to encourage EU citizens' responsible, democratic civic participation in shaping the future of the EU. In the area of European remembrance, the programme will continue to support projects that commemorate defining events in modern European history, including the causes and consequences of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, and projects on Holocaust remembrance. The funded activities aim to raise awareness among Europeans of their common history, culture, cultural heritage and values, improving their understanding of the EU, its origins, purpose, diversity and achievements and of the importance of mutual understanding and tolerance. Finally, the programme also funds several strategic partner organisations active at EU level and active in the area of European remembrance and citizens’ engagement. Given the programme’s financial profile, the continuity of support under CERV will be possible every year until the end of the programme in 2027.
Regarding paragraph 24, the Enlargement Package 2023 points out that overcoming the legacy of the past and addressing disputes arising from the conflicts of the 1990s remain key for the enlargement process. Outstanding bilateral issues must be solved, including border issues, and delivering justice to victims of war crimes, identifying missing persons and establishing an accurate record of past atrocities at regional level. There is no place in the EU for inflammatory rhetoric or glorification of war criminals, from any side.
To support the above, there are two regionally funded programmes through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) for the Western Balkans. The first one is via the International Residual Mechanism on Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) on prosecution of war criminals, using the archives from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to share an accurate picture of the past, including working with associations of history teachers and universities (2024-2026). The second one is via the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on reconciliation, capacity building of national actors active in war crimes processing and outreach via civil society organisations (2023-2026). In addition, bilateral support for reconciliation and peacebuilding is channelled to civil society organisations via the EU presence in affected Western Balkan partners.