Educational implications of the Treaty of Lisbon

Although the regulations introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon concern mainly legal, institutional and economic issues, they also generated new expectations, contexts and challenges in the field of education. These new developments are of course rooted in earlier policies and activities of the EU. The Treaty of Lisbon confirmed the principle that education remains largely within the competences of the member states, and that the EU is expected to develop activities aiming at supporting, coordinating and complementing national policies, according to the principle of subsidiarity.The main emphasis of the EU policy in education remains to encourage cooperation and to establish high common standards, while respecting and recognizing European cultural and linguistic diversity, and national responsibility for the content and structure of education. An interesting new element of education introduced by the Treaty is sports. In general, the main objective of the EU policy in education is facilitating Europe-wide mobility and employability. Much emphasis is put on close relations between education and labour markets within the broader Lisbon Strategy. Hence the support given to the development and modernisation of vocational training, and to providing young people with competences enabling them to develop new qualifications in response to changes in economy. Education is to combine knowledge with competences and attitudes necessary for personal development, active citizenship, social integration and employability. Also, inter and multicultural education, promotion of fundamental values and human rights are among consequences of integrating the Charter of Fundamental Rights with the Treaty of Lisbon