Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-04-11-Speech-4-031"
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"en.20020411.2.4-031"2
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"Mr President, first of all, I should like to congratulate Mrs De Sarnez on her report, which gives a sound and clear overview of the present situation in higher education, the existing programmes and the possible forms of cooperation with third countries in the field of higher education. The summary she gave us a moment ago is excellent.
In the Seventeenth century, some 40% of all students at the universities in the Netherlands were of foreign origin. With the advent of the national state, education became increasingly national. We now see another trend towards internationalisation, and this is also necessary. With the enlargement and extension of Europe, we need more people whose hearts are in Europe and who have a feel for Europe, together with a knowledge of, and a feel for, the various countries, languages and cultures. But the world extends beyond Europe, and it is becoming, as it were, increasingly smaller due to growing mobility and further internationalisation. Not for nothing is the term ‘global village’ used. The digital knowledge-based society turns the world into a single coherent whole. This creates a demand not only for citizens who have technical and scientific knowledge, but also for citizens with a feel for world citizenship. And this is precisely why cooperation with third countries in the field of higher education is important.
A society must be supported by its citizens. The Ancient Greeks already recognised the significance of education towards citizenship. They observed that politics, training and education towards responsibility belong together. Education plays an important role in integration. It is a well-known fact that it can contribute to greater understanding and, as a result, to better relations. It is important for the EU to seek, and intensify, cooperation. Even if education is a national competence, more harmonisation is possible and necessary.
This report is about cooperation with third countries. As has been said before, Europe does not appear to be the first choice of students who wish to study aboard for a while. The US is still far more appealing. This is partly due to the language problem, but this is not the only reason. The quality of the curriculum, the reputation of the institution, as well as the recognition of qualifications play an important role. I agree with the report that we in Europe must work towards a consistent and high level of education, which inevitably goes hand in hand with a command of languages, international recognition of qualifications, a Credit Transfer System, at least at European level, and more flexible opportunities for students from third countries who study in one Member State to also study temporarily in another EU country.
Finally, I should like to focus on the importance this has for development cooperation. It is crucial for the advancement of a country. It is a sound proposal to critically analyse the EU programmes in this respect and to look for other options."@en1
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