The Central European countries, including Czechia, will closely cooperate in education

The ministers of education from Czechia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia signed a memorandum on deepening cooperation.

The Memorandum of Understanding on Central European Cooperation in Education and Training (CECE) supports cooperation, exchange of experience and good practices between involved countries and their education systems. It also provides further impetus for possible national reforms.

The five signatory EU member states have been cooperating in the field of education since 1997, so the new memorandum confirms their continued interest in mutual exchanges. The memorandum was signed by the ministers of education from the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia on March 7 in Brussels, where they also participated in the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council (more about the approved Council Conclusions). The previous three memoranda, which have been shaping the nature of this regional cooperation, were signed in 2004, 2007 and 2012.

According to the new memorandum, the five Central European countries would like to focus especially on EU policy in the field of education and training, as well as on strengthening their voice in establishing the European Education Area. Currently, the main topics in this context include digital education, education and skills for green transition, equal access to education, support of the teacher profession, etc. The ministers also emphasized the importance of regional cooperation in the current context, which is significantly affected by several crises.

Austria will take over the informal presidency of the initiative in 2023 and all participating countries should meet in Vienna during autumn.

More information can be found in the press releases published by the Czech or Austrian ministry.