Verbatim report of proceedings

Thursday, 19 April 2018 - Strasbourg

11.9. Implementation of the Bologna Process – state of play and follow-up (B8-0190/2018)

Suulliset äänestysselitykset

  Andrejs Mamikins (S&D). – Madam President, I support the call to reinforce the social dimension in the European Higher Education Area. Education should not be a luxury, but it has to be inclusive to the maximum degree. Inclusiveness and equal access are the keys to guaranteeing social justice in the European Union. The Bologna Process has brought significant mobility and offered many chances to students and researchers, making European universities the best performers in many sectors, but it still has its limits.

In its current form the Bologna Process does not really create a platform for social debate on education across Europe. The fact that the EU nation-states adopt their language policies in education without any scrutiny from the EU can lead to highly undemocratic practices. To give you an example, my home country, Latvia, has recently become a victim of disproportionate education reform, doing away, de facto, with education in minority languages. What I expect from the Bologna Process is major engagement with stakeholders and a closer look at the problems on the ground.

  Puhemies. – Äänestykset ovat päättyneet.