On 7 June 2016 the Commission gave its green light to register the new European Citizens’ Initiative “More Than Education”, having concluded that it fulfils the legal admissibility requirements. The collection of signatures will start in a month time.
This ECI was submitted by AEGEE Europe – the European Students’ Forum on 13 April 2016. It invites the Commission to propose “a set of incentive measures, including support and monitoring, to develop citizenship education in curricula on all levels of formal education throughout Europe, aimed at shaping democratic citizens”. The suggested legal basis establishing EU competences in the field of Education, Vocational Training and Youth is found in articles 165 and 166 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union.
The motivation behind this demand is the lack of sufficient and coherent teaching in Europe of essential civil competences that are needed to shape active and responsible citizens. According to the lead organisers, “we live in a democracy where citizens are supposed to hold decision-makers accountable, but they cannot properly do so in practice due to a lack of adequate training”. Therefore, they call on the Commission to support Member State’s in their responsibility to enable young people from all backgrounds to develop competencies for participating responsibly in society.
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