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Are EU countries ready to meet 2020 targets?

Date

24 Aug 2010

Sections

Enlargement

EU education goals: A mixed picture in Eastern Europe

EurActiv today published a new article in a series dedicated to views from various EU countries, particularly new member states,regarding the targets of the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy. The article deals with the European Union’s 2020 education targets (EU education goals: A mixed picture in Eastern Europe) and finds that while some of the EU’s Eastern member states are confident about meeting the targets, others - like Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania - may struggle to satisfy the European Commission’s expectations.

The Europe 2020 strategy defines five headline targets at EU level for the next ten years, which member states will be asked to translate into national goals reflecting their differing starting points. The education targets comprisereducing the share of early school leavers from the current 15% to under 10% of the school population and making sure that at least 40% of youngsters have a degree or diploma.

Three other targets have already been covered by the EurActiv network: 

● Reducing the number of Europeans living below the poverty line by 25% and lifting 20 million out of poverty from the current total of 80 million(Eastern Europe frowns at EU 'poverty' target; EurActiv 06/05/10).

● Raising investment in R&D to 3% of the EU's GDP (Czechs vie for top in Eastern European R&D league; EurActiv 04/06/10).

● Meeting the EU's '20/20/20' objectives on greenhouse gas emission reduction and renewable energies (Eastern Europe struggling to meet EU climate targets; EurActiv 16/07/10).

The last article from the series will be published in September, on the subject of raising the employment rate of the population aged 20-64 from the current 69% to 75%.

Media contacts:

Daniela Vincenti-Mitchener, Managing Editor, Tel. +32(0)2.788.36.69, news@euractiv.com

Frédéric Simon, Editor, Tel. +32(0)2.788.36.78, editor2@euractiv.com

Georgi Gotev, Senior Editor, Tel. +32(0)2.788.36.76, editor@euractiv.com

Note to the editor:

www.EurActiv.com is the independent online media network dedicated to EU policy, counting 590,000 monthly unique visitors together with the Web 2.0 platform Blogactiv.eu. Set up in 1999, the network is an important working instrument for actors (institutions, industry federations, NGOs, think tanks, the press and others) involved in defining or influencing EU policies. The EurActiv Network publishes EU policy news and information in 11 languages from offices in the capitals of 11 European countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, and Turkey. The Network's national policy portals are accessible here www.euractiv.com/en/Fixed/about/crosslingual.htm

In order to provide free services and ensure independence, EurActiv's services are financed from four sources: corporate sponsoring, EurActor membership, online advertising and EU projects. EurActiv's CrossLingual Network is supported by the European Commission’s Small Business Act / SME Week campaign and by the Directorates General for Regional Policy and for Enlargement. General sponsors of www.EurActiv.com are: Assembly of European Regions / GE Energy, Enel, ExxonMobil, First Solar, the NIckel Institute, TUSIAD, United Technologies and VISA Europe. Section sponsors of www.EurActiv.com are: Coca-Cola, Dow, EURid, Euro-ciett, Gasunie, General Electric, Honeywell, IBM, Microsoft, MSD, Nike, Syngenta, Trans Adriatic Pipeline, Unilever and Veolia. Further supporters include: Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. EurActiv also has 60 “content partners” (NGOs & think tanks) as well as ca. 500 “contributors”, providing their policy positions for free publication, based on EurActiv's editorial discretion. Input welcome: editor@euractiv.com. 

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